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Thursday, March 4, 2010

Temptations!

I love to go to restaurants and look at the dessert menu, read through the desserts to see if there is anything there that might be tempting. And without fail, the author of the menu and dessert chef comes through with the names like 'chocolate sinful dessert', 'sinfully delightful', 'chocolate temptation' (yummmm), and on and on and on. Remember when desserts used to be hot fudge sundae? Well not any more, they have a tempting desiring name attached to that simple little hot fudge sundae (which they still are that simple only with a new name). And everytime I read one of these great tasty descriptions, my mouth waters, my sweet tooth kicks in, and dinner is out the door...let's just start with dessert!!! And we are surrounded by temptations just like that in different areas of life, from walking into a grocery store where stacks of candy bars scream to us as we wait in line to check out, to going to Walmart for just a few things and walking out with two carts full of stuff... temptations.
I live in a world of temptations and most of them are not in the physical, the majority of them are in my mind. I am tempted daily to be jealous, which turns to anger, and then frustration, and soon thereafter the cycle begins again. I was told once that walking with Christ was like peeling apart an onion, the layers come off slowly and each new layer is a new step in the 'right' direction. Well, I have to say this onion thing is not that great. I mean I know in the end that is where I am suppose to be going but the journey through it is driving me batty!!! It seems like one thing gets worked on and BAM! another one raises its ugly head and all the while, I'm being pressed upon to keep on keeping on. Temptations!!! They just fill my mind constantly and the spiritual struggle for every new one is harder and harder. Why do I have to go through this stuff? Why can't I just 'be'? That's what I thought the Christian life was suppose to be like, obviously I was wrong!!!
This morning and yesterday morning, I was reading Hebrews. And throughout the first 4 chapters (this is as far as am), there are several places where it talks about temptations. In Hebrews 2:17-18 it says "He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become .. merciful and faithful..in all things....He Himself was tempted." I was relieved to read this, at peace with the fact that I wasn't alone in my temptations (whether physical or mental). He went through the temptations for me so that He could help me through them in my time of need...and all I have to do is aske for His help. Don't get me wrong that's still a lot harder than it seems, asking for help is not one of my strong points!!! But I still have that opportunity to go to Him, and I didn't have that before I knew Him personally. Iwish I could relay that to everyone I know, every friend that isn't a believer and be able do it in confidence. I guess that time will come but for right now, I battle! Battle the mind, the soul and the body, working toward obedience and defeat of temptations.