The Danger of Distraction!
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your trust be evident to all. The Lord is at hand. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4-7).

Lord, I must avoid at all times the danger of distraction. What I do one earth echoes throughout eternity. The lives I touch and do not touch are usually due to being distracted by other things that blur my true mission in life. The Lord God knows how easy it is for us to be sidetracked from His will in our daily lives. Sometimes my little kingdom totters, my family convulses, and my mind staggers to the edge. Then I must be still and know that God is God. He must be my only refuge, my rock, my defense, and my fortress.

I must avoid running to Egypt which symbolizes the world for help. This is what Israel did when confronted by a fearsome foe (Isaiah 30:1-2). The trouble with running to the world (Egypt) s that it is a “little help”, and a little help can become a wholesale disaster. It is better to trust the Lord fully, and be completely delivered (vv12-13). Egypt was an illusion, a paper tiger, a tree inwardly eaten by worms. She looked formidable, but her looks were deceiving. She had glamour but no strength. If Israel (or I) trust in Egypt, it will become a “shame and …confusion” to me and whoever I touch (v3 KJV).

How often in my desperation have I looked to a person of wealth, so called possessing wisdom and knowledge, maturity and experience and said, “you are my deliverer”, only to discover the wealth, wisdom, and maturity were nothing more than cold ashes. There was no help whatsoever! I was driven in humiliation back to the source of my strength and wisdom, back to God and His everlasting arms.

It is not acting in faith when we have moments of running to Egypt and is certainly a sin to rest my weight and security upon Egypt, rather relying on God. To “be still” means to “relax”, but I must relax upon the solid rock of Jesus and His word. This is not a trust upon the shifting sands of trusting Egypt. Relaxing on Jesus and His word is like Nahum stated, “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in Him. (Nahum 1:7).

John 8:32
Steps for having a Successful Life!

#1. Love the Lord God with all your heart, mind, and strength. If you don’t do this you will not find success in your life. Mark 12:30-31.
#2. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God. Fear means reverence of God. Submit all your plans to Him for approval. Proverbs 3:7.
#3. Be obedient to God’s Word. Following God is a long journey in the same direction to the cross of Calvary. 1 Samuel 15:22.
#4. Be serious about unconfessed and lack of repentance of sin in your life. Judge yourself so you won’t be judged by God. I Corinthians 11:31.
#5. Be quick to hear, to love and forgive. Be slow to speak. Think before you respond in anger because God has given you two ears and one mouth. Ephesians 4:26.
#6. The Golden Rule love your neighbor as you love yourself. This can only be accomplished with God’s love not human selfish love. Matthew 22:39.
#7. Turn your crooked life over to God and he will make your path straight. All those areas in your life that are crooked as we surrender to God and be obedient, He will turn your ashes
into blessings. Luke 3: 4-6.

Being Divisive for Christ!
If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 1 Peter 4:14.

I must remember that Jesus Christ is not only a great tension reliever, but also tension bringer. If I expect Him to relieve all my tensions, I have a vain expectancy. Merely to know and follow Jesus will create all kinds of problems for me. His mother received that word when she gave Him birth, “a sword will pierce even your own soul.” Luke 2:35

Have I felt the piercing of my soul because of my commitment to Christ? Have I lost friends, seeing families divided, or seeing increasing bitterness among acquaintances because I’m determined to make Him my all? Mary must have gone through 1000 agonies once Christ was born. There must have been tension in the home. Neither did his brothers believe in Him. John 7:5. How did Mary manage to referee between her holy son and her other natural children? How could she stand their hatred of Him, knowing all the while who He was? When Jesus later said, “a prophet is not without honor except in his own hometown”. Matt. 13:57. What is Jesus also referring to his daily snubs of his half brothers and sisters? We really don’t know.

Jesus said he did not come to bring peace, but a sword. Matt. 10:34. He came to make mothers and daughters and fathers and sons one another’s enemies. V35. I am a very poor disciple indeed, if I cannot name, one person who has been offended because I chose to follow Jesus. But I must be careful that it is for His sake that enemies are made, not for my own. When my own rights and privileges are concerned, I must be as harmless as a dove; but when His rights and privileges are concerned, I must be a militant warrior. Lord, give me the wisdom to discern when I must be a militant; then give me the assurance of Jeremiah. “The Lord is with me as a far inspiring fear, inspiring warrior. Therefore, my persecutors will stumble.” Jer. 20:11

The Bible is a Fire and a Hammer!
Because I love your commands more than gold, more than pure gold, and because I consider all your precepts right, I hate every wrong path.
Psalms 119:127-128.

I must understand that the Bible is not only my source of comfort, but also my source of bruising due to our disobedience. Is not my word like fire? Declares the Lord and like a hammer with shatters a rock? Jeremiah 23:29. If I’ve never felt the scorching of the Bible ‘s heat or the shattering of the Bibles blow, I’m not making much progress as a disciple. The Bible is a sharp instrument; it pierces, divides, discerns, and reaches into the depths of my personality, down to the thoughts and motives of my nature Hebrews 4:12.

I must beware the man who preaches a sugar-coated faith. Faith in God is not an Aladdin’s lamp that grants my every wish. I must avoid as I would, the plague, the man who preaches peace, peace, peace, continually. There are times when the Bible will not give me peace; times when to comfort and assure me would be absolutely damaging to me. How can I sin and not feel the burning fire of the Word?

The false prophet is easily discovered. He is a man who offers nothing but honey, peace, joy, security, and tranquility. He does that, of course, because it is what the natural man craves; it provides him a ready audience, a guarantee of success. A counselor who offers me a rosy goal, but never mentions the painful, torturous road to it is not my friend. Jesus Christ is my true friend. He offers me a rewarding future, but with persecutions. Mark 10:29-30. He wants to deliver me safe, sound, and holy. That is why His Word must sometimes make me ache with soreness and weep with bitterness. He knows where it all is leading; to manhood and womanhood changed with glory. I respond with Mary sincere humility, “Behold the bond slave of the Lord, be it done to me according to your word” for “my soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God, my Savior. Luke 1:38,46.

The Blueprint of Life!
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9.

As far as possible, I must live the blueprint of life. Jesus Christ lives that kind of life. The Son of Man can do nothing by Himself; He can only do what he sees His Father doing, because whatever His Father does, the Son also does. John 15:19. I must not misunderstand the blueprint. Life is not rigid command, but expected obedience. Jesus Christ was free to live his own life, otherwise He would not have been fully human. But He chose to live a blueprint life because He loved the Father absolutely, and because only by blueprinting could He ever achieve all the Father wanted for Him and for others through him.

The blueprint is God’s absolute guidance of what I am to do under His guidance and by His power. So, it is not a limiting instrument, but rather, a liberating one. The illusion of freedom is “I can do it better, but the misery of freedom is “I wish I had another chance.”. The blueprint means the Almighty, all wise. God is my lover, not my dictator. Why else would He bother? His yearning heart devises all that is best for me; yet His fairness and justice allow me to reject His blueprint, if I insist.

Jesus Christ found immense satisfaction in this; “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do”. John 17:4. Jesus never rejected His blueprint; therefore, His work was “finished”. I may reject my blueprint many times, and therefore may not finish my work as Jesus did. But if I trust my Father and through His power, I will finish out my life far better than if I had no blueprint at all. My joy is in what in the psalmist assurance in Psalms 32:8 “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”.

Overcoming the World!
No weapon formed against you shall prosper. And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me,” says the Lord. Isaiah 54:17.

I am reminded, Lord, that Your Word has much to say about overcoming. It is one thing to be a Christian, it is another thing to be an overcoming Christian. To be an Overcomer is vitally important, since Jesus mentions the need to overcome in each letter to the Asian churches (Revelations, 2- 3).

To be an overcomer means that I have been in conflict. It is a military term. In fact, the word, overcomer is translated “him who is victorious” quotation marks in the New English Bible, and the Amplified Bible. It is applied to the Christian who has emerged from battle heat and stress undiscouraged and his faith and undeterred in his determination to live obediently to his God.

Jesus is the first great Overcomer. “In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). To overcome the world means to refuse to be seduced by his popularity, and to refuse to be intimidated by the threats of the cross. The world always follows the same pattern, first controlling, and then, if that does not work, crucifying. The world’s desire is always to squeeze me into its own mold. (Romans12:2). The world will, and God’s will are direct opposites. If I insist on following Jesus that I must follow Him to the battle against the world’s, passionate desire to thwart my path to live a godly life in this present age. (Titus 2:12).

Lord, the Bible reminds me of many who went into battle for you, but did not overcome – Lot, Saul, Gehazi, Demas and others. That is enough to make me realize that victory is not guaranteed – unless I cling to Him who wonderfully overcame it for my sake. And the Lord himself will fight for me as “He fought in the day of the battle” (Zachariah 14:3).

Temptation of the Emotions
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 2 Cor. 10:3-4.

The final test of Jesus Christ commitment to his fathers will took place on Calvary “come down from the cross” (Matthew 27:40) was a challenge uttered by the chief priest, soldiers, and people; but behind it was a deceiver himself. Having failed to entice Jesus through His body, ego, and mind Satan tried to break His will by means of His emotions.

The emotional strain of the cross was staging. The chief ingredient was abandonment. The abandonment of Jesus was complete – people, disciples, and even (parentheses the only for a brief time) His Father. At the point when His emotions were at their strained peak, Satan whisper to Him, everyone is against you what’s the use you have taken enough, end all this business by a quick show of power and come down from that throne of pain. Why should you suffer anymore?

That was the most deceitful of all Satan tactics, for then he was in the role of sympathizer, reliever, and deliver. How often Satan temptations come in the guise of deliverance! How quickly he can break our will by leading us to self-pity. But Jesus saw through the trickery; He realized He could not spare Himself and still save others. He refused to abandon His commitment; He would not renege on His Father’s as will, and so He triumphed.

I must realize that I am always vulnerable emotionally to Satan. Yet my victory is not to shore up my emotions, but to shore up my will. Emotions will fluctuate; but if my commitment to God is firm, they will stay in balance. The battle of the flesh is always there, but we have confidence in God that through Jesus Christ our faith remains firm in Him.

Mental Temptation!
For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. 2 Corinthians 11:13-14

The third way in which Satan tried to break Christ’s determination to serve His Father by the means of the mind. Having failed to display the son of God by appealing to His bodily and ego needs, he then determined to loosen the foundations of his rationality. That occurred in Gethsemane. There Jesus was faced with the full foresight of the cross, and all He would have to bear. What He would have to endure, Jesus’ saw, was a contradiction. He who knew no sin would have to become sin 2 Corinthians 5: 21. The pressure of having to become what He hated was almost in burden for the Son of Man.

Jesus exhibited all the symptoms of the pressure; groaning, tears, sweat, and inward agony. His mind was storm tossed, swept between two contradictory principles. Three times He had to press in close to the Father in prayer, seeking help, and all the while Satan hoped his mind would snap, leaving him, broken and helpless. But again, Jesus went back to His determination to do His Father’s will, regardless of how contradictory, it appeared. “Nevertheless, not my will, but thy will, be done” Luke 22 :42. Victory came then, when His will held firm before the storm.

Satan knows very well how we can be destroyed through the shaking of our mind. Being called crazy was one of the criticism and Paul had to face Acts 26:24, 2 Corinthians 5: 13. The protection of the mind does not come by, trying to reason things out, but being willing to stay oneself on God and letting Him unravel the problems as He chooses. They will be done Matthew 26:42 is more than just a formal prayer; it is mental therapy that the deceiver cannot undo. If I keep my mind on Him, knowing “He has given me a spirit of power, love and a sound mind” Satan has no chance of overcoming me. 2 Timothy 1:7.

The Ego Under Temptation!
But they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they did not cling to life even in the face of death. Rev. 12:11

Once Jesus had publicly determined to do His father’s will, Satan was after Him relentlessly. The deceiver failed to shake the Lord’s grip on His commitment through the needs of the body, so he tried another tactic. He attacked the needs of the ego. After Jesus’ astonishing ministry of teaching, healing, and miracle-working, the multitudes wanted to make Him king (John 6:15). Here it was-the kingdom, the goal of the Father-handed to Him on a silver platter!

Bit Jesus recognized the snake behind it and turned down the offer. He was strong enough to resist the appeal of popularity, the gratification of the ego. Nothing turns the head so quickly, or softens the will as much, as the appeal and clamor of the crowd. Jesus did not allow Satan to feed his ego, which would have led to catastrophe rather, He submerged His ego in the Father’s will, which led to triumph.

This is how I must walk. My ego is more fragile than my body. If the receiver cannot break, my will tempting my body, he will try to break it by tempting my ego. King David was deceived both ways; through the sexual needs of the body, which resulted in adultery with the Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11); and then through the cravings of his pride, which resulted in taking a census of the people (2 Samuel 24). What sad, painful outcomes from both.!

Jesus defeated the ego temptation by slipping away quietly and communing with His Father, where He strengthened His resolve. So, must I, again, and again, as often as receiver, baits me, for my will and strengthen only as I carefully cultivate it in the presence of my heavenly father.to pray at all times in the spirit (Ephesians 6:18) is the way to put on the full armor of God and dust be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil (Ephesians 6:11).

The Heart of Temptation
Discipline yourselves; keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

I have learned through the 53 years of following the Lord Jesus that Satan’s aim in tempting me is destroy my will to follow God. That is clearly revealed in his tempting Jesus. Once Jesus had accepted, the Father’s will at His baptism, His will immediately was put to the test in the wilderness. Matthew 1-11. Each of the three temptations were carefully contrived to weaken Christ’s grip on the will of Father God. Once that grip is loosed, it is only a matter of time before the entire defense breaks down to sin.

Jesus was hungry and tired, when Satan met him in the desert. The needs of the body are often used as the opening wedge for the attack on the will, whether the need is for food, rest, relaxing, or whatever. I make a mistake, however, if I think Satan will be satisfied, merely to trip me up on a physical need; he is after my will. The way I handle my body is only the symptom of my basic commitment. Satan does not try to capture symptoms; he is after the thing that creates the symptoms.

The answer to Satan’s approach through the body is a reaffirmation of my will. “Thou shall worship the Lord, thy God, and Him shalt thou serve”. Matthew 4:10. There is decisiveness, finality! I can only be victorious over Satan when I nailed the peg of commitment further into the soil. I am strengthened by the response of Nehemiah when he was asked to compromise with the enemy, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down”. Nehemiah 6:3. Four times the temptation came, and four times Nehemiah confirmed his grip to do the will of God. So, I must meet Satan head on and send him packing by determining once and for to do God ‘s will, regardless the cost. That is the victory for every believer, Jesus overcame the evil one by holding onto the will of the Father. Let us walk in the same victory being disciplined and alert, and giving no place to the devil.