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| David and Bathsheba by Jan Matsys, 1562, Louvre (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Recently, I listened to a broadcast by one of my favorite apologetics, Ravi Zacharias. He said something so significant I had to write it down. He said, "It is easier to say no before you have tasted it than after you have tasted it." In other words, don't taste it! You know what happens when you eat that first nut or that first chip. Before you know it, you have eaten the whole bag.
But it doesn't have to be that way. Ravi states that God has given us the capacity to control our appetite. We do not have to give in to sin and temptation. The Bible tells us, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin" (Hebrews 4: 15).
In an earlier chapter, the writer said, "Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted" (Hebrews 2 : 18).
King David was a powerful and highly-respected king, but one day he saw a woman having a bath, and he gave into temptation. He committed adultery with Bathsheba, but it didn't stop there. When she became pregnant, David tried to get her husband Uriah, a general in his army, to go home and sleep with his wife so she could pass the child off as his. But good soldier that Uriah was, he refused to go home while the other men were either camping out in the fields or sleeping in tents. So, David conspired to have Uriah killed. Just one look led to adultery then murder. To top it off, the baby died.
God is saying to us, "Don't go there!" Don't start something that will cause you regret. If you are tempted, pray. Jesus knows our weaknesses and "is able to help those who are being tempted" (Hebrews 2 : 18).
4 comments:
Angela: You have said here what at least two generations of people have needed to hear. As young people, we DON'T know where things will lead. Those 'fun' things usually lead to heartache and heartbreak, as well as to shortened lives.
Angela, this is well explained. Our choices has tremendous consequence. Whenever we are tempted, we can choose to resist for God will make a means to escape. And this is why it's important to be in constant fellowship with God and commit to having a covenant relationship with Him and practice a lifestyle of honoring Him and living a life pleasing to the Lord. Thank you writing this vital message.
@quietspirit Hi Cecelia, thanks for your comment. It really grieves me to see young people especially destroying themselves. We need to stand in the gap for them and pray that our merciful God will turn them around before it's too late.
I have comments, but it seems like they are all over the place. First, Life is completely made up of choices. Even not making a choice is a choice. People need to be more aware of the consequences of their choices. Next, I think people tend to give the devil too much credit. "The devil made me do it isn't necessarily so. Our flesh is our greatest enemy. People are given to complacency nowadays. We keep saying Christ is coming back soon, yet we've been saying that for many, many years, so people just are say to themselves, yeah, yeah, I have plenty of time. They are not keeping up with the times and what is going on Biblically around them. We are in the end of the last days. People need to wak up and look at the signs of His Coming. They (we) need to be aware of things and that we don't have much time to get right with God. The best thing to do is to repent and start living the way He wants us to live right now.
As I said, my thoughts are all over the place, but this is just what God put on my heart when I read your post, so I thought I would tell you. Thanks,
PJ
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