Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty

[dave c]

HEALING SHELTER MINISTRIES #131s Re-Written 21JAN09 http://groups.msn.com/AHealingShelter/welcome.msnw

Save Me Today—Part Nineteen: Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty

by rev dave c

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1Pe 5:8). When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Don't be deceived, my dear brothers (Ja 1:13-16; NIV).

I would like to picture temptation as something irresistibly powerful that grabs me by ambush, overwhelms me, and rips me to shreds. That way I am less responsible for giving in to it. Scripture, however, clearly states that temptation is the result of my own evil desires. This means that to be tempted I must have myself primed and ready for specific temptations to come my way--and Satan is a master of knowing just what to advertise at just the right moment.

Break the teeth in their mouths, O God; tear out, O LORD, the fangs of the lions! (Ps 58:6; NIV). I frequently hear it said, “the Devil is a roaring lion…,” but the verses quoted above from First Peter say that Satan is LIKE a roaring lion. There is only one lion, and that is the Lion of Judah, Jesus Christ. The truth of the matter is that our Savior has broken and torn out Satan’s teeth, so that all the Deceiver can do is roar. Evidence for this is found in the Greek word that we have translated “devour.” According to Strong's, “katapino” (# 2666) means “to drink down, i.e. gulp entire.” Katapino is used seven times in the New Testament—six times it is translated as “swallow,” and once, in the Second Peter occurrence, as “devoured.” This is very different from the word phago (#5315), which means “to eat.” Compare our subject verse to Galatians 5:15 (If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other) where biting is (#1143) dakno, and devouring is (#2719) katesthio. "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1Co 15:55-57; NIV). Jesus has taken the sting (the teeth) out of sin and death. We think of lions as having great sharp fangs with which to tear apart victims, but Satan must swallow us whole (just like the Genesis Three snake that he is) and hold us in order to digest us.

As if having to claim responsibility for being available for temptation wasn’t bad enough, First Corinthians 10:13 states, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it (NIV).” Now I am not only facing responsibility as I am being tempted, I am also responsible for knowing that God has provided a 100% guaranteed escape route 100% of the time. Moment by moment, it is my decision to sin, or to not sin...to do the wrong, or the right thing.

So far, even if I have allowed the Father of Lies to drag me away and begin to slobber all over me, I still haven’t sinned—all I have to do is locate the exit and walk away (or run). But as we all know, the longer we let the Evil One work on us, the more difficult it is stop short of sinning…and sin is progressive. Sin hardens your heart little bit by little bit until we are doing things that we would never have dreamed of doing. Even though we are still counted in the Family of God, we may find our testimony, if not our very lives, destroyed. Ask King David what was on his mind as he lounged on the roof of his palace, instead of being on the battlefield with his men (2Sa 11& 12). Ask him what was in his heart as he “accidentally” caught a glimpse of Bathsheba. He would tell you that the glimpse germinated a seed that was already planted in his mind, which gave root to a temptation to stare, that grew into a powerful desire…. The Bible is painfully open and honest about all that followed. David made the choice to betray his Godly honor because of lust. He made the choice to betray the loyalty of a trusted friend. Worst of all, he made the choice to betray the love and the truth of his Lord God. Like millions of us in our day, David then made the choice to murder an innocent person in an attempt to eradicate the evidence of his sexual sin.

The truth is, we have to work at being tempted and sinning. Why do you think Romans 6 says, “the wages of sin is death…(Ro 6:23; NIV)?” Praise God, the verse continues, “...but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Even if we do fall down, Jesus is there to help us back up. He knows. He understands. He loves us anyway. “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 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. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (He.5:13-16; NIV). Psalm 51, as a powerful testimony of David’s remorse for his sin, speaks of a broken spirit and contrite heart before a merciful and gracious God.

We are now ready to finish reading our selected opening passages from First Peter, Chapter Five, “…9 Resist [the devil], standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen (NIV).”