Good Temptations.

Has life ever seemed like a race? If you said "NO", your next move needs to be hitting your knees in confession because life can seem like a race and is even referenced as a race in scripture. Life is a race to be completed strong. We may not win the race in the first place position, but we should all strive to finish strong knowing that we did all that we could to finish at the top. In Hebrews we are encouraged to look around us and see that there is a great crowd of witnesses here to support us and be an encouragement to us (Heb 11). The fellowship of the church is also here for support (Heb 10.25). If this is true, why is it that we may find ourselves feeling alone?

A race is made of many people and "contestant" that are all wanting one thing; finish, if not win. In a good race the other racers will be the support of each other, but what if there is no one around us? If you have ever watched a race that is more that a sprint you see that even though the racers start at the same time they will soon be spread out. Sure, there may be clusters of people here and there but soon even they will be split apart because no one runs at the same speed. There are some times in a marathon that a runner can see no on in front of or behind them even though there are hundreds of other runners, and there is no one standing along the sidelines. Runners testify these are the legs of the race that giving up is the easiest. Without the support of runners or witnesses what is left to help the runner press on?

This same thing happens to us spiritually when we hit times in life that everyone has either passed us, or we have passed everyone; we end up finding ourselves all alone; we forget the great distances we have covered and begin to get tired. We are tempted to just give up.

I Corinthians 10.13 says, "There is no temptation give to you that is not common to man; God is faithful and will not tempt you more that you are able but will with the temptation provide a way of escape so that you will be able to bear it."

Did you ever stop to think about this? We are not facing something alone even if we may be running by ourselves for the moment because people who may be out of sight from us right now are going through the same thing; people who have run this race before you went through the same thing; people who run this race after you will go through the same thing. Every time you see someone take first place in a race they were proving that this leg of the race can be conquered. But how could they ever make it through without the support of the fans and the runners?

"God is faithful". The difficulties are overcome because they stop thinking of the race, which lasts only for a short while, and remembered what is eternal. When marathon runner finishes the race and is interviewed they commonly share what "got them through" the race and it is something that had nothing to do with the race; family, charity, prize money, etc... Something other than the race, the fans, or even the other runners support; it was a bigger something that would be waiting for them after the finish line. For the Christian our race of life is doable because of the fact that God is faithful and will keep his promise that "I go to prepare a place for you..." (John 14.1).

The verse does not stop though with God being faithful, if also gives a promise that "God won't bring you to it unless he is willing to get you through it." There is even a cooler part than that; God will end up using the temptation to quit itself to get you past the temptation! This is a part of the verse that seems puzzling to some. What is that supposed to mean? How could a temptation ever help get you out of itself? The way this is possible is if we look to God and allow his the make us stronger through this experience. No, this does not mean we walk into temptation or invite it into our lives so that we can become strong; temptation will find you easily enough without you having to find it.

Think of the alcoholic who ruins his family. When the alcoholic comes to Christ and repents of alcohol, the visions of his past life's effect on his family will keep him from going back, and he will be an effective witness to other alcoholics because he can relate to them. Thinking again of the race scenario, since you are running at different speeds you will eventually come along side of someone else again, and since your temptation is common, they too have likely had a hard time dealing with it; when you are now come together you can be a great support and encouragement on to another.

There is no race that is completed without running it, but running it can become a great experience, even the lonely/temptation times if we remember that we are not facing it alone, God is faithful.

The Power of Willing Heart.

Having grown up in a strong Christian family which showed up to church whenever someone was there I have been in thousands of services and been a part of just as many events, banquets, fellowships, and celebrations. Through all of those meetings I have heard a common saying over and over; "God will us anyone with a willing heart to serve Him." What is that supposed to mean? As a child there was no choice in Christian service. Either you would left home all alone or you were going to be a part of the church; and the choice was easy for me because my parents made it for me... I was going to be a part of the church.

Now, as an adult I have seen something. I have seen that God is willing to use anyone who is willing to serve Him. (If that sounds familiar to you it is because it is the same quote used earlier.) In recent studies I have done, this theme has been bouncing off the page at me. Over and over again we see that God will use anyone regardless their strengths, weaknesses, background, or social status. Here are a few of the people in scripture that have stood out to me lately as proving this statement true.

Noah. Genesis 6.8 says that "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." Why? Was he some super business man that was well equipped to fund the larger missions project in his time of history? Did he have a church with an amazing worship band, world class pastor, and have everyone tithing? No. He wasn't even in ministry as we think of it today. What made Noah so great is in Genesis 6.9, "Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God." That is it. He is great because he was will to do what was right and continually walk with God. He simply had a willing heart to do whatever God wanted him to.

Abraham. The father of all the nation of Israel, and even that of Palestine. Abraham is noted as being the faithful of the faithful but why? He was born into an ungodly family. (Actually, they were very "godly"... they had one for everything.) He worked in his dad's idol shop. He travelled in his family as they sought their own desires. He lived secular life. How did he become so great in the eyes of God? God saw much deeper than what was on the surface; God saw the heart. God was the potential of Abraham, the faithfulness within him, and the obedience he would have. The first time we see Abraham see God (the one true God) is in Genesis 12.1 when he gives him a simply but difficult order to leave his family and his homeland. God's judgement of choosing a father for his future chosen people proves itself from the beginning as Abraham obeys. Again, a simple person with a willing heart to serve God.

Jacob. Jacob may be the grandson of Abraham, but a lot had changed by then. Jacob was a greedy little fella who was out to get everything. So, how could God change him into a patriarch of the faith? This one is a little more like most of the people I know; we are greedy, we want what we see, and we would rather give our energy to fight God than serve him. Jacob goes through the first part of his life living it all about him. He is following the philosophy that he has one life to live so he will get as much as he can during it. All goes well in his eyes until God calls him out of his comfort zone in Genesis 32 to face those who he had trampled down in the past. God sees him through and sets him up for a hard-learned-lesson. Verses 24-30 Jacob wrestles with a mystery man (Most believe this, being the Angel of the Lord, is a Christophany; an appearing of Christ before being physically born of Mary) who doesn't give up fighting him until dawn. At the end of the fight Jacob has his leg thrown out of joint and set straight as far as who is in control here... God is. Through the fight we can see something very important about Jacob; he fought all night. He was willing to stand up for what he believed it. He was strong and courageous even in the face of God. Do see what I see? Jacob had the strength and courage to do great things, he was just channelling it the wrong direction. It is very easy to take the talent God has given to us and use it to our own advantage instead of God's. Jacob found out that his strengths were intended for God and he begins to follow after God's plan from there.

God is willing to us anyone with a willing heart to serve Him. The saying is true, but is it true in your life? The people who we think of as being great are nothing more than ordinary people who are willing to serve and extraordinary God.