The Battle Within

Read Galatians 5:16-23

Reflection of Tommy:

Some fight the desire to do wrong and sin (v19-21) by refraining from thinking about them or actively telling themselves not to do them. If we were to study the human mind, we know that the more we try to control or stop ourselves from doing certain things, the more likely we will end up doing them!

Paul in today's passage showed to us how to combat these sinful thoughts and desires of the flesh by walking in the Spirit, empowering Him to work in us, bearing the good fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

Dear Father, thank You for reminding me not to just talk but to always willingly and obediently walk in the Spirit. Forgive me at times of my lack of understanding and willingness to follow Christ faithfully, rejecting commands He has taught me and not having a genuine attitude towards repentance. Father, give me a teachable heart and be a true and obedient disciple of Christ, bringing glory and honor to You in everything I do. In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen.

You are not alone

Read Hebrews 4:9-16

Reflection of Tommy:

There are many sincere Christians who felt condemned because they experience temptation. Often, they also believe that they are the only one having this specific struggle; thinking no one will ever be able to understand or relate to them.

But, in today’s passage we can take comfort knowing that Jesus Himself, has experienced a full range of temptations throughout his life as a man. Jesus can truly sympathize with our struggle with temptations. We can be encouraged knowing that Jesus faced temptation without giving in to sin. With His strength and power, we too can choose not to sin when tempted.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for teaching me not to take my salvation for granted but to appropriate this gift through making daily decision and commitment to trust and obey You. May Your living Word, like the incisiveness of a surgeon’s knife, penetrate deep to reveal all my ways, good or bad and leading me in Your way everlasting. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

Trampling Temptation

Matthew 4:1-11

The Temptation of Jesus
1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."

4Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'[a]"

5Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6"If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:
" 'He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'[b]"

7Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'[c]"

8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9"All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."

10Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'[d]"

11Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Reflection of Bee:

The devil tempted Adam & Eve (Genesis 3), and then Jesus, in 3 different ways: body (v1-4), soul (v5-7), and spirit (v8-10). Adam and Eve fell into the temptations of the devil, but Jesus overcame all the temptations.

Today, the devil still uses the same tricks to temp us. We need to learn from Jesus how to overcome these temptations.

1. Temptation of our physical needs:
Jesus told the devil that we need to live by God's word (Bible) and He quoted the scriptures to overcome Satan. That means, we need to know God's truth to win the battle.
2. Temptation of our emotional needs:
Jesus told the devil that we should not test God into giving Him what He wants. We must not test God in order to feed our emotional needs, such as telling God that if He is God He will bring us a spouse, etc.

3. Temptation of our spiritual needs:
Jesus told the devil that we should only worship God and no one else. We are not to fall into the trap of worshiping material things and recognize that God is the only one deserve our worship.

Dear Lord,
Thank You for the reminder tonight that I can conquer the temptations of the devil by following Your example. You know all my needs and You will be the One to supply them in Your time.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.





Reflection of Tommy:

Like the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, Jesus’ temptations in today’s passage show how true obedience can only be shown when we are given the opportunity to disobey and give in to temptations. Although Jesus was tested and tempted in everyway while in this world, He was always ready to face them and has never sinned and obey God till the end. Similarly, we will also be tested and we should be alert and be ready for it; to remain obedient to God!

Dear Father, thank You for reminding me that temptations may comes in subtle and unexpected ways. Guard my heart and mind that I may recognize and be aware of them. Lead me to spend more time reading and obeying Your Word, equipping me to hold up my conviction to You while facing the pressure and attack of temptation. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

The Law of the Spirit

Galatians 5:16-25

Life by the Spirit
16So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Reflection of Bee:

Becoming Christians do not rid us of sins, may have discovered to our dismay. In fact, we may find ourselves 'more sinful' than ever. This is because our born-again spirit becomes very sensitive whenever we sinned against God. In addition, the devil tries to tempt us even harder. Even the Apostle Paul struggled with sins as shown in Romans 7:7-25:

4We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

Yes, as we try to please God we may become very discouraged whenever we give in to our sinful nature, and we cried out "What a wretched man I am!" Thank God that through Christ and the Holy Spirit we can overcome the sinful nature (Romans &:25).

Instead of focusing on the negative aspects (sins) and try to avoid them, we should focus on the positives aspects of the fruit of the Spirit:

love
joy
peace
patience
kindness
goodness
faithfulness
gentleness
self-control

When the above aspects of the fruit of the Spirit are shown in our lives we don't have to struggle to fight our sinful nature. They come about when we allow the Spirit of God to lead us daily.


Dear Lord,
Thank You for always answering my prayers. Tonight I pray that each aspect of Your fruit will be evident in my life.
I pray especially for "joy" and "peace" which are missing in my life the last one month or so. I pray that tonight you will restore the joy of my salvation and give me peace that surpasses all understanding.
I pray too for Tommy that Your Holy Spirit will indwell him daily that Your fruit will be seen in his life clearly by those around.
I know You will hear my prayers tonight just like You always did.
For I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.



Reflection of Tommy:

There are many who give the excuse of being ‘normal’ or natural for indulging in wrongful and selfish desires. They find that there is nothing wrong with their attitude as everyone is like that or that they ignore and refuse to deal with them but continuing doing what is wrong. They think that God being merciful and all that, will obviously understand their action.

But is it really so? The danger is that they’ll eventually find them selves coping with not doing what they want but doing the very thing they do not want. This happens because the desires of the sinful nature are totally conflicting and contrary with the Spirit (v16).

So, how do we counter this obvious (v19) trap of our sinful nature? Whenever there are sinful desires or passions in our heart, do not ignore them but to ask God to bring them to light for us. By committing our sinful tendencies to God’s control and empowering the Holy Spirit to lead us, we then make the decision to do what associated with the fruits of the Spirit, not our sinful desires. By doing this we will gain the power of Christ to help us control and overcome our selfish desires and to keep in step with the Spirit (v25).

Dear Father, thank You for teaching me to identify any contradicting desires inside me that go against the Spirit. Remind me always that Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature in me together with all its passions and desires. Because of this, I no longer under the law (v18) but to live by the Spirit - living each day led, controlled and guided by Him. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

Integrity

Genesis 39:1-12

Joseph and Potiphar's Wife
Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, 7 and after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Come to bed with me!"

8 But he refused. "With me in charge," he told her, "my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" 10 And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.

11 One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. 12 She caught him by his cloak and said, "Come to bed with me!" But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.

Reflection of Bee:

Having personal integrity in the eyes of God is important. When temptations come our way, our integrity or fear of God will keep us from falling. Though others may not know what we do but God knows. That's why Proverb 9:10 says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom". Our fear of sinning against God will help us to be wise.

Dear Lord,
Cleanse me from all my sins tonight. Teach me to fear and honour You that I may not sin against You in any way.
In Jesus' name I ask. Amen.




Reflection of Tommy:

If we were to put weak excuses like “not to hurt/harm others” or “not to bring trouble or sin against our selves”, it’s easy to give in to temptation under pressure. But, we can learn from how Joseph responded when tempted. Instead of relying on all kind of excuses, we should view our act as sinning against God; an act of disobedience against God. This brings us into the right perspective when dealing with temptation.

Dear Father, thank You for showing to me how giving in to any kind of temptation is an act of disobedience against You- sinning against You. Thank You for teaching me that at times, merely trying to avoid temptation is not enough, I must ‘turn’ and ‘run’ from all things that may lead me to sin and stop making weak excuses that can be easily rationalized under pressure. Lord, I continue to pray for wisdom and strength to guide my every way each day. I pray this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.