Temptation:

In case you're wondering why I have an apple emblem, read on.  The following post is about temptation.  I was originally looking for a picture of an apple, or some sort of fruit to represent this theme...and then I realized that my searches were pulling up this icon instead.

But you know, there is something truthfully ironic in this.  It makes sense.  In this era, modern technology has become our door to many temptations that we wouldn't otherwise have had.  Things that occupy our time and our minds.  From pornography to IM, facebook, email...end yes, even blogging.  Whether your temptations and addictions stares you in the face as you look at your computer, or whether they come in the form of actual food...we are surrounded by temptations, aren't we?  Take some time today to take ownership of your own.


Genesis 3:4-5
“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman.  “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil”

I have come to realize that the most difficult sins to combat are those that come through the softness of subtlety.  Those that are so in line with our natural longings and desires that they sneak their way into our lives.  Those that are so delicately disguised with the taste of truth that our moral pallets can barely tell the difference. 

It makes sense to me that this is how sin entered the world.  It makes sense that the serpent chipped away at a natural, God-given desire, slowly turning the hard stone of truth into a chiseled lie. 

“You will be like God”, he explained.  There is blatant truth in that desire.  You see, to be made in the likeness of God is our highest calling, for we were made in His image.  True obedience, then, is to give oneself to total transformation into His likeness.  God has birthed that desire within us, to draw us to Himself.

And then the subtle lie slipped in.  The lie slipped in, so quickly replacing the desire of being like God, with simply being God.  How easily one can relate to this lie.  A lie that sets the stage for pridefulness and arrogance, blinding us to our true depravity.  A lie that nurtures the seed of control, deceiving us into believing we hold any sort of power.  A lie that quickly shifts our priorities, moving us from Christ-centered to self-centered.  Oh how quickly the lie takes root.  How quickly it misleads. 

What may have started out with good intent led down the path of destruction.  Subtlety.  Delicately.  Dangerously.  We, too, are in the same quiet battle.  Everyday the subtlety of the enemy seeps into our lives, shifting our focus, filling our time, occupying our minds.  He comes quietly, slyly, like a gentle serpent.  If he came with a crashing roar, we would certainly run and hide.  This way, we may never see him until he is there.  Whispering the chorus of temptation into our ears.  Wooing us with words that hold distorted truth.  Nagging on the vulnerability of our natural desires. 

Daughters and sons of God, may we be challenged today, to either look back, or to look forward.  May we be challenged to sift through our day, taking responsibility for where we have strayed.  May we be challenge to shine the light of God’s full truth- exposing the subtle lies that have bled into our lives.  And may we come running into the arms of our Abba, in full restoration and repentance.  There we will find protection.  There we will find safety. 

Thank you, Lord, for your open arms.