Paws for Coffee Hour

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Oh, my goodness! Do you have a four-legged friend? You’ve got to join us today; this is gonna be a good one! Grab your coffee…and your strand of faith and come check out how Jenn ties in yet another spiritual principle learned from her four-legged furry friends!

Temptation

If you have ever had a puppy then you know the look of temptation: That sly upward glance that says I know you are watching me but I can’t help myself. :-)  My puppy Logan gives me that look often.  Sometimes he avoids eye contact, as if he thinks that if he can’t see me, I can’t see him.  It is adorable but I know that I must make corrective action; otherwise, something of ours will be eaten, ripped up or played with.

As I watched him in action and I gave him a stern “No, Logan”, I thought …. Do I do that to God?  Are there little things (or large) temptations in my life that I give into?  Of course I know the answer to that question, large or small these things can derail us from our walk, kind of make us look the other way, take our eyes off of Jesus.

I began to study temptation and this is what I found. 

No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.  1 Corinthians 10:13

While I know that I can overcome in all things through Christ, I have to examine why I am giving in (or contemplating) whatever is tempting me.  The truth is that temptation uncovers what we really want.  Often we believe that we can prove our convictions through facing a temptation but the very fact that we are facing it reveals our true character and convictions.  Where our heart is = where our treasure is.  If you feel a pull to something, then it is responding in your heart on some level.  What we love the most shapes us, good or bad.

For clarification….temptations can be anything from food, to stealing, stress, temptation to worry, too much T.V., other addictions… anything that leads us off of the God-designed path for us.

The bad part is that these temptations end up replacing truth with lies as we try to appear not to be tempted.  Many of us put on the mask of truth so others won’t see our weaknesses.  Our authenticity is covered up and instead of loving God, we love ourselves.

Daily we need to make the choice of “What do I love the most?”  Every action has a reaction whether we cover it up or not.  Take comfort in knowing that EVERYONE has to make these choices each day.  No matter how “arrived” they may seem in their faith, no one has fully arrived until they get before Him.  The difference with those who are more successful with thwarting the temptation is that they have discovered who they are, made adjustments to align with their convictions and walk tall in the presence of Jesus. 

What does temptation say about you?  What would you like to change?  See it nailed to the cross.  Christ offered himself as a sacrifice to free us from our rebellious ways.  He did it for me; He did it for you.

Learning from the gift of four-legged friends,

Jennifer