Father, a snippet of today’s Puritan prayer would be my prayer this day,
“While Jesus is representing me in heaven, may I reflect him on earth,
While he pleads my case, may I show forth his praise.”
For all You have done, are doing, and will do for me, Father, and out of my love for You, though it is but a minuscule fraction of Your love for me, may I reflect and praise You with the entirety of my being! Amen.
James 1:12-15 (<<click here)
Now, there is something that plagues us all, Lord, temptation! On this side of eternity, we cannot escape it. It is always just around the corner ready to pounce. And in our own strength, we will ultimately succumb to its ravages. Obviously, I have a bit of experience dealing with temptation…we all do. But can we blame God or anyone else for tempting us? Not at all! Verses 14 and 15 make a very clear statement.
“Temptation comes from our own desires, which entices us and drags us away. The desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.”
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23
Temptation is all too real and sin is the ultimate outcome. But, all praise to You, Lord, we are not defenseless! Your Holy Spirit lives in all who have confessed our sins and have given our lives over to You. The instant temptation is there, He is there to help us. If we will but listen to His guidance we can stand firm. He gives us the strength to say no and if it’s best to do so, to run from its influence. Through Your presence in our lives, we can be victorious.
And if we fail to listen and we are enticed and dragged away, all is not lost.
“…if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” 1 John 1:9
Lord, with Your death You paid the wages for our sin. Thank You is not enough. And even though we deserve to die for our sin, we are offered not our just wages but the gift of eternal life through You.
Thank You, Lord, for all You do and all You are. May I grow stronger in my faith every day so that I may live for You and shine forth my light for Your glory! Amen.
Aug 8th, Mon, 6:06 am
