Day 22

But every person is tempted when he is DRAWN AWAY, ENTICED and BAITED by his own evil desire (lust, passions). Then the evil desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.”

– James 1:14 & 15

Additional Reading: 1 Peter 5:8-9

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1 Peter 5:8-9 (AMPC)

8 Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring {in fierce hunger}, seeking someone to seize upon and devour.

9 Withstand him; be firm in faith {against his onset—rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined}, knowing that the same (identical) sufferings are appointed to your brotherhood (the whole body of Christians) throughout the world.

Close

James 1:14 is very interesting because it clearly describes temptation and sin as a progression. When I read verse 14, I picture us, the body of Christ, much like an active school of fish swimming joyfully and peacefully in unison beneath the surface of the water. Suddenly, we become distracted by something shiny that is wriggling off in the distance. We become so curious that eventually we are DRAWN AWAY from where we belong amongst the other fish, ENTICED by what could be out there. We allow our desire for the unknown and for what we ‘could be missing out on’ to cloud our judgment and blind us from the Truth of God’s Word that we know so well. Before long we end up swimming much farther than we ever intended to swim and staying much longer than we ever intended to stay, away from the safety and security of where we came from. Soon we find ourselves so enthralled by this floating, glimmering, colorfully decorated trinket, that we do not recognize the danger that it poses to our life both spiritually and in the natural.

When we finally choose to consume the seemingly harmless object, we realize too late that it was only a lure and that we have been deceived, and successfully BAITED by the enemy.

Much like a lure in the natural which contains a hidden hook, when we give in to temptation, the potential is there for us to become hooked, ensnared, caught and dragged further and further away from where we were meant to be.

We need to come to a place in our Christian walk where we recognize temptation from afar for what it truly is. We cannot allow ourselves to be deceived and lured, drawn away, enticed and baited by our own evil desires, which will cause us to leave the protection, provision and purpose that God has for us! We need to keep a daily focus on our relationship with Jesus and on the Word of God in order to remain within the boundaries and blessings of God’s hedge of protection which He gladly desires to provide for us!

Fight the good fight of faith!

Jamie