March 2008
Romans 1:16
“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”
When we trust in God as our Savior it is our duty to live for him. Our lives are then His, and we must not be ashamed to live for Him. In today’s world, it is increasingly difficult to flee from worldly influences and to live for God. On every side there is an opposing enemy. Whether it is different religious ideas, temptations, or persecution, we must not be afraid to stand up for what we believe in.
II Corinthians 1:21-22
“Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”
God will give us the strength to take a stand for Him. We cannot do it alone, and we must always rely on Him for guidance and help. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were able to live out loud for God by not bowing down to worship the false idol. Even though they knew the consequence was death, their reward in heaven would be worth it. But, although they were all right with dying for the Lord, He protected them from the fiery furnace they were thrown into anyway. (Daniel 3) If God can do that for them, then I know that He can protect me. So, what’s to stop me from living my life dedicated to Him? I do not have to be afraid of any earthly consequences, so there should be no fear in serving our God.
James 4:7
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Matthew 5:11-12
"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
So many times, I worry about what other people will think if I say something about my God. Will they laugh? Will they challenge me? Will they completely ignore me? There are so many things that others can do to make you want to keep quiet, but God tells us that we are blessed when we stand up for God. When we, as Christians, honor him and are not ashamed to speak out, we are blessed by God. I’d rather be blessed by Him then escape persecution for a short time. In the end, it’s what God thinks—not what humans think. So we need to make it our goal to live loudly for Him. Speak up for your Savior!
Matthew 5:14-16
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
I once heard an analogy about sharing your faith:
If you knew the cure for cancer, would you keep it to yourself? No! You would tell everyone so that they could be saved from an early death. In the same way, we must tell others about God so that the world can be saved from everlasting death.
One important way to share God is through your life and actions. By living out loud for God and not being ashamed, we can be an example of God’s love and salvation!
*Challenge
This will be my last challenge to you all…
My desire is that you would take what you’ve learned and apply it to your life. With all of these lessons and devotionals, you can truly LIVE OUT LOUD!! J J
(Keep learning and growing in God: it’s a never-ending cycle, for to fully understand God is to limit God.)
February 2008
Fully Rely on God
John 4:16
“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.”
February is often referred to as the month of love because of Valentine’s Day. Throughout my years of school I have come to realize that there are some people that love Valentine’s and some that hate it. It all boils down to whether or not you are currently with someone. I, for one, have never been with someone on Valentine’s Day, and it never really bothered me. One day I realized that there is no guy on earth that can make me feel as loved, as special, and as beautiful as God can.
There are many reasons that girls and women of today feel like
they need a boyfriend or husband. They want to be loved, accepted, and
worth something by another person because they aren’t getting that
need fulfilled anywhere else. Or they are receiving all of that, but
they aren’t accepting none of it. The most powerful love is from God, and if you aren’t fully acknowledging His love, then you will always be disappointed by others. No human can give you what God can, so don’t force that job upon them because they’ll always fail your expectations.
Perfect love, or God’s love, is called agape love. It is described in I Corinthians 13. I want each of you to read this chapter, and then come back to finish the devotional. Even if you have read it before, read it again.
Only God can give us this kind of love all the time. We are
supposed to give this love too, but of course, we will mess up. The chapter
repeats the words always and never many times. We can always rely on God’s never failing love. This is His promise to us.
Once we receive God’s love, then we will be able to love others more fully. It will be God’s love shining through us. I love that! The idea that we can love like God can (with His help) is incredible!
So, when we receive God’s love, our job has changed. It is then time to love others instead of needing and relying someone else’s love. We should share our love and God’s love with others. By relying on God and His love, we are more equipped to do what God calls us to do.
And girls, one last note of encouragement. One day you will
find the man that you will marry and I have faith that if both of you
rely on and love God, then His love for you both will keep you together.
You will be unified in Christ.
*Challenge* If you know that you are relying on imperfect love to make you
happy, then try to realize how fulfilling God’s love is. If you are already relying fully on God’s perfect love to fulfill you, then show His love to others. This is a continuous journey.
Have a Loved Valentine’s Day!
And remember: YOU are loved by the best One there is!
January 2008
Proverbs 3:9-10
“Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.”
Everything that we have, God has given us. We are blessed enormously by Him, and one way to show our gratitude is to give back to Him a little. This is a way of showing our respect, love, and humility to Him. The second part of the above verse shows that God will bless us even more when we give to Him. Think of Job, God threw all sorts of hardships at Him and he was blessed even more than before when He continued to praise and love God.
Deuteronomy 14:22, 23b
“Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year…so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always.”
God commands us to tithe, giving ten percent of all our income. This includes paychecks, allowances, and any incoming money. Offering money to God is one way to give to Him. But most of us, especially the younger GMA girls don’t have jobs or money, but that doesn’t mean you can’t give to God.
Deuteronomy 12:6
“…Bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts…”
God has given each and everyone of you a special gift that we can use to honor Him with. Some of you know exactly what that is, and others might not be so sure. This is what we are to give to God all the time. I know an amazing woman who is unable to give tithes to the church for personal reasons, so she gives her God-given gifts and talents instead.
1 Corinthians 12:4-6
“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.”
The most important thing to remember though is love. God doesn’t want us to give to Him because we feel obligated, just want His blessings, or for selfish reasons.
[see Acts 5:1-11 -- Ananias and Sapphira for an example]
He wants us to give out of love. He has given us so much, the greatest of all being our salvation! It’s incredible to think of all He does for us, and how little we do for Him in comparison. This is a great (and easy) way to show our gratitude and love. Our love should be so great that we want to give everything He has given us back to Him. I believe that this is the true purpose for giving to God.
2 Corinthians 9:7
”Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not
reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
Another thing you can give to God is your time. Praying, praising Him, and studying His Word (or as I like to think of them – God’s love letters to us) are great ways of loving/giving to God. Hopefully you will begin practicing each of these ways of giving to God. Even if you feel like you don’t have anything worth giving. Keep in mind that it’s not necessarily the size of the gift; it’s the size of the heart.
*Challenge*
If you can, use all three ways of giving to God this year. Give your ‘first fruits’ and start at the first of the year. Find out what your gifts from God are if you don’t already know, and use them! Start a quiet time with God, and just spend time with Him. He loves you and wants you to love Him back, and these are amazing ways of showing Him your love.
December
2007
Galatians 5:22-23
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
For the December devotional I had originally planned it to be more Christmas related, but when I would start to think about it and write it; it just didn’t feel right. So instead, I’d like to talk about those little things that sometimes just feel like they’re missing in our lives.
This past month of December hasn’t been the best for me; everything just seemed to go wrong. It will always amaze me how my GMA counselors could see through my fake smile to my troubles though. During our last meeting before Christmas one of my counselors handed out little magnetized stones with a fruit of the spirit engraved on them. She took one look at me and said, “I think you could use some Peace.” A little later another counselor went around the circle we all had made and asked each girl to tell what they would want for Christmas if money weren’t a problem. It was about time to go when this started, and I ended up not having to answer. But I did figure out what I wanted most, happiness.
Well when Christmas morning came around, there wasn’t a box of joy sitting underneath the tree with my name on it. I wasn’t very surprised. A few days after Christmas I laid in my bed, wide-awake, because I just couldn’t go to sleep. Then I realized my mistake. All this time I had been thinking to myself “If only I hadn’t done this,” or “Maybe that should’ve been different.” I was trying to solve all of my problems by myself, and I wasn’t letting the one who was really able to solve them help me.
I Peter 5:6-7
“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”
We, as humans, are not strong enough to fix everything ourselves. We are imperfect, so our solutions are too. In order to restore whatever it is we need in our life, we must rely on God and His perfection. That night, I had to give up and give my problems to God. This truth has been on ongoing battle for me, so I believe that I can’t be the only one struggling. Whether you need joy, peace, forgiveness, love, stress, or something totally different, God can help. Now I’m not saying that all my problems disappeared the next day, but I knew that I didn’t have to worry about them anymore. That realization has helped me find happiness.
Matthew 6:33-34
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
*Challenge*
Each of you most likely already know what you need to give over to God. So I challenge you to give it to Him, and find (fill in the blank)! J
November 2007
II Corinthians 9:7b
“…God loves a cheerful giver.”
I absolutely love the fall. Not only does it have some great weather and breathtaking, vibrant colors associated with it, but it also holds some great holidays. (Including my birthday!!) Anyway, fall –at least in Texas-means Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Now I’m not the biggest Halloween fan, except for the costume part because I love to dress up, but the other two are pretty amazing holidays! And, personally I can’t stand the way Americans tend to just skip over Thanksgiving and jump right into Christmas. Have you ever noticed that? Right after (and I mean right after) Halloween, the stores put out their Christmas decorations and the Christmas station starts to play Jingle Bells. Now don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas songs and décor, but I think we need to take some time out for Thanksgiving. So that’s why I’m going to talk about it.
What is the point of Thanksgiving? To give thanks right…well duh. We’re celebrating the whole pilgrims/Indians helping each other and prosperity in the new world. At least that’s what I was taught in elementary school. Now, during thanksgiving people mainly focus on the food. There are few people that actually take time to think about what they are truly thankful for, but I’m going to have faith in all of you and assume that you have the ‘thanks’ part down. There are so many things that I’m thankful for, but then I thought, “I don’t just want to be thankful, I want to make thankfulness occur.” But how do I do that? The answer was right in front of me. It’s even in the word thanksgiving. GIVE. People are thankful for what others have given or done for them. It is so easy to be thankful, so we as Christians need to make thankfulness by giving. We also shouldn’t expect anything in return, but that’s a different lesson. Anyway, our goal during this time of year is to be the reason behind the season. We are the cause and thankfulness will be the effect. Get the picture? In order for America to truly show it’s Thanksgiving spirit, there will have to be some bright, young people out there making it happen. And guess who they are…the GMA girls of America of course!!!! I know that many of you already have the giving spirit, and if that is the case then my purpose is to encourage you further, and if not, then Happy Giving!!! Try it, and I bet you’ll find that it is more satisfying and longer lasting than that table of Thanksgiving food.
Challenge*
Hmmmm…I wonder….
Spread the joy of thanks by giving! J
October 2007
Luke 10:19
“I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.”
Everyone in this world has areas in their lives that are not of God. We aren’t perfect, but we should all try to be perfect, or Christ-like. In order to do this, we have to be able to realize what unholy spirits are in our lives. We must evaluate ourselves and ask God to show us what needs to change in our lives. This can be addictions, jealousy, bitterness, anger, fear, rebellion, and lack of self-control. These are just a few of them.
We need to get rid of these spirits, and stay rid of them. They prevent us from getting that much closer to God. But remember, you can’t fight the fight alone. God will be your soldier. Come against them in prayer and scripture. You must be filled with faith when you go to cast them out through God. In all the stories in the Bible where demons are cast out, faith is involved. (Matthew 17:14-21)
Whenever I would get scared when I was little, usually at night, my mom would come and pray with me. She would always say, straight to my fear and the devil, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.” She would speak directly to the devil and cast him down through God. I would always feel better after that… Jesus showed this example by speaking to the demons inside of people and casting them out. (Mark 5:1-13) Jesus always showed complete control and faith that what he was doing was going to work. When reading the stories in the Bible when He would cast out demons, I always saw Jesus as a kind of superhero. He always knew He was going to win. The demons were terrified of Him. That’s how we should be because that same Jesus is still on our side today.
After ridding ourselves of these spirits, we must keep them away. Once you get rid of one, I believe there is a sort of empty space that it used to occupy. Your new job is to fill this space, so that there is no room for the spirit to come back to. What do you fill it with? God. Memorize scripture, do charity work, find something new to do for God.
Matthew 12:43-45
"When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation."
Challenge*
Find an unclean area in your life. Seek God’s help in cleaning it up.
September
2007
Matthew 6:25-34
25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of it’s own.
So, school has started again, and if your first few days were anything like mine were, you’re running on chocolate/coffee. Your pick! My life is pretty stressful right now, and most days I don’t get home until 9:00, and then I have homework. This is a time in my life that I start to worry. I worry about not getting my homework done, getting good grades, getting into the school play, band stuff, and of course GMA. Some of you may not have as much stuff going at once as I do, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have your share of worries. Whether it’s school, home, church, or something else there is something. And I don’t believe that there is anyone that can deny that.
What do we do about it? Read Matthew 6: 25-34 once more, and really think about it.
When I read this I feel like God is just telling me, “Duh, Rebekah! I’m here, what do you think my job is? I’m supposed to take care of you; not you take care of yourself! Take advantage of me! I am here!” I just envision him shaking his head at me lovingly, and telling me to calm down. The verses mention that God takes care of grass and birds, so He’ll take care of you too. I want you to really think about that. How many times a day, or even a month do you think about birds and the grass and what their needs are? I mean, come on, there is a lot more important things to think about (especially in God’s case!) Yet, God takes care of them, and pays special attention to them. So, if God does that for them, He’ll do a zillion times more for you, right? RIGHT! So we need to stop worrying and just let God take care of us.
1 Peter 5:7
7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
I have to repeat this verse to myself several times a day, and take a few breaths. I’m a perfectionist; I’ll admit it. So I like to have control, and God wants us to just let go. But also, we need to realize what’s really important and what’s not. So this brings me to my challenge!
*Challenge
I want you to make a list showing what you worry about the most. (#1 being the most prominent) Then, I want you to make another list showing what you should be focusing on. [Be completely honest. No one else will see it, and God already knows your heart. The worst thing you can do is lie to yourself.] This will show you what is really important in your life, and you just might realize that you are worrying about something that really isn’t that important.
August 2007
Matthew 6:33
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things [material things] will be given to you as well.”
In life there are always things that take up time in your life. For example, you have school and/or work, GMA, extracurricular activities like sports or band; then there’s friends and family, and all of the things you do in your free time: television, computer, shop, eat, and so on. Once you start to think about it, there are lots of different things you do everyday. But the question is, “What do you spend the most time on?” Are you one of those people that sit around and watch television almost all day? (I have to admit that there has been summer days that I have done just that.) One of the things that we as Christians need to realize is that the things we spend most of our time on, or our lives are centered on is what we are putting first in our lives.
Read Matthew 6:33 once more. God tells us to seek His kingdom first. Our thoughts and actions need to bring glory to Him and to His kingdom. Now I’m not saying that you need to give up your computer, sports, and television, or anything like that. I’m saying that we need to stop and take a second to think about what really comes first, second, and third in our lives. This is called prioritizing. Realizing what your priorities are will help you make necessary changes in your lifestyle. Changing is always a hard thing to do. But it’s no good knowing that you’re not focused on God and doing nothing about it. Now don’t expect to change your habits and daily routine right away though. This will take time and you’ll need a lot of help from God. But don’t get discouraged, for Joshua 1:9 (my favorite verse) says, “Have I not commanded you be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you may go.”
As you get ready to start school again, and all of your activities start up; keep in mind what your priorities are. You’ll be spending lots of time at school and you can’t do anything about it, so you need to bring Jesus with you to keep Him number one. He’s a necessary school supply!
*Challenge*
Make a list of your priorities now. What do you spend most of your time on, what are your thoughts focused on? BE HONEST with yourself!!!!! There’s no point whatsoever in lying to yourself!!
Then make a list of what you want your priorities to be.
(Make #1 most important, then #2 and so on.)
July 2007
Sometimes they’re childish, silly, and don’t really matter in the end (like the above), but most of the time they have negative effect on you and others. We’ve all heard and maybe even used the classic, “My dog ate my homework” which no one ever believes. Even if they are silly you still shouldn’t make them in the first place. “What’s wrong with making excuses” you ask. Well let’s see…
Ephesians 4:25
“Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.”
First of all you could be lying. We do this especially when we’re younger. We make up lies to cover up for our mistakes. Now sometimes there are legitimate reasons that serve as an excuse for whatever it was you did. But usually, when we’re past the silly lie stage, we do what Ruthie did in the comic. We twist our actions and other people’s words to fit our dilemma. Yes, Ruthie’s mom didn’t say to get the sand out of her pants, but Ruthie knew that she didn’t want it anywhere. She decided to take her mom literally instead of doing what she knew was right. When you do this kind of thing, you’re lying to yourself by telling yourself that what you did or are doing is acceptable when you know it’s not. We’ve all done this, and there’s no denying it because then you’d be making another excuse.
Genesis 3:12
“The man said, "The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."
Also, when you make an excuse you’re not taking responsibility for your actions. You’re blaming someone or something else for what you did. This is what Adam did when he said that it was Eve’s fault that he ate the fruit. Have you ever heard the expression “You can lead the horse to the water, but you can’t make it drink.” Well that’s a great way to explain that there’s no way that Eve made Adam eat the fruit. He blamed her for his sin.
One of the things I try to do is say “No excuses” when I’m confronted. I say this even when I do have a real excuse sometimes. For example, my teacher may have given me some homework and later that day my grandpa had to go to the hospital, so my family went to see him. Now, the next day at school I could just tell my teacher that my grandpa was in the hospital, or I could say “No excuses” because I probably could have finished the homework in the waiting room. Even though my teacher might accept the excuse doesn’t mean that you have to when you know you could have done something about the situation. So basically, we just have to grow up sometimes and take the blame when we deserve it.
Also, making excuses can keep you out of God’s will. God asked Moses to speak on His behalf and Moses made an excuse in Exodus 4:10. “Moses said to the Lord, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue." Because he made this excuse, God had his brother Aaron do what Moses had originally been assigned to. Take this example and be careful that you do not make the same mistake and miss out on a God-given opportunity and blessing.
You’ll also feel a lot better about yourself if you handle the situation without making some dumb excuse. Others will look at you as a more mature person also. Only someone who has ‘grown up a little’ can take the responsibility of his or her own actions. So next time you’re tempted to make an excuse, just say “No excuses” and may be an “I’m sorry” will help too.
**Challenge**
Use the No Excuse Policy and evaluate yourself to see if there’s anything you may be making an excuse about; either to yourself or others.
June 2007
Matthew 28:19-20
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Hopefully you have noticed that in the title the “m” is in capital letters while the ‘g’ and the ‘a’ are not. Well, the letters GMA stand for Girls Missionary Auxiliary, correct? So what do you think I’m going to talk about – the missionary part of course!! This is the most important part of our group’s name. It shows our emphasis, our purpose. We are not just girls in an auxiliary. We are girls who need to be ready and prepared to reach out and mission to those who need it. I want to encourage you to not stop the mission work after you’ve filled out all of your “My World’s” and et cetera. The mission part of who we are shouldn’t stop after our local, district, state, and national meetings. We need to be missionaries every day, and in everything we do.
Now normally, when you think about missions what do you think of? Great missionaries like Darlene Carey, far-off places like the Philippines, or do you think of the unexpected – home. Today I want to challenge you to be a missionary right in your hometown. But, I guess some of you are saying, “Well, Rebekah, I’m only (your age here). How can I possibly do that?” While others are saying, “I don’t need to hear this. I already am a missionary in my hometown.” Well if you’re the last one then I congratulate you, but your next goal is your city, (it never ends), so you still need this devotional. And if you’re the first one then you need to keep on reading too.
So how do you do it, you say. First, you can start by simply praying for those around you. See, it’s not so hard. Then, you can use that creative mind that God gave you. Get with your GMA group and plan mission projects like volunteering at the local outreach center, food bank, animal shelter, or thrift store. Don’t limit yourself to Christian establishments only; the non-Christian places are the ones who need you the most. Raise money for missions by organizing car washes, bake sales, craft fairs, and church-wide dinners. Go around and put tracts with a piece of candy in your neighborhood’s mailboxes. Leave a note with the tract inviting them to your church. At school, you can share Christ with your friends, or at least witness to them by your actions. This means live in a Godly way and your peers will see the difference in you. Start a Bible study group after school with some of your Christian friends. If your school won’t allow this then just simply meet at someone’s house. Never let the obstacles that will come your way (and believe me, they will come) get you down.
Remember though, most of this stuff will be hard to do alone. That is why this is the Girls Missionary Auxiliary. Get your group and even your church to help you out, and you’ll be able to make an even bigger impact on your community.
Once your comfortable with your town, widen your circle. Start volunteering at citywide organizations. Once you’ve conquered your city, start on your state, nation, and eventually worldwide missions. Go to other towns and churches and let them know of the need for money in missions. Eventually you’ll have people from different churches helping you raise money to send to missionaries. Missions take a lot of time and effort, but they’re definitely worth it. Don’t believe me? Well, then you’ll just have to try and see for yourself.
One last note, when you move to a bigger mission area like your state. Don’t forget about the smaller ones, in this case your town and city. You need to keep up the work that you are doing there too.
**Challenge**
I’ll give you one guess as to what this challenge is…
GO OUT AND START BEING A g. M. a.
Temptation - May 2007
Matthew 26:41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
The devil’s traps and lies are one of the scariest things for me. I don’t know about you, but when I think about all of the people who end up believing in Satan’s lies; it frightens me. I think that if it was that easy for them to believe, then how easy will it be for me to. In a way, temptation was the cause for all sin to come into the world. The devil tempted Eve in the garden, and she didn’t resist. Therefore, sin has been in every single human’s life except Jesus’. Talk about something with powerful consequences.
So how do you recognize temptation, and how do you stop it? Primarily, we can know that the devil tempts us on our desires. Take a look on your own at Matthew 4:1-11. Jesus was tempted three times on his lust of the flesh (bread), his pride of life (showing that He is Christ), and lust of the eyes (gaining the world). If we can recognize a temptation by realizing it is fulfilling our will and not God’s, then we will be able to stop it faster. So let’s take a look at how you stop it. Reread Matthew 4:1-11. What does Jesus do every time after the devil tempts him. He quotes scripture!! This is a perfect example of why you need to memorize Bible verses. They are written for a reason, so use them!! Another thing that you can do is pray to God and praise Him. The devil hates this because you are showing your loyalty to God and not the devil, and he will want to leave you faster if you annoy him.
James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Lastly, I want to finish on an encouraging note. The following verse has brought me so much comfort, and I want to try and persuade you to commit this one to memory even though you’ll memorize it in your Imperial Queen step (which I know you will all get to).
I Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
This verse promises that God isn’t going to let you become overwhelmed by temptation. God won’t let the devil go overboard when he tries to tempt us. Doesn’t that just make you happy? This is where the fatherly aspect of God is truly visible. He wants to protect us, and He’s going to be there to help us when the devil does tempt us. He will not abandon you and make you fend for yourself. Praise God!!
**Challenge**
Make a list of your lusts of the flesh, eyes, and the prides of your life. This will let you know the things that you need to be aware of. Make a resolution to memorize extra scripture verses. This means not just the ones in your GMA lessons.
Overcoming Pride - April 2007
Proverbs 11:2
“Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom”
Do you remember in elementary school and even up to now hearing people talking about how “stuck-up” so and so is, or how they think they’re “all-that?” I’m sure you all know exactly what I’m talking about. It seems like we always point out the faults in others instead of looking at ourselves. But really, by saying what’s wrong with someone else’s attitude points out the fact that we don’t think we have those faults. Therefore, that would make us the conceited one, and then we’re no better than them.
Pride can seep into our hearts and minds in so many different ways, and sometimes we don’t even realize it. (as in the above example) God calls us to be humble and servant-like.
Philippians 2:3
“Don’t be selfish; don’t live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself.”
Jesus gave a prime example of this when He washed His disciples’ feet. He was serving them instead of thinking that they should serve Him since He is Christ and is the one who really deserves that honor.
I want you to think about a servant’s position in life. They are the lowest of the low. They have nothing to boast or brag about. Even if they did have something to brag about, they wouldn’t because it wouldn’t be their place to do so. That is exactly how it should be with us. Yeah, I know you’re probably thinking, “But I’m not the lowest of the low, and I do have a lot of stuff to be proud of!” I know you do, and I’m glad for you. But we have to remember the last part I mentioned about a servant. When you have something to be proud of, it’s not your place or right to brag about it. It is not your accomplishment, but it’s God’s. God gave you all of your talents and abilities. As a child of God, everything we do should be given to Him and He should receive all the glory; not us. We have to let go of the mindset that we should get praised for our accomplishments. I know that this is a very difficult thing to do, but you’re not alone. You have God, your GMA counselors, and parents to help you.
Another way to practice humility is to be anonymous. Don’t be like the celebrity that tells the whole world that they gave millions to a charity or brags about how great they were in some movie, but be the person who sends gifts to people without a card or doesn’t mention that they received a prize for their work. Leave people wondering who did that good deed or who got that reward. Then, on your own, praise God for giving you the ability to bless someone else, or to get that good grade on the test. Besides, it is much more fun this way. If you don’t believe me, then try it and see for yourself.
So remember, be humble, be anonymous, and give God the glory. This is a sin that you CAN overcome; it will take work, but keep the faith.