Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #147

Temptation

James 1

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 13-15) "When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted why, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."

My Thoughts

When you are tempted, have you ever said that God is tempting you? Have you ever said that God is testing you? I do believe that God does test us, but I do not believe that God puts us into those situations. The situations, whatever they may be, do come and God allows them to happen, but He does not cause them to happen.

As James says here, temptation is caused by desire. The desire to have or to do something that you know shouldn't arises, and out of that we are tempted. When we desire strongly for something that we shouldn't have or are denied having, that is when temptation arises If we can't let go of that desire, we give in to temptation, which then leads to sin.

Temptation itself is not a sin. The kind of temptation that James is talking about indeed leads to sin, but we use the word for other things that do not necessarily lead to sin. For example, when you are craving chips or chocolate or you are really wanting to do something specifically special again. You have a strong desire for whatever it is, to which we can be tempted as well. Giving in to the 'temptation' of chocolate is not a sin, but it can become so if you let it.

With that chocolate, if you are craving it or are 'tempted' by it, then just have it. Just don't go nuts with it and eat three or four bars. With chips, just don't eat the whole bag. You can cause yourself harm if you give in to that kind of thing. Now when it comes to being tempted by alcohol or sex or some kind of addiction, do not give yourself a taste because pretty well every single time, it ends up being 'one thing led to another...' kind of story. Just don't do it.

If you do end up giving in to the temptation, and you have that drink or take that pill or look at that picture/video, don't condemn yourself. Especially for an addiction. If you feel guilty, then that's your punishment discipline. Don't think of it as a failure, but rather a fall. This is the reason why:

Failure- The opposite of success. To fail means you cannot succeed. It takes the possibility of success away.

Fall- A temporary setback. To fall means only that your progress is slowed. You can still get back up and keep going.

If you think of these temporary setbacks as failures, then you will never succeed because you are not allowing yourself to succeed. on the other hand, if you'd only fallen down, then get back up and keep moving on. It may take you longer because you fell, but you are not out yet.

Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #137

Destruction and Restoration

Amos 9

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 8) " 'Surely the eyes of the Sovereign LORD are on the sinful kingdom. I will destroy it from the face of the earth--yet I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob,' declares the LORD." (v. 10) "All the sinners will die by the sword, all those who say, 'Disaster will not overtake or meet us.' " (v. 15) "I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,' declares the LORD your God."

My Thoughts

God says in Amos 9 that He will destroy the kingdom of Israel, but not completely the house of Jacob. He says that all the sinners will destroyed. In this case, I believe the sinners are those who continue in their sins and don't care to repent. We are all sinners, so it makes sense to me that it would be those who don't care to repent and think that their ways are totally alright.

Restoration will come after the destruction. God does not destroy His people and leave them there. He may allow them to fall on hard times, but He always restores them. Us. When we sin, it displeases God and that sin must be punished, but God doesn't leave us. He disciplines us and then restores us again in Him.

Sometimes the only way for us to learn from our mistakes to receive that discipline. Not always do we learn anyway, or at least not right away. Usually we do, eventually, even if it takes us a very long time.

Amos 9 is about Israel's destruction and restoration, right? And the house of Jacob is specifically mentioned. So what does Amos 9 mean for us today? I believe that it can relate to us by replacing 'Israel' with our own name, and also 'house of Jacob' and replacing kingdom with our heart.

It means the same thing, but it is talking to us instead of to Israel now. God's eyes are on our sinful heart and He will destroy it from the face of the earth, but not totally destroy Samantha. God will plant Joseph in his own place, never again to be uprooted from the place God has put him.

Those who continue in their sins and don't care to repent or refuse to give it up will not receive eternal life, but destruction in the end if they do not leave it and repent. That is not something anyone should ever want. Give everything to God and put all evil things behind you. Leave it and walk in God's grace instead.  All of us need to do this. It's not easy, especially if you struggle with something, but keep persevering.

Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #126

Confession

Psalm 51

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 4) "Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge." (v. 10) "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." (v. 12) "Restore me to the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me."

My Thoughts

David sinned against God by taking Bathsheba for himself and having her husband killed so that he could. Even David, who was a man after God's own heart,sinned. We all do. David acknowledged his sin though and gave it to God. He still had consequences, like losing his son who he had with Bathsheba. God restored David though, because he sincerely confessed his sin.

When you sin and you re overcome with guilt and you face the consequences of it, you need to forgive yourself and ten ask God for forgiveness. God will forgive you, you need only ask sincerely. If your heart is in the right place, then rest assured that God has forgiven you. Ask Him to restore you as well, and He will most definitely do that.

When David confessed, he did so publicly, I believe mainly because everyone knew about it. What he did affected may people, not just himself or a couple people. When you confess your sin, I don't believe you need to do so publicly. If it something just between you and God, you need only confess it to God. If your sin affected others, then it may be wise to confess to them as well and let them know that you are truly sorry for it and that you have given it to God. Even then, the most important thing is that you forgive yourself and confess it to God.

Confessing your sins is an important part of healing. If you keep it covered up or try to ignore it or pretend it didn't happen, you are lying to yourself and to God and to whoever else it affects. That is like keeping anger or a grudge or sadness bottled up inside. It will wreck you in the meantime and eventually it will erupt. When that happens, it will not be good at all.

To avoid all this, release yourself from sin's grasp and Satan's clutches by forgiving yourself and confessing to God. You really will feel so much better after doing so.

Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #94

Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

Romans 6

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 8) "Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him." (v. 10-11) "The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus."

My Thoughts

When Jesus died on the cross, those of us who believe in Him also died with Him. A part of us died with Him. That part is that which is of this world. Not completely physically, but the sinful nature of us died with Him. Our spirits are very much alive in Him, with Him, because He rose from the dead. The bodies we live in are only temporary and will one day die as well, but our spirit will live on for eternity with God.

Once you accept Jesus, you are no longer a slave to sin, but you are bound to righteousness. God has great plans for us, to use us for His glory and bring blessings to us. We have inherited eternal life with God and our temporary lives on Earth will be much more joy filled for it.

Once Jesus died on the cross, Satan was completely disarmed. He no longer has any power over us, he is no longer a threat to us. The only way he can be a threat is if we allow him to. If we rearm him, we are allowing him to be a threat to us again. Think if Satan had a weapon in his hand and he was forever threatening you with it. This was no ordinary gun though. You never know what could happen if he pulled the trigger. Even if he misses you directly, he can still affect things around you, thereby affecting you, indirectly.

Jesus came along and disarmed Satan, and without that weapon in his hand, Satan is completely powerless. He still tries to harm us with words or by showing us things or other ways, but without that weapon, he can't actually cause anything to happen. The only way he has any power or could possibly harm us again is if we pick up that weapon and give it back to him. You wouldn't do that if someone pointing a gun at you in real life was disarmed, would you? So why would you do it here?

The truth is, we all do sometimes. When we call on Jesus, he comes and disarms him again, and He'll continue to. It's up to us to once and for all walk away. You can't destroy the weapon, but you can keep it away Satan. Don't give it back to him. Don't allow him to hurt you or affect you in any way. Walk away from Satan and follow after Jesus.

Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #59

Your Sin, Your Responsibility

Ezekiel 18

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 5) " 'Suppose there is a righteous man who does what is just and right.' " (v. 9-10) " 'He follows my decrees and faithfully keeps my laws. That man is righteous; he will surely live, declares the Sovereign Lord. Suppose he has a violent son, who sheds blood or does any of these other things" (v. 13) "...Will such a man live? He will not! Because he has done all these detestable things, he will surely be put to death and his blood will be on his own head." (v. 20) "The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him."

My Thoughts

Each of us is responsible for our own sins and not in any way for anyone else's. A child does not share any part of their parents' sins, nor do the parents share any part of their child's sins. Sin is disobedience to God. If a child under the legal age is taken to court or something wrong that they did, then yes, the parents are responsible, legally, because the child cannot act on their own accord, legally. Sin has to do with God, not the law.

So we are looking at this being in God's eyes who is responsible. God is not the law and the law is not God. Authority is given by God, but that's not what we are talking about here. In God's eyes (I use this expression a lot) we are each responsible for our own sins. It does not matter what you, as a parent, do or who you hurt or what wrongs you have committed, your children do not, at any point, take any responsibility or it, unless they actually take part in it. Not in God's eyes.

Your parents are not in any way responsible for your sins as their child. Again, no matter what you do, your parents are not going to be held responsible in God's eyes. Each person will be paid back according to what they, themselves, have done. There is no need to worry that you are at fault for what anyone else has done. There are times when one person does something very serious and tries to push blame off of themselves onto someone else, implicating them, or just to shift focus off themselves. If this happens to you, then as long as you know that you've done nothing wrong, you are alright. It only matters what God thinks, no one else.

We may not all be parents, but every one of us has parents. You do not ever need to worry about anything that your parents bad that is wrong, their sins are their own. No matter how serious your parents' wrongs, even if only to society, you are not responsible for them. People may treat you accordingly, but God does not. God will treat you according to what you have done, no one else.

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Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #38

Respect God's Commands

Ezra 9

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 1) "...'The people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the neighboring peoples with their detestable practices..." (v. 3) "When I heard this, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled."

My Thoughts

The exiles had literally just gotten back to their home and they had already disobeyed God's command not to intermingle with the nations around them. They had wives, husbands, sons, daughters, and the leaders and officials had taken part in this as well. Ezra was appalled upon hearing of this. At the evening sacrifice, Ezra prayed for himself and all the Israelites because of their sins.

God is never happy when we sin, for any reason. Sin is sin, no matter what and sin keeps us away from God. It is disobedience to Him. None of us are perfect; every single person has sinned and will never reach 'perfection.' That word can only fully, accurately describe one person, and one person only: Jesus Christ. God does not expect us to be perfect, He expects our hearts to not cherish sin. We all have sinned and we all will again and again, but as long as we do not cherish sin in our hearts, that's what matters.

The love that God has for us will never diminish, no matter what. That doesn't mean that God never gets angry with us. There is a difference between being human and the mistakes we make sometimes and blatant disregard for God's commands. God has given us freedom of choice so that aren't mindless robots that always do whatever He says, without fail. He has also given us commands to live by. Not suggestions, but commands. These commands are there for us to live by so that our lives are the absolute best that they can possibly be.

God always has our best in mind and when we disobey Him, we stray from the paths that He has laid before us. When we stray form those paths, we fall further and further from God and the good things that He has planned for our lives. It's going to be impossible for us to never sin again, but God is happy with us as long as we repent and our hearts are sorry for it.

Always Obey God's commands. If you don't at least respect His commands. Do not blatantly disregard them because if you don't care, then your heart is not in the right place and you are cherishing that sin in your heart. Don't try to be perfect, but live abiding by the commands that God has given us. It is pleasing to God if we have a heart that seeks after Him.

Previous PostNext Post

Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!