Today is the day before New Year. I was thinking on writing something for you, my dear reader. I want to express my wish for the coming year and I also want to write this down, on this page, as a challenge to you.
Maybe you have already made a list of things you want to do in the coming year like more prayer, more fasting, more evangelism,…
Whatever wishes God has put in your heart, I think it is certainly appropriate, yes, even a must for a Christian to add the following wish:
The wish to resist every temptation which the devil puts on your path.
The Bible says:
"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. (...) Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him." - Matthew 4:1,10-11 (ESV)
Because Jesus resisted the devil, we do no longer have to give in to sin. Our old man can be seen as left behind at the cross and we can walk in complete victory over sin!
Paul stated it this way:
"We can be sure that the risen Christ never dies again—death’s power to touch him is finished. He died, because of sin, once: he lives for God for ever. In the same way look upon yourselves as dead to the appeal and power of sin but alive and sensitive to the call of God through Jesus Christ our Lord." - Romans 6:9-11 (Phillips)
James commanded us to resist the devil and he assured us that if we do so, he will run away from us! (read James 4:7)
Paul assured us that:
“God can be trusted not to allow you to suffer any temptation beyond your powers of endurance. He will see to it that every temptation has a way out, so that it will never be impossible for you to bear it.”
– 1 Corinthians 10:13b (Phillips)
So let us no longer make any excuse for giving in to the temptations of the devil! Let us walk as sons and daughters of the Most High! Let us make the devil run away from us! Make it known to him that he is a loser and that he has lost control over our lives!
"May the glory be to God, who alone is wise! May the glory be to him through Jesus Christ forever! Amen." - Romans 16:27 (CEB)
picture source: Amazonaws.
Will you resist the devil like Jesus did?
Will you glorify God like Jesus did?
Choose to resist all sin!
Happy new year!
Read also “The Nobody is Perfect Myth” (for those who believe that one cannot obey God permanently) and “Striving to Bridle The Tongue and Striving to Live Sinlessly” for more general background.
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