|
|
Overcoming Temptations
|
|
|
Moore's
Chapel Home Missions & Evangelism Devotions
Beautiful Children's
Devotions - Teen
Devotions -
The
Walk To The Cross
|
Love God, Hate EvilLove the LORD, all his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful. (Psalm 31:23) Every Sunday morning was a struggle for Don and Barbara Watkins to get
their son to shine The struggle took on a different tact. “Jim, how much longer are you going to be in the bathroom?!” “Who used up all the toothpaste?” “Where’s that tie I got for Father’s Day?!” After thirteen years of my Mom and Dad’s nagging, bribing, and threatening, I had a brand new motivation to be looking good for Sunday morning - LOVE! In our struggle to deal with sexual temptations, we often try self-discipline and large doses of guilt. But love is the secret to overcoming temptations of all kinds. King David, who had his share of sexual temptations, writes in Psalm 31: “Love the LORD, all his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full. Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD” (Psalm 31:23-24). The Apostle Paul writes, “Pay all your debts, except the debt of love for others. You can never finish paying that! If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill all the requirements of God's law. For the commandments against adultery and murder and stealing and coveting--and any other commandment--are all summed up in this one commandment: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to anyone, so love satisfies all of God's requirements (Romans 13:8-10, NLT).
Once love became my motivation, my parents never again had to worry about me looking and smelling good on Sunday morning. Love satisfies all of God’s requirements.
© James N. Watkins |
his shoes, take a bath, brush his teeth, and wear a tie.
Until, I discovered puberty and Patty Byrd.
Our love for God must be stronger than our love for sin. And if you “ .
. . love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37-38), you’ll find yourself highly
motivated to do what pleases Him.