Through God, We Control Our Fate (Excerpt from "Things I've Learned From the Word")

Many of us allow temptation to lead us to sin, and when we sin, we are likely to blame God, feeling that he should have protected us from the temptation, or given us the strength to overcome the temptation that led us to sin. We are both correct and incorrect in this assumption, and the bible, in Chapter 1 of the Book of James, explains this dichotomy, beginning at verse 12:

¹² Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. ¹³ Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. ¹⁴ But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

 There will be times in our lives when we will all be pushed to a point of confrontation. Whether it is someone who we work with who is always disagreeable, or someone who we work for who drives us unnecessarily hard. Many was the time when I worked on a job that I wanted to resign because I felt as if the boss was too stern for the level of work that we were doing. I have also been the supervisor who felt as if the staff should have been performing at a certain level and tried to push them, perhaps too harshly, to that level. I have also been a person who endured a good amount of bullying and teasing during my school years. There were those who were jealous of my academic success, and there were those who just didn’t like the way that I looked; but whatever the reason, I was picked on a lot. 

The bible says that the man who perseveres or remains steadfast in the face of trials, will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. So what we see here is that God recognizes that as believers, we will be tested and pushed, but, as believers, God expects a greater level of restraint. Matthew 5:16 says that as believers, we should let our Godly lights shine before men in such a way that they may see our good works, and will glorify the Father who is in heaven. This is to say that we should behave in such a manner that just through how we carry ourselves, others will be inspired by us to give glory to the Lord on their own. 

The reason that the bible says that the man who endures temptation will be blessed is because, as the bible says in verse 13, “God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone”, therefore, “let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’”. God will not tempt us or allow us to be tempted, but God has given us the power to overcome or to look beyond temptation, and to endure the trials that will come upon us as believers in God.

Some years ago, while I was in a neighborhood that was not the most ideal place to be, and while I was waiting for the person whom I had dropped off to return so that we could leave, I was standing next to my car when I was confronted by two armed men. The men demanded my wallet, and I promptly did as I was told. Once the two men ran away from me and got into their car, my next impulse was to get into my car and attempt to follow them, perhaps hoping to draw the attention of the police while I was chasing the robbers. After chasing them through several back allies and neighborhoods, my pursuit was interrupted when another vehicle crossed my path and impeded my progress. Since I no longer knew where the men had gone, I discontinued the chase, but the first thing that I did was to ask God why he allowed that to happen to me, and then I asked God how he could let me make such a dumb decision. 

To read the rest of this passage, pick up a copy of Things That I Learned from the Word @ Amazon.com (goo.gl/nj7ywA)

Follow Eric E. Jenkins on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook @ ericejenkins65 

Every Day IS a Blessed Day (With Excerpts from "Things I've Learned From the Word")

I recently had a conversation with an individual who, at the end of the conversation, told me to have a blessed day. I wished the same blessing on them and I was glad, as I had written recently, that the person was not afraid to believe in God. But as I walked away from that conversation, I started thinking about how I was already having a blessed day because I was alive and able to talk about having a blessed day.

Every time that we wake up, we have been blessed by God because there are many who go to bed only to have their lives ended while they slept. I tell people that having the ability to walk, talk, think, see, hear, touch and smell means that we are blessed. Even if we can only do some of those things and not all of them, we are blessed to be able to have the functions that we have.

I used to work in an office building and every day, I would attempt to park in approximately the same place, which meant that each day, I would pass by the car of a gentleman who truly inspired me. Each morning, the man would climb out of his van and would position himself into his wheelchair. The man had lost both legs and one of his arms, but he would use his one good arm to get himself into his chair. Aside from the fact that each day, I would marvel at the idea that he had just driven himself to work, I was amazed at his independence. He would put himself into his chair and use the mechanical device on the chair to drive the chair to the building. He would never let me open a door for him and he would never let me push an elevator button for him.

People would see him, and would tell me that the felt sorry for the man, and I would tell them not to because I knew that he had been blessed by God. When people asked how I could say that he had been blessed when he was forced to live with no legs and only one arm, I would say that he was still alive, he did not play the victim and feel sorry for himself, and he made the best use that he could of what he had, and that only a person with strong faith could endure in the face of such hardship. It was like the story of Job; no matter what the devil did to Job, Job did not turn his back on God because he knew that God had not turned his back on Job. This man confirmed for me that God blesses us every day, and that every day that we can discuss having a blessed day IS a blessed day.

Follow Eric E. Jenkins on Twitter @ericejenkins65

We Should Strive to Be Imitators of God (Excerpt from "Things I've Learned From the Word")

Sometimes, there are verses in the bible that simply do not require explanation. If I read Mark 12:30, where it says “and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all of your soul, and with your entire mind, and with all of your strength”, that means that in everything that you are and in everything that you do, you should love God. There is really nothing to explain. If I refer to Psalm 37:4, where it says “Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart”, then the bible is saying that if you place God first in your life, and you do it out of love not out of obligation, then God will reward you with everything that your heart desires. The first verse of Ephesians Chapter 5 is similarly self-explanatory.

Ephesians 5:1 says “therefore, be imitators of God”. While some might know exactly what that verse is referring to, others might ask how they can be imitators of God because God knows everything, sees everything and can do everything. Well, if you read further into the scripture, the bible explains the meaning of that verse.

The second verse of Ephesians Chapter 5 says that we should walk in love, meaning that we should show love for everyone in every situation all the time. Consider this; if a person walks in water, with every step that the person takes, his feet are going to get wet. If a person walks in mud, with every step that the person takes, his feet are going to get dirty. So if a person walks in love, with every step that the person takes, love will flow from his very being. This doesn’t mean that we have to be push overs, but it also doesn’t mean that we walk around looking for a fight. It means that we should be polite, respectful and understanding, and treat people the way that we would want to be treated.

What this means is if someone is nice to us, then we should be nice to them. However, if someone is mean towards us, we should try to understand that they might not know God the same way that we do. In this instance, we would show them some kindness and believe that God can soften their heart, and that God can help them to realize that they are living a life filled with hate and anger.

As we read further into Ephesians 5, the text says that immorality and impurity should not be a part of who we are because, as it says in verse 5, the immoral or impure have no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Verse 6 says that we should let no one deceive us with empty words, for because of these things, the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience, so therefore we should not be partakers with them.

As we live today, the world would have us to believe that certain things, things that the bible says are sins against God, or that God would be unhappy with, or that violate the Ten Commandments, or that will not allow you into heaven, are acceptable. However, Luke 11:28 says those who hear the word of God and obey it are blessed. That means that God will bless us more if we hear the word AND live according to the word. Romans 12:19 says that the Lord will enact vengeance against those who have wronged us, so we do not have to seek our own revenge when we are wronged. Just as we turn to God when things are difficult for us personally, we should also turn to God when things are difficult socially.