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 

We Should Let The Bible Be Our Guide (Excerpt from "Things I've Learned From the Word")

Lots of people will get a new device, will take the thing out of its packaging, and will start trying to use it without knowing what the thing is capable of or how the thing does what it is supposed to do. We will buy a new camera and will immediately start trying to take pictures, and when we can’t figure it out, we get frustrated. We will buy a washing machine, and will immediately pile it full of dirty clothes, only to be confused by all of the buttons and switches on the front of the machine.

I actually once bought a car, and after driving it around for a couple of years, a warning light started showing on my dashboard. I looked at the light and, thinking that I knew what the light represented, I took the car to my mechanic and informed him that I needed a new alternator because the light was on. The mechanic was an honest man, and after checking the car, he told me that my alternator was fine and that I had no problems. I saw the light and insisted that something was wrong. The mechanic told me that he didn’t see a light telling me that the alternator was faulty, but I insisted and demanded that he replace it. The mechanic did what I requested and, after spending around $200 on the repair, drove away with a new alternator, only to have the light come on again after I had been driving for about an hour. At this point, I decided to go to my glove compartment and look in the owner’s manual to see what this light meant. What I found was that my car was low on anti-freeze, and the reason that the mechanic didn’t see the light was because the car was sitting still, so the fluid was not moving around and causing the sensor to react. So I went to an auto parts store, spent $15 on a gallon of anti-freeze, filled up the reservoir and the light went out and stayed out. Knowing that there was no way that I could get a refund on the alternator, I looked at the situation as a $200 lesson, telling me that I should have consulted the instruction manual before going off on my own.

The bible is the word of God, and is the instruction manual for our lives. The bible tells us what we need to do in order to live according to how God desires us to, and it also tells us what will happen to us if we do not obey. Just like the instruction manual for the device tells us how to make the device work, it also tells us what things that we should not do, and what to do if certain things go wrong, because the manufacturer knows that these things could go wrong. When we get saved, like the bible says in 2nd Corinthians 5:17 “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation”, and as a new creation, this means that we have a new instruction manual. 

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

Live Like a Child

Recently, I was in a shop where I needed to pick up some merchandise. The usual procedure here is that I have placed an order, and then I go to the shop, tell them about my order, they bring it to me, and then I sign for it and take it away. Anyway, when I arrived at this shop, there was a little girl there with her father and the girl couldn’t have been more than three or four years old. As soon as the little girl saw me, she greeted me with a very pleasant “hello”, and then, knowing that I would have to sign for my order, she reached up onto the counter in the shop and gave me a pen.

This interaction started me thinking that if more people lived and behaved like children, the world would be a much better place. Now, I am not referring to running around out of control in the name of playing, putting foreign objects into our mouths, and screaming and crying when we don’t get what we want or are told “no”. I’m talking about being pleasant as often as possible, being friendly with perfect strangers, and doing things for people because it is necessary without asking for anything in return. 

Clearly, not every child behaves like this little girl. Many children are either too shy to say “hello” to strangers, and many might not yet be able to grasp the idea of giving someone a pen because they know that the person will need to sign something. However, small children seldom behave maliciously towards others, and are usually less inhibited towards strangers than adults. Small children also nearly always have positive attitudes and are in good moods unless something is bothering them. People need to be happier, more pleasant and more helpful towards others. In other words, people need to be more like children and the world would be a better place.