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“I believe we are most vulnerable to temptation, to doing the wrong thing, when we can justify it the best.”

A thought by Jentezen Franklin from his book, Love Like You've Never Been Hurt:Hope, Healing and the Power of an Open Heart (p. 142). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) 

Ok, but I need justice. Look what they did to me.  I can’t let them get away with it, can’t I?

Jentezen says, “Most people think the greatest temptation Jesus ever faced was when Satan approached Him after His forty-day fast in the wilderness. I believe it happened just before He was crucified.

Garden of Gethsemane
“When Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, He knew that in only a few hours He would be beaten, tortured and hung naked on a cross. He was in anguish as He prayed, sweating drops of blood. ‘My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine’ (Matthew 26:39). After He prayed, Roman soldiers swarmed the Garden and arrested Him. Trying to defend Jesus, an enraged Peter cut off the ear of one of the assembled men.”

Jesus didn’t deserve to be treated that way, did He?

Jentezen goes on, “Jesus had the ability to end this! He could have come up with plenty of reasons not to follow through with God’s plan. And, frankly, no one would have blamed Him! This was His greatest temptation.”

He then says, “The times you are tested the most are when you can justify being ugly, vindictive or outright mean. You can justify, as they say, ‘giving it to people as good as they gave it to you.’ You can justify feeling sorry for yourself because someone you loved betrayed you.

“Your greatest temptation will come with your greatest justification. But what you do not see is that the greater the temptation and the greater the justification, the greater the manifestation of God in your life if you do not yield to that temptation.

He then says, “I have said before that the ones closest to you can hurt you the most. When someone you love wrongs you or breaks your heart, watch your reaction. Resist the urge to get back at him or her. Forgive. If you need to, set boundaries. But you must forgive.”

So, will you?


Yes, yes!
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