Skip to main content

“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!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

“God does big things with small deeds.”

A thought by Max Lucado (2011-05-02) from his book, Cure for the Common Life (p. 115). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I don’t know how you feel about what you are doing and how it can make a difference.   You may feel that it is so small and not even worth the effort. Max says, “Begin. Just begin! What seems small to you might be huge to someone else. Just ask Bohn Fawkes. During World War II, he piloted a B-17. On one mission he sustained flak from Nazi antiaircraft guns. Even though his gas tanks were hit, the plane did not explode, and Fawkes was able to land the plane. “On the morning following the raid, Fawkes asked his crew chief for the German shell. He wanted to keep a souvenir of his incredible good fortune. The crew chief explained that not just one but eleven shells had been found in the gas tanks, none of which had exploded. “Technicians opened the missiles and found them void of explosive cha...

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)   Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle?   Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...