August 1
“Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:7-8)
We could say more about each of the twelve principles individually, but here we will stop and summarize where we have been. Twenty four principles overall, with twelve related to rebuilding our relationship with the Lord – akin to the “submit to God,” “draw near to God,” “cleanse your hands,” and “purify your hearts” statements in the verse above. Twelve more principles are related to resisting the devil when he tempts us, or how to respond when we find ourselves being tempted, akin to the “resist the devil” statement in the verse above. The principles are, again,
A. REBUILD your relationship with the Lord. (Preventative measures to minimize the severity and frequency of temptation)
- REVERE God and fear Him.
- REPENT and confess your sins to God.
- REMOVE anything from your surroundings that makes you stumble.
- RENEW your mind daily in the Word of God.
- REKINDLE a zealous love for the Lord.
- REDEDICATE yourself to God as a living sacrifice.
- REGAIN the fullness of the Spirit.
- RECOMMIT yourself to full obedience and service to God.
- READY yourself and prepare for temptation.
- REINFORCE the defenses with unceasing prayer.
- RECRUIT and accountability partner.
- REST in the Lord, trust Him completely, and wait patiently for Him.
B. RESIST temptation when it comes. (React quickly and decisively to defeat temptation and avoid sin.)
- RECOGNIZE temptation; do not be ignorant as to what sin is and how you are tempted.
- REALIZE the potential consequences and opportunity temptation brings.
- REMEMBER the pain, destruction, wrath, and judgment that results from sin.
- RECITE scripture and rebuke evil in the Name of the Lord.
- REFUSE temptation immediately, decisively, and persistently.
- RETREAT immediately from sources of temptation; FLEE!
- RECKON yourself dead to sin and alive to God.
- REQUEST God to help you.
- RESOLVE to overcome at all costs.
- REPLACE fleshly thoughts with spiritual thoughts.
- REJOICE and give thanks for all God’s blessings.
- REVERSE the fleshly momentum; reorient your life in the Spirit.
How are you doing in these areas? If you were to pick one or two that stand out to you as the easiest things that you can start changing today, what would they be? If you were to pick one or two that may take a lot of work but which you think would result in the greatest improvement in your ability to overcome temptation, what would those be? Tomorrow we will explore some suggestions for making changes that will enable us to better resist temptation long term.