The devil made me do it

Just because you are shown the wrong way to go, doesn’t mean you have to go that way. Before GPS, I was going to cover a basketball game with my friend Eddie. We headed to a small town in the middle of nowhere. I printed off my directions and we were on our way. We were confused and ended up asking for directions.

I thought I was about a mile from the school and driving around. The attendant said to go down the road we were on, go around a couple of long turns and the school will be right there. I followed the directions and ended up 10 miles into the middle of nowhere. After realizing we were lost we pulled up to the nearest gas station which happened to be about 10 minutes away.

He told us we drove by it, it was almost a half a mile from the previous gas station. We got to the game by tip off but it was close. After a minute we thought we were going down the wrong direction, but thought it was going to be right there. Our dark path ended up leading us far from where we needed to be. In life we can head down roads we don’t plan on going down. We can be lead far away. Even though we went in a direction we didn’t want to go, it was ultimately our choice to go down that road. If you think about doing something bad, it doesn’t mean you are going to do it. You have a choice.

Temptation is not a sin. The devil might present you a way to go but ultimately it was our choice. 1 Corinthians 10 some of 12 and 13…

“So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

This is hard to study sometimes. If you are tempted it doesn’t mean you will fall into sin. You have a choice. I know in the past I have been tempted to do some pretty ungodly things. You can feel like you have the whole world on your shoulders when it comes to these temptations or urges. You think it’s all on you to defeat this, because this scripture says you won’t be tempted beyond what you can bear. Know this, in order to overcome some sins/desires, it can take help from other people. God can help you through what you feel the Devil is making you do.

What is a temptation of yours? What is keeping you stuck in guilt, making you angry and being withdrawn from other people? You don’t have to bear the weight of the world on your shoulders. We have a God who loves and cares for you. He wants you to overcome the bad in your life. No matter what you feel tempted by, Jesus is there for you. We can over come being deceived by the devil. Start heading in the right direction today.

Have a great day.

Helping a pregnant women with morning sickness

We have the ability to help others out.

It could just be a simple as listening to someone else, some could be a physical act you could do for someone like raking leaves for an elderly neighbor.

Helping others is so amazing for you and for them.

This past weekend I was gone to a youth conference while Hailee battled morning sickness and was out of commission to chase around three crazy and  awesome kids.

Our friend Nathalie helped us out by picking Connor up on Friday night and taking him for the night.

It’s the little things that can be such a big help and really means a lot esp. when there was nothing I could do to help my wife.

Some of the smallest things we can do can be the biggest blessings to other people.

We can help people but not like Peter helped people.

In Act 9: 32-43 there is a story about Peter helping a couple of people out.

The first was Aeneas.

Aeneas couldn’t walk and Peter came by, healed him and instantly Aeneas got up and started walking.

The second was a lovely lady named Tabitha (Also known as Dorcas).

She was known for doing good and helping the poor.

She got sick and died.

Peter was in town and they called for him.

People were in tears crying over the loss of an amazing person.

Peter sent all of the people out and this is what happened in verses 40-41…

“Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive.”

Through God, Peter was able to perform two amazing miracles.

God did amazing things then and he does amazing things today.

Matthew 19:26…

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

He was telling the disciples about a man who couldn’t give up all his possessions and follow Jesus.

He had a discussion about sacrificing for God.

In your life, what do you sacrifice for?

Is it worth sacrificing for?

I think one of the hardest and easiest things is to adjust your time to help someone out.

What can you do to help someone out?

You might now be able to help someone raise from the dead, but you can help in many other ways.

What can you do to help someone else out today?

Have a great day.

You can lie to others but you can’t lie to yourself

We all know things about ourselves that other people have no clue about.

How did this happen?

What causes us to be like this?

My mind is swirling as I read through John 18-15-18.

This section of scripture goes over Peter’s first denial of Jesus.

This is verses 17-18 and starts out with a lady questioning Peter…

“You are not one of his disciples, are you?” the girl at the door asked Peter.

He replied, “I am not.”
It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.”

Peter denied Christ, he spent three years around Jesus then denied that he knew of him.

Is it human nature to be a deceptor?

A sports writer made this claim with all the dives people take in football and pro sports.

Do we naturally try to deceive people?

Once every while I will be at the Church and someone will come up to the Church with a sob story or something broke down and they need help.

I am not a great judge of people as they come through the door and try to help out usually any way I can.

I know people take advantage of me in this area.

It’s hard to judge when someone is lying and telling the truth.

Even one of Jesus followers denied that he knew him.

We do the same thing everyday when we get stuck doing things we shouldn’t be doing.

Do you think people are naturally deceivers?

Sometimes I wonder why God puts up with what we get wrapped up in.

I am still glad there is grace that we get from Jesus.

I love to believe all people have good intentions in life and through Christ they can find that.

I know the world can be a dark place, but there is still so much good to look at.

Have a great day.