Daily Devotional: Thursday, Feb 18

Speaker: Ben Sigman

Theme: Goodness & Faithfulness

Weekend Music links on iTunes: Just the Same by Northwest College; Runby Hillsong United; To the Ends of the Earthby Hillsong United; From the Inside Outby Hillsong United; Love Never Fails by Brandon Heath.

Read: 2 Samuel 11:1-17; James 1:14-15

Think: As part of his message Pastor Ben talked about the kind of love that remains faithful - and an important way in which that occurs:  through staying away from the edge.

I must confess when Pastor Ben started speaking about avoiding sexual temptation I thought ‘Why me? Why the week I'mwriting the eDevotionals?' As I listened, I realized while Ben was talking about staying away from the edge in regard to temptation and sexual sin the principles apply for many areas of temptation.

In our passage for today's "read" section we discover how King David began by watching a woman bathe and ended up an adulterer, a murderer and distanced from God. Sometimes getting close to the edge makes it way too easy to jump over! How close to the edge do we go? Surely David was rationalizing his late night observance as just being curious about who this beautiful woman was perhaps...  David should have stayed away from the edge and gone back inside when he saw her in a private moment. If he had simply avoided (fled) the temptation he would have avoided the slippery slope he went down. Self control is easiest when the temptation and cliff edge are further away so the decision to avoid has to be made long before the opportunity presents itself.

Most of us have been on diets but how many would go to Cold Stone while on one? We could rationalize our choice to go inside by saying we were there just to be with people... to see the ice cream choices... or just for a teeny tiny taste of a few flavors maybe? We can easily see ahead of time putting ourselves in tempting situations is just not sensible. It's not rocket science - but it is plain and simple common sense!

The key to avoiding falling off the cliff from temptation to sin seems to be to set your boundaries well ahead of time. You will help protect yourself from overwhelming temptation - that which is more than you can handle - and prevent the trap of sin.

Do: Consider the area(s) in which you are especially vulnerable to temptation. (Sadly we all have them to some extent.) Decide right now what boundaries you need to put in place to keep you far away from the edge! Now tell a trusted friend so he/she can be part of your plan to stay away from the sin that "so easily entangles" (Hebrews 12:1).

Pray: Lord, I ask you to convict me of areas in my life where I am too close to the edge or at risk of falling into sin against You. I seek Your wisdom and guidance as I put boundaries in place. Thank you for those around me who can support me and help me stay true to You and Your plan for me. Amen

The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.

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