February 23 – Taking the Escape Route

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”  - 1 Corinthians 10:13 (ESV)

Being tempted by our enemy the devil has been promised by Jesus (Luke 17:1 NLT) to all who have received Jesus by accepting His gift of salvation and eternal life.  We learned from the first letter by the Apostle Peter (1 Peter 5:8 ESV) to be on the alert because the devil is perpetually seeking to take us down.  But these are God promises in today’s verse. They help us stand firm against our enemy.  1) All temptations we encounter are common and others have experienced them.  2) God is faithful.  3) God does not allow us to be tempted beyond our ability to endure the temptations.  4) God always provides an escape route for us.  5) Because we have that escape, we can endure the temptations and we do not have to give in to them.  Next time today, and tomorrow, because it happens to all of us every day, when we are tempted, consider these promises. While the temptations come at us from the devil, the promises are from God and He empowers us to resist them one and all.  Resisting is how we fight the enemy. 

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January 5 – Tested to be Perfect

“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”  - James 1:2-4  (NASB)

Our selected verse today is one that we might acknowledge as a familiar verse but would rather not sometimes.  Trials in our lives can be petty or pretty severe.  Often we look for a way of avoiding having to put up with the testing a trial brings to us.  How can we consider them to be times of “all joy in our life” when they bring us to tears or frustration? We  might struggle with understanding this command to do so.  Yet, the truth of the promises in these verses give us reason to hope and to obey.  These trials have one purpose, to test our faith and to strengthen our endurance. ‘Steadfastness’ and ‘perseverance’ are also used in this verse.  It is part of the process that God uses to make us 'perfect' – a word when used this way does not mean without fault but means finished, mature, brought to its end.  When we can endure trials and testing joyfully, we have come to understand that in Christ, we are truly lacking in nothing.    

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November 7 – Ability to Endure

“No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”  -  1 Corinthians 10:13 (NASB)

Do we truly understand as Christians, our faith in God will be tested? The tribulations, temptations and testing of our confession is always bearable with God's help.  Our promises in this passage reminds us that God is watching over us for our best.  But our best does not mean the easiest path to avoid testing of our faith in God.  Our First promise is that we will never be tested by anything uncommon to the testing people face.  Others have endured the same testing that we encounter in our lives.  Our Second promise is God's faithfulness to protect us from any testing we are unable to endure.  Whatever our test is, God provides what we need to stick it out with His help. Our Third promise is that God will give us an escape plan – not always to escape the testing but to escape the consequences of failing to trust Him and falling instead for the temptation to bail out.  Our escape is the ability to endure and trust Him through it all. 

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March 22 – Standing Firm to the End

“He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  1 Corinthians 1:8 (NIV)

Our verse today is a promise from the first letter the Apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth. The Christians at Corinth had become God’s children when they listened to Paul’s preaching to them and believed in Jesus as a result. Paul knew that as he traveled he would leave believers behind and he knew that they would face trails and temptations and that God would take care of them. None of us can live our Christian lives by ourselves in our own strength but we can trust in God to help us stand firm in the face of testing. His promise is that He will keep us firm and He will keep us that way until the very end when because of Him we will be counted blameless. No matter what the situations are that we face today our Lord knows our needs. He knows when we feel weak and we can receive strength when we remember that God has promised to keep us firm in our faith to the end – and He will do it. 

August 28

“But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.” Psalm 5:11 (NIV)

There is a joy which comes from trusting in the Lord. The songwriter, David, experienced this and he longed that others might also know this joy. It is true that those who take refuge in the Lord will find that He spreads a protection over them. It is not like an inanimate refuge, like a cave or a fortress. God actually acts to protect us when we come to Him for refuge. We need to be aware of this action by the Lord. When we seek His protection from trouble, discouragement, temptation, He personally acts on our behalf. Is it not good reason to rejoice?