Get Out!

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. 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 endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

Contrary to what some people believe, God doesn't tempt us to sin. He instead works to give us options so that we can choose to deny our common temptations. We fall victim to our temptations when we ignore the warnings He gives us. I believe that God continually gives us a way out, but our choices start to limit the options available to us as we pick the path we will travel.

I liken it to being initially tempted by something and having God give you a garage door sized escape hatch. It's more than big enough for you exit out of without any difficulty. When we make another poor choice towards sin instead of away from it, that opening is reduced in size. Each continual step we make along the path of temptation reduces our options. As we play with sinful decisions we may find ourselves with only a small window left to crawl out of to get away.

It isn't that God wants us to choose to sin--in fact, He will work to provide us with multiple avenues out of it. Our decisions make the way out difficult to maneuver. The choice is still ultimately ours.

Do I Know You?

One of the dangers of today's social networking life is that we spend most of our time discovering other people through their Facebook page. While this can be a positive way to reconnect with old friends and even make acquaintances via friend connections, it does tend to be a bit shallow in terms of knowing people well. It creates a dangerous situation where you may feel that you know someone better than they actually know you. You have looked through their pictures and seen their online observations, but it doesn't tell you the whole story of who they are. In some instances you may even approach them in public and ask about the birthday party they went to last week without them being very clear on who you actually are.

In 1 Corinthians 8:3 it says, "But the man who loves God is known by God." As I read that this morning it caused me to pause and wonder how many people think that they know God because they have grown up in a church or because they attend whenever the doors are open.

Church attendance, Christian t-shirts and the latest Tomlin or Hillsong CD don't get us membership into the God club. It is a love of God that is evidenced by the way that we live. It is a life marked by holiness as we seek to care for others and do what we can to bring them into God's Kingdom. When this is who we striving to be, there won't be that awkward moment when we think that we know God well only to find out He doesn't have a clue who we are.