Luke 17:1-4 Temptations Come
In our reading today Jesus talks about sin. He specifically addresses the temptation to sin, the heavy burden for those presenting the temptation, and forgiveness.
As long as Satan is free and has dominion over this world there will always be sin. There will also always be temptations to engage in sin. Those temptations can come from any number of sources. Today one of the biggest tempters is our media. We see ads for everything from chewing gum to high end cars, each with their own agenda of getting the consumer to buy their produce. Many of them count on questionable appeals. One that pops in my mind is Orbits gum; “It cleans a dirty mouth.” The innuendo in their commercials is unmistakable and when you see their gum on the grocery store shelves, those images come back to you. But our media isn’t a faceless machine turning out ads designed by other machines. It is living, breathing individuals who are trained to find avenues into our minds. And these trained individuals didn’t come by their knowledge of how to get into our minds by operating in a vacuum. They study our behavior and our choices. We are responsible for creating this “monster.” WE made offering temptation a highly profitable art form.
Jesus pronounced a woe against those who bring the temptation to sin. I am not trying to say that He is going to judge everyone in the advertising industry and pronounce them guilty of causing one of His little ones to sin. What I am saying is there is a consequence for those who bring temptation. I believe there is another factor in pronouncing judgement against those who bring temptation, and that would be their intent. If a person inadvertently brought temptation to another, I don’t believe they would be guilty of causing another to sin. But someone who knowingly entices another to do something that they KNOW is sin, then they are guilty as charged.
Let me throw out a couple of examples. Suppose a famous athlete invites a group of underprivileged kids to join him for the day. He shows them all his trophies and takes them to the best pro shops around. During their outing one of the kids pockets something from the store. The athlete introduced him to a world he could never enter on his own and provided access to goods he couldn’t afford. The kid made the decision to steal something and the athlete wouldn’t be responsible for that choice. He had accidentally or inadvertently introduced temptation into this situation.
Now assume we have the same situation but when the kid pockets the item, he turns to his friend and tells him that no one will notice if he too takes something too. That child would then be purposefully offering up temptation to another to sin. He would be responsible if his friend acted on that temptation.
Jesus told His disciples to monitor their own behavior so they wouldn’t be guilty of offering temptation to others. Jesus also told His disciples to watch one another. Not to try and catch them in every little stumble but to be there to pull them back from the brink. He wants us to call one another on our sins, but to do so with the intent of restoring the person. Jesus says that if they repent they are to be forgiven. Not after they demonstrate their ability to walk sin free but right then. Jesus says that if they sin against you SEVEN TIMES IN ONE DAY and turns to you and asks forgiveness seven times, you MUST forgive them. Jesus doesn’t offer a second option.
Jesus’ reason for this firm directive is that we are to offer the same gift that God gave, and gives every day, to us. He gives us His forgiveness for our sins. “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). He doesn’t hold them over our heads or keep them in a box to bring out later, in case we weren’t really sorry when we came to Him. He removes them forever. He will even forgive the one who caused on of His to stumble, if they repent.
Turn to Him. He loves you and wants to restore or begin a new relationship with you. He is waiting to hear the words “please forgive me” from each of us. Don’t put it off until it’s too late.
Father God, thank You for Your grace and mercy. Thank You for Your forgiveness. Thank You that I don’t have to be perfect or cleaned up before coming to You. You accept me just as I am. Then You work with me on what needs changing. Thank You for not leaving me in my original condition too. I love You Lord and I want to follow Jesus’ command to forgive others. It is not always easy for me and I don’t know where to draw the lines. I don’t believe we are called to lie down and let someone repeatedly trample us, but neither are we allowed to hold unforgiveness against those who do repent.
This is how I see this issue. Please do not take this as gospel. I believe that when someone is repeatedly sinning against me, especially if it is the same sin every time, I have every right to distance myself from them. If they are repentant I am to forgive them, but that doesn’t mean I have to put myself back in their path to be trampled again. If they refrain from sinning against me then we can work on the relationship after that. If someone sins against me and never asks for forgiveness, I still need to forgive them, but I am NOT obligated to restore the relationship. But for my own sake, I have to turn the issue over to God and be willing to accept their offer of repentance, if it ever comes. He forgave me, I can do no less for others.
March 27, 2017 @ 12:07 AM
My developer is trying to persuade me to move to .net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the expenses. But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using Movable-type on several websites for about a year and am anxious about switching to another platform. I have heard fantastic things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can transfer all my wordpress posts into it? Any kind of help would be greatly appreciated!
March 27, 2017 @ 12:11 AM
I’m sorry Alden but I have no experience in this area and can be of no help. Thank you for visiting and commenting anyway. I pray God used your visit to plant His seeds in your life. Feel free to join in anytime.
March 29, 2017 @ 8:28 AM
The crux of your writing while sounding reasonable at first, did not really work properly with me after some time. Someplace within the sentences you managed to make me a believer but only for a very short while. I still have got a problem with your jumps in assumptions and one might do well to help fill in all those gaps. When you can accomplish that, I would undoubtedly end up being impressed.
March 30, 2017 @ 3:00 AM
Thank you for visiting my site Jamila and for your honest feedback. I will be the first to admit that this subject was a little hard for me. There are days when I’m not really sure where things are supposed to be going. This was apparently one of those days. You are in essence reading my journal and I have been known to get side tracked. Sorry for losing you along my rabbit trail. I hope you are not so discouraged that you won’t sample other pages. I would love your feedback on whatever you read. I appreciate honest input. I pray that you will find something within my writing that does speak God’s word directly to your heart. I look forward to reading more of your impressions. Feel free to join in anytime.
March 31, 2017 @ 9:41 PM
I think one of your ads triggered my internet browser to resize, you might want to put that on your blacklist.
April 1, 2017 @ 4:22 AM
Thank you for visiting my site. I’m sorry about the unintentional consequences of your visit. I don’t know which ad you are referring to, so I don’t know which one to be wary of. I’m more than willing to address the situation if you give me more information. Thank you for notifying me of this issue.
On a happier note, I pray you found something in the reading that you enjoyed and can use in your daily walk. Please feel free to join in any time.
April 1, 2017 @ 12:11 PM
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April 1, 2017 @ 2:29 PM
Thank you for visiting my site. I pray you found something to take with you on your daily walk with Jesus. Please feel free to join in anytime.
April 1, 2017 @ 8:37 PM
Hey there just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The text in your content seem to be running off the screen in Opera. I’m not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with web browser compatibility but I figured I’d post to let you know. The design look great though! Hope you get the issue solved soon. Kudos
April 2, 2017 @ 2:41 AM
Thank you for visiting my page. I’m sorry to hear about the browser compatability issue. I will pass this on to the development team and see if they have any answers to this issue. I appreciate the heads up and your kind words of encouragement.
April 3, 2017 @ 10:25 AM
Do you mind if I quote a couple of your posts as long as I provide credit and sources back to your blog? My website is in the exact same niche as yours and my users would really benefit from some of the information you provide here. Please let me know if this alright with you. Cheers!
April 4, 2017 @ 3:02 AM
Hi Jetta,
I would be more than happy to have you quote anything you feel can be of benefit to you and your readers from my page. I claim no copyright over the information provided here because it all came from God. Anywhere I have links or quotes of course came from other sources. The only page I ask for credit on is the poems and such on the Lessons Learned on Daddy’s Lap page. Those are my original works, even though they were inspired by God too. Thank you for visiting my page and feel free to join in anytime!
April 6, 2017 @ 9:55 AM
Hello there! I know this is kinda off topic however , I’d figured I’d ask. Would you be interested in trading links or maybe guest writing a blog article or vice-versa? My website addresses a lot of the same subjects as yours and I feel we could greatly benefit from each other. If you might be interested feel free to shoot me an email. I look forward to hearing from you! Awesome blog by the way!
April 7, 2017 @ 3:15 AM
Hi Dewey,
I’m fairly new to blogging (a year and a few months) and don’t know how to go about guest blogging or what is involved in “trading links.” I visit a lot of other sites when I’m looking for information and always link back to the original post in my writing. I’m going to have to take a look at your site and see our common topics. The site that is listed directly under your comment must not be where you are sharing similar posts. I was unable to view anything besides proxy server information. I’ll send you an email to the address provided instead.
I pray you found something here though that you can personally use in your daily walk with Jesus. Please join in anytime and I look forward to speaking with you regarding your suggestion.
April 7, 2017 @ 11:17 PM
Does your website have a contact page? I’m having a tough time locating it but, I’d like to send you an email. I’ve got some recommendations for your blog you might be interested in hearing. Either way, great site and I look forward to seeing it improve over time.
April 8, 2017 @ 5:13 AM
I don’t currently have one but I just sent a request to my support team to check into this. I would love to hear your ideas as a comment on the page too so that other readers could benefit from your input too. I am open to other’s ideas, even if they differ from my own. I look forward to hearing you suggestions.
On another note, I pray God was able to use my words to speak His truths into your life. Please feel free to join in anytime. I especially look forward to hearing your story of how He is working in your life.
April 11, 2017 @ 2:12 PM
Interesting blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere? A theme like yours with a few simple adjustements would really make my blog jump out. Please let me know where you got your theme. Bless you
April 12, 2017 @ 12:10 AM
Hi Kirk
Thanks for visiting my site. My blog is custom made with a little of standardized pieces too. I use Accelerated Web Solutions to create my page. They gave me the page format and I gave input in how I wanted it changed up to meet my specifications. Sorry, I don’t know if there is somewhere you can download a close approximation, but you can talk with them if you are interested in what they have to offer. Click on the little monster link on the right side of the page to contact them directly.
I pray you found something in my blog content that spoke to you too. Something you can use in your everyday walk. Blessings to you too. Please feel free to join in anytime.
April 12, 2017 @ 5:02 PM
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April 14, 2017 @ 2:14 AM
Hi Tera,
Thank you for visiting my site. I would love to discuss what you liked and didn’t like about this post. I struggled with it myself on a few levels but feel what I finally ended up with is what God was speaking to MY heart that day. I don’t claim He says the same thing to everyone on the issues. We all have areas where we struggle and excel and He meets us where we are in each case. I welcome open discussion of the points I post. I want to hear others’ points of view, even if they don’t agree with mine. Please feel free to state your opinions without fear of reprisal. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on any post.
May 9, 2017 @ 8:58 PM
Fascinating blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere? A theme like yours with a few simple adjustements would really make my blog stand out. Please let me know where you got your theme. Cheers
May 10, 2017 @ 3:21 AM
Thanks for visiting my blog Arden. I had help making my site what it is. I use a hosting company that manages the background stuff like Cascading style sheets and such while I concentrate on content. I had a lot of input on what I wanted my site to look and feel like and I keep it clean by ensuring that each post follows my own standards. If you are interested in learning more about my hosting company and what they have to offer, click on the little monster link on the right side of the page.
On another note, I pray the content spoke to you as much as the layout. I pray you found something you could take with you on your daily walk. Thanks for the comment and please join in again anytime.
May 18, 2017 @ 1:21 PM
Hey there! I could have sworn I’ve been to this blog before but after browsing through some of the post I realized it’s new to me. Anyhow, I’m definitely delighted I found it and I’ll be bookmarking and checking back frequently!
May 19, 2017 @ 3:37 AM
Thanks for visiting my site Rossie. I’m glad you enjoyed your time here and are planning on returning. I pray He touched you in a special way during your visit. I look forward to hearing from you again.
June 17, 2017 @ 3:36 AM
Hi there! Would you mind if I share your blog with my zynga group? There’s a lot of folks that I think would really appreciate your content. Please let me know. Cheers
June 17, 2017 @ 3:48 AM
Thanks for visiting my site. I would love for you to share what you find here with your zynga group. Feel free to share anything you like. I only ask for credit on the pieces of the “Lessons Learned on Daddy’s Lap” page. Everything else is a gift from God for all of us to enjoy. I pray He touches hearts every day with His words through my pen. Please join in again anytime.