Do you remember the series of “Just Say No” commercials that was prevalent in the ‘80’s and early 90’s? The commercials were part of a “War on Drugs, Sex and Violence” campaign to encourage children to stay away from illegal drugs, premarital sex and violence.  

If  you took that slogan and searched for something similar to it in the Bible, I  would imagine it would say, “Yield Not to Temptation”.  
  
First Corinthians 10:13 says “No temptation has overtaken you except that which is common to man; but God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make a way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.  
 
I took all of the letters that spell, TEMPTATION, to introduce us to some of the things that can open us up to TEMPTATION.  

Tony, Tommy, Toby, Tasha, Tina and Tammy – Check out the company you keep

EGO – You always have to be the center of attention or right about every  topic.

MOUTH – Speaking your mind at the wrong time using foolish words.  
 
PRIDE – Are you really always right?  

TELEVISION – Living vicariously through someone else’s produced “reality” causing us to come up with vain imaginations regarding our own lives.

ACCEPTED – Insecurity.  Not knowing you are love by God.

TALK– Listening to gossip.

 INTERNET –  This is not a place to take a “surfing” vacation  

O - Can you think of One? 

N – Just Say NO –If it is going to cause you to sin. Just say NO to family, friends and  co-workers. 

Below  I have added an interesting article regarding TEMPTATION.  Check it out by clicking the READ MORE link (on the right side of the page) and let me know your thoughts.

Grace & Peace!

FASTING 

Fasting is abstaining from food for a spiritual purpose. 

Fasting is not a tool to twist the arm of God so that He will give you exactly what you want. Fasting has a spiritual purpose, and that purpose is to get your flesh out of the way so that the Spirit of God can move in your life. Fasting removes the barriers to communication with God and allows the spirit man to commune directly with the heavenly Father – without disturbance. When a person makes a determination to fast, they are making a determination to remove the obstacles in their life to total submission to the will of God. No wonder Satan is determined to eradicate this practice! Fasting tears down his strongholds. Fasting clears the way for our victory. Satan will do anything to prevent that. 

Man is a triune being made up of body, soul and spirit. It is the spirit that came from God and longs to be reunited with God. Given the opportunity, the spirit will reach out to God and communicate with Him. These three parts of the person, however, compete for influence. Your spirit can influence your soul, and your soul can influence your flesh. If you are in tune spiritually with God, your soul has no choice but to delight in the decisions of your spiritual life. Your flesh submits to the authority of your soul. 

WHY FAST? 

• Fasting enables you to break the hold of the flesh and bring your appetites into control. It places you in submission to the Spirit of God. 

• Fasting helps to build godly character. As we spend time with God, we become more like Him in our speech, thinking, behavior, etc. 

• Fasting helps to loose the chains of bondage. Fasting breaks spiritual strongholds. (Isaiah 58:6) 

• Regular fasting can help protect us from the blindness of our own opinions and desires. 

• Fasting will help us to be led by the Spirit instead of being led by faulty judgments. 

• Fasting is a powerful tool for healing and restoration (Isaiah 58:8) 

• Fasting crucifies the flesh. We are not to live our lives pursuing whatever gratifies the cravings and appetite of the flesh (the lower, carnal nature). Fasting enables you to break the hold of the flesh and bring your appetites into control. 

• Fasting helps us to hear the voice of God more clearly. 

• Fasting opens your spirit to the supernatural power of God. 


FOUR KINDS OF FASTS 

1. The normal fast is going without food for a definite period during which you ingest only liquids (water and/or juice). The duration can be 1 day, 3 days, 1 week, 1 month or 40 days. Extreme care should be taken with longer fasts, which should only be attempted after medical advice from your physician. 

2. The absolute fast allows no food or water at all, and should be short. Moses fasted for 40 days, but this would be a challenge for anyone without supernatural intervention. Be sure to test the spirit that tries to talk you into a 40-day fast, even if it includes liquids. 

3. The partial fast is one that omits certain foods or is on a schedule that includes limited eating. It may consist of omitting one meal a day. Eating only fresh vegetables for several days is also a good partial fast. John Wesley ate only bread (whole grain) and water for many days. Elijah practiced partial fasts at least twice. John the Baptist and Daniel with his three friends are other examples of those who participated in partial fasts. People who have hypoglycemia or other diseases might consider this kind of fast. 

4. A rotational fast consists of eating or omitting certain families of foods for designated periods. For example, grains may be eaten only every fourth day. The various food families are rotated so that some food is available each day. 

STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL FASTING 

The other day I was sitting in my living room mulling over too many things. You know how it is, you can be sitting still doing absolutely nothing on the outside but inside, you have planned what you are going to wear the next day, what bills need to be paid by next week and what you would say to that person the next time you saw them, good or bad.

 Well, my television was on, the dishwasher was humming and I am sure my laptop was on somewhere waiting for me to check email. As I sat there, I decided to turn the television off because there was too much nonsense coming out of it. I then proceeded to do nothing while thinking about everything. As I sat there, I noticed the dishwasher had stopped; this was great because that gave me one less thing to think about and enabled me to start thinking about something else in its place. 

It is always nice to read the Word of God and hear about the mighty men but today something interesting happened. This morning during my reading and prayer time the thought of Sarah came to my mind and the statement – “She was God’s Girl”.  Being God’s girl in
the sense that He really watched out for her and she held a special place in His
heart.

Now, I don’t know about many of you but I am always curious when the Holy Spirit just seems to drop things into my heart. You probably don’t do this but sometimes when I hear something familiar I already think I know where God is going and try to beat Him to the punch.  Needless to say, I was surprised when He began to reveal this one and how it was revealed.

Have you ever noticed that some people just seem to get so much out of a single verse of Scripture? How does that happen? Are these people just “super spiritual”? Or is there something else involved?

One of the keys to a deeper understanding of what the Bible says comes from the spiritual discipline of meditating on the Scriptures. If that conjures up images of monk-like mystics staring off into space—think again. For the Christian trying to grasp the truth of the Bible it’s more like “chewing” on a passage over and over—or thinking about that passage from different angles and perspectives. Here are a few building blocks that can help you meditate more effectively on the Word of God.

Ask questions. What is the context of this verse? What was being described in the verses surrounding this one? Are there words that need to be defined? Do the words have the same meaning now as they did when they were written? (For instance, the word “charity” is often translated as “love” in some translations.)

Emphasize each word in the verse. Read the verse out loud and place emphasis on a different word each time. The results can be surprising!

In your own words. Restate the verse, putting it in your own words. It will help you to think about what the verse really means—and what it means for you.

Other verses. Can you find other verses that speak about the same topic? How do they complement or supplement what the original verse says?

Use it. There’s a great quote that’s been attributed to D.L. Moody that says, “The Bible was not given to increase our knowledge, but to change our lives.” Think about how you can apply this verse to your own life. You may even want to memorize the verse and ask God to show you how to live it out.

source: www.navigators.org

I was taking a walk the other day when suddenly I was arrested, not by the police, but by this sound coming from this tree.   It was a haunting sound.  Listen to the video again to see if you hear it.  The hard, dry crackling sound of the leaves and branches striking one another was strange.  For lack of a better description, it made me think of life trying to resuscitate something that is dying.  

In Psalms 118:17, King David declares that he will not die while he lives.  That is the primary message we want you to get from this website.  Don’t die while you STILL have LIFE.  The choice was made very clear in Deuteronomy 30:1 to choose life.  Unfortunately, due to life circumstances, we have forgotten that we actually have a choice. 

Have you ever heard the phrase "trying to place a square peg in a round hole"?  Well, it means some things do not work together or make sense.  The phrase makes me think of how we sometimes search for answers to life’s question in the wrong places.  Let me explain… 

It was a shock to hear of the sudden death of Whitney Houston.  She was one of the few celebrities that openly shared her faith and also the struggles and torment she had been through during the last 10+ years of her life.

I grew up with her music.  I anticipated seeing her perform on the various awards show just so I could see what she was wearing, how her hair was styled and to top it off, what song she was going to sing.  You do not realize the impact someone has on your life until you take the time to ask the question, how does this person influence my life?  Unfortunately, we tend to ask this question after they have died. 

Although Whitney had made some bad decisions, she knew where her strength came from.  Did you ever find yourself holding your breath when watching her on television hoping she was not "loaded" and that she could finish a sentence or when she sang, praying she would hit those power notes that she was so famously known for?  Then, the next time you saw her in an interview she would sincerely give glory to God for her life.  Can you imagine that type of physical and spiritual struggle?