We often think temptation is an strong open desire to do something we know is wrong. The picture that may come to mind is a child that is fighting the temptation to eat a cookie that has been left out in the open. He or she may know better but in the end the desire triumphs over will power and the cookie is eaten. This is not a very accurate picture of how true temptation manifests itself and how it is recognized.

Genesis 3:5-6 shows the line the serpent sells and Eve’s subsequent thought processes: ” ‘For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ ” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

So although we all know this a very bad act with huge eternal consequences what Eve is thinking is that: my eyes will be open, I will have more knowledge, I will be more like God, I will become more wise, it looks good and it will provide what I need. Almost all decisions that anybody who is tring to be a good Christian makes would fall in the category of accomplishing one or more of these objectives.

According to what she was thinking and her expected results this was a good idea. It was not irresistible evil but something in line with her goals and beliefs. The only problem was that is wasn’t what God had given her to eat and He had specifically said not to do it. Right next to this tree was one God had provided and not restricted, the tree of life.

Temptation presented is this framework is a desire to do what seems like a good idea even though it isn’t what God has provided, and He is telling us not to do it. Aha, you may think, I won’t do what God says not to do. Here’s the kicker, what goes out the windows first in the temptation process is the belief that God is saying no. “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” I don’t about you but the still quiet voice of the Holy Spirit saying “no” is easy to ignore and never acknowledge till afterward, if there are strong opinions and desires being heeded.

So lets assume, if we were are about to do something wrong we have already dismissed God and probably don’t realize or care that He has said no. We see something that will make us more like Him, so how could He be against it really? No, the litmus test isn’t do I know that God said no, the litmus test is has God given this for me to eat or is this just conveniently located next to what God really has for me.

Is there something else that God has for me that I am not now doing but have found instead a faster and more appealing way that seems pretty close to what He wants.This takes brutal honesty and a true desire to not just to achieve success in life but to stay submitted to God will and plans even it mean passing on things that seem like really good ideas.

The key to resisting temptation is only taking what God is giving to you and know you have subtle desires that will try to convince you to do otherwise.

We live in an age where there is abundant biblical teaching all around us. To be sure there is plenty of bad teaching, in terms of both communication and accuracy but this, I feel, is a symptom of all teaching being abundant including bad teaching. On most topics, if you want quality teaching, it is out there to be found. A single source may not be comprehensive but there are others to be found that will compliment it.

One of the dangers of teaching be available at a rampant consumer level is that you can pick and choose the teachings that fits your personal leanings. The answer to that is to value understanding over comfort and explore ideas based on biblical merit and not personal doctrines. Another, more subtle, danger of finding a teaching for everything is that we might lose sight of the mysteries of the faith.

Jesus said to His disciples in Matthew 13:11 ‘it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.’ We can see it is important to understand the mysteries of the kingdom and that is has to happen through God by the grace of His giving. We should want to know the mysteries as God draws us to them.

I want to point out the strange nature of knowing a mystery. Clearly, to know a mystery you have to have understanding of it. Also, to know a mystery, it has to remain a mystery even after knowing it. Otherwise, you wouldn’t know what is a mystery you would simple know what used to be a mystery.

So knowing a mystery isn’t the end of the mystery but the beginning of your exploration which might not ever end. The nature of God is the root of all true mysteries of the faith. Among the mysteries are the nature of the trinity, infinite love, salvation and many more. There are many teaching constructs and analogies to bring understanding of the mysteries but they should not remove the mystery.

Using the three common states of water to explain the trinity to someone is an often used teaching analogy. One God can exist in three persons just like water can exists in three states: solid, liquid and gas. With children it is often demonstrated by melting an ice cube and then boiling the water away into vapor. This helps understand the nature of the mystery but it doesn’t so much explain, as it does define the mystery.

You will find this with any level of teaching construct from ones used in the church nursery to the ones used in seminary. They don’t eliminated the mystery they just give understanding that helps define it. Perhaps, they do this at a deep level or maybe at an initiatory level. Regardless of the depth of understanding the mystery remains: the trinity is still mysterious but you may now have a glimpse of how huge the mystery is. Any true understanding will increase the size of the mystery, not reduce it.

Here’s the danger of thinking you understand the fullness of a mystery. You mistake the explanation for the mystery. A great explanation for the mystery of God’s grace is that it is the all empowering presence of God to help you be who you are supposed to be and do what you are supposed to do. This has proven to be a very helpful understanding of God’s grace. But, it does not remove the wonder that comes when you see God’s grace in operation. Thinking a better explanation fully addresses the nature of any mystery about God is akin to a little child thinking that God is an ice cube after seeing the above demonstration about the trinity.

We should grow in wonder at the nature of God. We should explore who God is and always be learning more but the result should be a greater awareness of how much more there is to learn. Teaching about a mystery in God should not be used to convince a person that he or she now fully understands. This is the danger mentioned earlier. We sometimes seek teachings that give us a sense that we now fully know or as teachers we want to bring understanding and remove confusion so we lay simple explanations over the entrance to the infinite tunnel that is God’s nature, so people feel assured.

Being confused and having a mystery is not the same thing. Confusion comes from a false understanding. A mystery of the faith is where you have true understanding but have not completely explored the fullness of God as he is revealing through the mystery. As seekers of God let us not seal over a lifetimes worth of wonder and awe by settling for a partial explanation. As teachers let us give the understanding we have but not remove the need for everyone to wonder at whichever aspect of Himself that God is making known and inviting people deeper into.

Everybody wants to do good deeds. Let me say that again more precisely. Everybody wants what they are doing to be what is good. There are two things you can adjust when wanting what you are doing to be good. The first is what you are doing. If you discover what you are doing is not good, you can change what you are doing so that it becomes good. The second thing you can change is what you consider to be good. When you discover what you are doing is not considered good, you change what you consider to be good. You are now doing what is good … in your own eyes.

Judges 17:6 comes to mind “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

Doing what is right in your own eyes doesn’t sound so bad at first. The problem is that it is usually based on changing what is right rather than what you are doing. Also, it is a sign of being without a king. Now to the average citizen of a democracy this is probably considered a good thing. To have no king and to do what you think is right.  This makes you a modern moral person. To the Christian this is a problem in that we do have a king and He gets to decide what is right.

Jesus is our king and His will is made known to us through the Bible and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit convicts us through our conscience when what we are doing is not right in God’s eyes. We have a choice when this happens to receive the conviction and affirm what is right in God’s eyes. Alternatively, we can choose to reject the conviction and affirm what is right in our own eyes,

If you are Christian you believe in doing what is right in God’s eyes. This means your mind knows that if this choice becomes a conscious one that you will either yield to the conviction or feel bad that you are rejecting God. Your mind will have a tendency to want you to reject God’s conviction at a subconscious level. This tendency will exist to the extent that every thought is not submitted to the will of God.

Unless you have been perfected completely by God, meaning that you have died and are now in heaven, there is a battle going on in your mind to reject conviction in a way that you don’t even know that you are doing it. This is not a sign that you are a bad person it is a sign that you are still breathing and living on the earth.

What does this practically mean to you? It means that it is not necessary to wonder if you are in some way resisting God’s conviction through the Holy Spirit. What is necessary is to search for the ways that you are doing it. It is wisdom to understand this and to be open to anything that will reveals the truth of this matter.

Proverbs 9:8 says “Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you.”

A wise person knows that he could be in the wrong. A wise person is looking for how he is wrong. A wise person values friends who are willing to tell him when he is wrong. Only a fool assumes that he has to be right. Only a fool rejects indicators that show he might be wrong. Only a fool gets rid of friends because they disagree with him. Of course, we can all act the fool on occasion and need the grace God gives to those that humble themselves and repent.

If you are willing to value becoming right over being right and value finding wisdom over denying foolishness then you are well begun on your way to being transformed by the grace of God and the loving conviction of the Holy Spirit. No matter where you’ve been or where you are now this road leads to God’s perfect standard of righteousness being raised in your life for all to see.

This is not a matter of acting perfectly but a matter of perseverance and humility. If you don’t give up or settle for less you will get there.