God Does Not Tempt

"Let no one say when he is tempted, 'This temptation comes from God.' God is never tempted and He can never tempt anyone. Instead, each of us is lured and enticed by his own evil desire. Once this desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when fully grown, gives birth to death." - James 1:13-15

I know people who get angry at God for their own sins. They think that it's God's fault that they're an alcoholic, for example, or that God put them in a sinful situation to test them. As Saint James wrote in this epistle, God does not tempt anyone. On the contrary, it is our own desires that lead us to sin. You are fully aware of what is right and wrong, and when you have the option to sin and you take it, it is nobody's fault but your own.

Don't blame God for your weakness. We are all susceptible to certain evil desires and it is our job to rely on God and ask for help in combating them. God doesn't get you into sin, but He's the only way out of it.

Today's Prayer:
My Lord, help me identify those areas in my life in which I am weak and sin. Help me to realize that it is nobody's fault but my own. I ask for the strength and conviction to do Your will everyday of my life. In Jesus' Name we pray, amen.

The Evil That I Hate

"Stay awake and pray, so that you may not slip into temptation. The spirit indeed is eager, but human nature is weak." - Matthew 26:41

The verse that I relate to the most is from Romans where Paul says that he cannot explain what happens to him - he does the evil that he hates and not the good that he wants to do. I can't tell you how many times I don't want to do something, refuse to even think about it, and then, in a very surreal way, watch myself doing the very thing I didn't want to do. It really is my soul saying, "don't do it!" as my flesh falls into temptation. I caught myself today saying something I shouldn't have, but out it came anyway. But then, if I'm falling into sin, I feel bad asking for forgiveness right away because I feel that I'm not strong enough to not fall again. This is why if you ever feel like this, you need to listen to Jesus' words here. The spirit is willing to be good. I do want to be good. I don't want to sin, but my flesh is weak. Our human nature is weak. So, what do we do then? We keep watch and we pray. We must be observant of all of our sins and be aware of the occasions in which we sin so we could avoid them. And if we don't remain strong in prayer, it's so easy to just slip into temptation, as I see myself do so many times. I'm sure you see this in yourself, too.

The bottom line is that yes, we are all sinners, but we need to grow spiritually as well, right? Therefore, keep watch over what you do, and most importantly, pray constantly so that you are able to move past certain temptations.

Today's Prayer:
Jesus, again and again, I do what I don't want to do. Help me pick myself up and be a stronger person, a person of stronger faith and conviction. Thank You for Your saving grace and mercy. In Your Name we pray, amen.

What Happens After the Call

"Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the devil." - Matthew 4:1


My little brothers have this misconception that once you get touched by God it's this one time deal that changes the rest of your life. It can be, but they think that after that, it all gets better, our faith becomes solid and everything is great. There's nothing further from the truth.

The first time Jesus makes an appearance in the gospels as an adult was during His baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. John recognized Him to be the Christ and while baptizing Him, the sky opened up and the voice of God was heard saying that Jesus was His son, His beloved. You have to remember, Jesus was also fully human, so for a human to have experienced something so profound, it had to have really shaken Him up and touched Him. What do you do after such an extraordinary touch from God? I think most people would go off by themselves to pray and try to make sense of what just happened and how they're supposed to respond to God next.

As we can see from this verse above, the Spirit led Jesus into the desert right after His baptism to be tempted by the devil. The desert was where Jesus went to think about what happens next, what He was supposed to do, but it also symbolizes what we all go through as soon as we feel God's presence come into our lives. What happens is that it feels like God withdraws. Like He touched us, but then pulls away. Jesus was also in a symbolic desert. He was alone and it felt like He was stripped away from the protection of God and vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy. At this point, we all become vulnerable. We forget the touch we received from God and when the devil comes around to rob us of the experience we had (and he will do this) we are tempted by sins of the flesh, we might want to test God or we become arrogant and think we don't need God and what we felt before wasn't true. And the worst part of it is that this happens and we don't realize it's happening. If these pitfalls were so obvious, none of us would sin. In the desert, when He felt alone and without God, the devil tempted Jesus with sins of the flesh, he tempted Him to show His power if He really was so beloved by God, and he tried to offer Jesus all the powers in the world. As tired and exhausted as Jesus was, He fought back the temptation. How did He do this? Was it because He was God? No, it was because Jesus knew God's promises and God's Word. To each and every attack of the devil, Jesus was able to resist with scripture and faith.

This is why we all need to remain strong in the faith and strong in the Word of God. When we experience a touch from God, there will be moments where we will not perceive the presence of God and we will be tempted and attacked by the devil. All this is necessary so that we grow and become truly powerful in the Lord... so that we are not easily knocked around. But if you are not prepared, on the day of temptation, you will fall. Now is the moment to prepare. Now is the moment to pray and ask for the Lord's protection so that when we are called out into the desert, we can be like Christ and face anything.

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You equipped me with all I need to fight the enemy. Now that I have been filled with Your Spirit, prepare me for my dark night and prepare me for battle with the enemy. Lord, cover me with Your blessing so that I may never fall and lose sight of the work You want to do in me. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Sins of the Heart

"The fool dreams only of sin." - Proverbs 24:9

Paul said in the letter to the Romans that he does the evil he hates and not the good that he wants to do. Even a man like Saint Paul struggles with his tendency to sin, so we must struggle all the more. God knows this and His grace gives us strength, but we have a problem that needs serious correction if our sin comes from within. We might lose our temper or face temptation and fall, but sometimes we never planned to do these things. However, there are those that plan to sin. Examine your own conscience right now - where are your thoughts? What do you dream of? Is revenge in your heart? Are you hoping to see someone's downfall? Are you planning someone's harm? Even if you never carry these things out, you are a sinner and need to reconcile your relationship with the Lord. One might think that if one doesn't go through with these things, they don't count, but they do. God sees what's in your heart and your evil within is enough to condemn you. You are a fool if you entertain these thoughts. You have evil in your heart and you stray from the Lord who is good. It really doesn't matter who has hurt you, who has betrayed you and sparked the anger because God is just and will take care of those who have wronged you. For your part, turn to God. Cleanse your heart and be at peace with God so that He can heal you and bring you peace.

Today's Prayer:
Lord God, have mercy on those who are far from You and entertain sin in their minds. Have mercy on those that seek revenge and harbor hatred because of their pain. Let them know that Your love is so much bigger and Your mercy heals and soothes all things. In Your Name we pray, amen.