Yesterday morning, I was spending time in prayer and study of the Word.  It was around 6:00am and I was enjoying my quiet time.  Out of no where I was suddenly overwhelmed with temptation.  It was a temptation that seemed foreign to me, at least when I was spending time in prayer. 

I suddenly began to crave Mrs. Baird’s Cinnamon Rolls.  I could nearly taste them and I thought I could actually smell them.  I was literally salivating thinking about getting me some of those sweet treats.  I was somewhat stunned because that was an uncommon temptation for me, however, it came at a time when it was something that would tempt me.

You see, I have been on a diet.  I have cut out sweets and I no longer can fulfill my craving for such delights as Mrs. Baird’s cinnamon rolls.  I am on a diet, not only so I can get healthy but so that I can learn to discipline my life.  To give into that temptation would have been to become undisciplined. 

Is eating a cinnamon roll bad? No! Actually it is good, but when you are trying to watch what you eat it is bad.  Though this may seem like a flippant view of temptation, it is indeed a struggle for me.  Food has been my comfort and I am trying to rely on Christ rather than comfort food. 

Many might think this is spoken in jest but really it is about temptation.  Whether it is food or another addiction, temptation is real.  DISCLAIMER: Just because we have a craving doesn’t mean it is temptation but it is an approach the enemy might use.  Our flesh craves certain things.  In fact, our flesh longs for sin.  Maybe you are not tempted by comfort foods but is there something else that draws you away?

The Apostle Paul wrote, “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.”

Temptation is common in all humanity.  No one is exempt and we are all tempted with different things. The truth of this verse is that God always makes a way of escape for us.  A way to deny our flesh and to win.  A way for us to pray through the temptation that comes.  When you feel tempted to fall into sin, remember, God has made a way for you to overcome it.  It just might mean that you have to deny yourself and follow Him.

Thoughts for the Journey – Who Reigns?

I talked with my brother yesterday and he told me he took a job as a taxi driver.  I asked if he ever got nervous driving in the middle of the night.  He said no.  I sure hope he doesn’t run into this problem over the Thanksgiving holiday. (See cartoon below)

I couldn’t pass this one up either.  Apparently, this has been a crime from the beginning.  Maybe evolution holds true

Here is our Tuesday edition of Thoughts For The Journey

Reality some times smacks you in the face.  This week my age seems to be catching up with me.  #1-I threw my back out.  I pulled something the wrong way and I tweaked my back good.  Sonya says I look like I am walking crooked.  #2-Josh is going this week for his driver’s license test.  He is growing up so fast and I look back and wonder where the time is gone.  My baby boy is ready to drive.

I am feeling older, in body and in emotions.  Yet, growing older has its benefits too.  It is not something to be dreaded even though more aches and pains come your way.  Growing older is exciting.  It affords us greater opportunities to share what we have learned in life.  The older you get the more seriously people take you.  They feel like you have something that they need. 

When I started pastoring I was 24.  The people in our town called me the fifteen year old preacher because that is all I looked.  There were many challenges because I was so young.  I faced things that most older pastors do not face because my age seemed more like a handicap.  As I grow older, almost 15 years of pastoring now, people seem to take more seriously our ministry and our judgment.

As I look back on my life, I reflect on what we have accomplished with God’s help.  Are the ministries I have been in better off because I have been there?  Have I impacted people’s lives in a positive way?  Have I been instrumental in the growth of others?

For me growing older means bearing more fruit.  The older I get, the more fruit I should bear and I should be more mature spiritually as I age.  What about you?  Are you growing older and maturing as well?

Here is Sunday’s message: LIVING PRAISE – Seeking God.

“You don’t determine a man’s greatness by his talent or wealth as the world does but rather by what it takes to discourage him”  Jerry Falwell

HT: Mike Linch

I read this great article this morning on Brian Dodd’s blog.  It is a great lesson on leadership that can be learned from our former President George W. Bush.  I see a sermon in nearly every line.

“How are you going to remember former President George W. Bush?  I think as time goes on history will be very kind to him.

With the release of his new book Decision Points, President Bush appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show this week.  The following are the amazing quotes from the man who will be known as the President that kept our country safe.

• “The peaceful transfer of power makes America a special place.”
• “I was honored to serve our country for eight years.”
• “I view politics as a chapter of my life.  Not my life.”
• “One of the sacrifices you make is loss of anonymity.”
• “I want our President to succeed.  I love our country.”
• “It was much harder to be the son of the President and watch my dad get criticized than to be President.”
• “If I would have allowed the critics to affect me during the presidency, I would not have done my job as a leader.”
• “Alcohol was crowding out my affections for my wife and my daughters.”
• “Alcohol at times made me a fool.”
• “My job was to protect the people.”
• “During a crisis the leader must project calm.”
• “I’m the Commander and Chief.  I want to be in Washington.”
• “I would not give the enemy the satisfaction of seeing the President of the United States holed up in a bunker underground.”
• “We had to find them and bring them to justice before they hurt us again.”
• “Everybody thought Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.”
   
• “Often times history judges you on the decisions you make but a lot times they don’t judge you on the decisions you don’t make.”
• “My decision (to go to combat) would weigh more heavily on me if I cared more about my political standing than completing the mission.”
• “I made a mistake.  I should have landed (in New Orleans).”
• “Katrina is an interesting case study of emergency management.”
• “I want to treat my successor the way I would want to have been treated.  There will be plenty of critics and he doesn’t need me criticizing him.  I don’t think it’s good for the presidency.”
• “I saw a problem with the mortgage market.”
• “If you make a bad decision in the marketplace you ought to fail.”
• “Serving as President is the honor of a lifetime.”
• “Don’t sell your soul for the sake of politics.  Have a set of principles.  Defend those principles no matter what it might cost you in the polls.”
• “One of my proudest accomplishments is that I didn’t sell my principles for the sake of popularity.”
• “If you chase popularity you’re chasing something for a fleeting moment.  Principles last forever.”

Do you agree with President Bush’s comments?  Let me know your thoughts.”

HT: Brian Dodd on Leadership