FROM THE PASTOR'S DESK

A large supermarket chain in the mid-west experimented by removing candy from at least some of its checkout lanes. It seems that the idea got started when a mother complained that candy at the checkout counter was too great a temptation to her 2-year old son and he had stolen a candy bar and had begun to eat it before she could stop him. Other mothers joined the crusade, saying that the tempting candies, so close to the children when they were stopped to check out, caused too many family feuds. "Unless you wanted to hear tantrums and look like a terrible mom, you had to give them candy," said one mother.

While children face temptations when it comes to candy at the checkout line, we all face various temptations in our lives every day. The Christian, of course, is not exempt from those temptations. Paul, writing to the church at Corinth, reminds the Christians "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man." As long as Satan is alive he will be doing everything he can to trip us up or trap us. Satan's great goal is to defeat and bind man from serving God with his whole heart. His temptations are many, but he draws from the same large bag of tricks every time.

Paul goes on to tell the Corinthians, "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 you can stand up under it." (I Cor. 10:13)

I was amused at one woman who indicated she did not worry about the candy tempting her children when she was checking out because she buys her children bubble gum on the way into the store. That reminds me of many who handle temptation by simply giving in to it without a struggle.

There are at least three ways the Lord provides to give us victory over temptation. The first, in our war against the world, is our faith in Jesus Christ. When we love Jesus "this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith." When we have a faith that makes Jesus real to us, then the world loses its allurement and power.

The second way we can handle temptation is by fleeing it. The scripture plainly warns us to "flee youthful lusts" and to "flee fornication." Joseph is an example of this way of handling the temptations of the flesh when he fled Potipher's wife. The way to escape the lusts of the flesh is to flee them, not fight them.

The way to deal with the infernal foe, the devil, however, is to fight. We are to wage a war against the devil. James reminds us to "Resist the devil and he will flee from you." (4:7)

God's plan is to deliver us, not from, temptation, but through temptation. In addition, He provides the promise that, by His grace and through the power of His Holy Spirit, He will "provide a way out so we can stand up under it."