Recently, I went on a trip to Las Vegas and some tried to discourage me from going alluding to the idea that Vegas was not a place for me. It was a place only for those who wanted to get drunk, high, and screw. My response was that it depends on the person.
The Bible makes it clear that when men are tempted, they are drawn away by their own lust and enticement (James 1:14). In short, a person cannot be drawn into temptation by something that they do not want. If I don’t want to get drunk, get high, and screw men who aren’t my husband, then I don’t have to worry about being drawn into that temptation. The desires that are in you determine your temptation and what you will respond to.
With that understanding, we have to examine ourselves under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the word of God. The word of God is our standard for our lives. We have to ask ourselves are we walking in the spirit or in our flesh. The Bible talks about those who walk in the spirit will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. It also says they that belong to Christ have crucified the flesh and the lust thereof (Galatians 5:24).
If currently as a believer, you know that you have not crucified your flesh and the lust that comes naturally to your flesh, then wisdom would say to delay the trip until your flesh is fully submitted to Christ to the point where you don’t desire sin or you may simply decide at that point not to go at all in order to prevent a door from being opened that would cause you to walk in the flesh.
The life of a true believer is not to be in bondage to several different rules or laws needing to be told what to do and not to do, but to get to a place of maturity in Christ where through the word of God, fellowship of the Holy Spirit, and the five-fold ministry, (Apostles, prophets, Pastors, teachers, evangelists, Ephesians 4:11-13[i]), a person would be honest with him or herself to make an appropriate decision where God will be glorified and the flesh will remain in submission to the Word of God.
The conclusion of this blog post is for each person to make an individual and honest examination of where he or she is as it relates to his or her own flesh, to practice wisdom and discernment once that conclusion is drawn, and lastly seek the Lord concerning every decision.
The word of God teaches us to acknowledge God in all of our ways and he will direct our path. When we seek God in prayer about where we go and what we plan to do he will either give us peace or let us know to take another route.
There may be times where God will warn you by placing an unrest in your spirit regarding going somewhere or doing something. Just seek God, and be honest and real regarding all you do. Everything goes back to the foundation of believers which is developing your own personal walk and relationship with Christ through his word, prayer, and the community of sound and mature believers.
What are your desires or the things that grab your attention and draw you in? How is God leading you to deal with those areas?
But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death (James 1:14-15).
[i] “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-13).”
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