{Scripture Challenge 2} Challenge Word #2, Temptation

First, I want to say how much I have enjoyed seeing everyone's title pages and "Hope" pages. Wow! Such stunning creations and beautiful scriptures everyone has chosen! I am REALLY loving Mister Linky! It makes it much easier for me to find everyone's work and leave some love! I hope you are enjoying it and receiving/leaving love too! And I was not able to leave comments on Facebook, some galleries where I am not a member, etc. Yes, can you believe I am not a Facebook member? LOL! So, if you did not get love from me, it most likely means I am not a member or was not able to leave it for some reason. I did look at all links left up until today. :) Now, let's look at today's lesson.

Challenge Word #2: Temptation

As people, we are tempted daily—tempted to speed, tempted to wear clothing that may be a bit revealing thus causing temptation in someone else, tempted to eat more than we should, tempted to ___________. You fill in the blank. We are surrounded by temptation. And today, what some might consider a temptation might seem normal to others. The more we are subjected to something (whether right or wrong), the more we see it as normal and okay. Max Lucado said “We cannot stand firm against the lies of the world unless we are firmly grounded in Christ. Be diligent to read God’s Word and pray often.”

Temptation presents itself to us in many forms—the obvious things like breaking the law, and then the subtle things that no one may see except yourself (and God). Here is an example God wanted me to share with you. During Christmas, I ordered a couple of expensive purses (on clearance of course). I knew what day they were being delivered since I was tracking them. The delivery day came and went without any package being left at my door. The next morning, I checked the shipping status, and the UPS site showed that they had been delivered the previous evening, Dec. 22nd. Well, I certainly hadn’t received them. I urgently called the store on Dec. 23rd to see if they could figure out what happened. They immediately had two more purses sent via overnight delivery. Yeah, the Christmas presents would make it! They arrived Christmas Eve. Whew!

A claim for the original package was filed with UPS. Surprisingly, two weeks later, the lost box arrived at our door. It turns out our neighbors were on extended vacation, and the box was inadvertently delivered to their house while they were away. So, now I had two more expensive purses. I knew I would be immediately sending them back; however, here comes the possible temptation. No one knew I had the purses. UPS thought they were lost; the store thought they were lost. I could have kept them. No one would have known. Hey, they could have even been sold on eBay. But of course I did not and would never have considered such a thing. But what an easy temptation. God would have known. Not only would it have been clear disobedience, it would have been stealing! Temptations like that surround us daily. What choice would you have made? Make a little extra money? Or return it to the rightful owners—the store? How about getting too much change back at the store? Do you give it back? Or oops, maybe the store forgot to charge you for a item. Do you let it go or do you say something? And how about being offered to copy a CD for your iPod? Agh, those small temptations!

Temptation in itself is not a sin. It’s when we give in to the temptation and disobey God that causes the sin. Dr. Henrietta C. Mears said “It is the ‘I’ in ‘sIn’ that must be removed. Put ‘O’ in its place and you have “SON’. He will give you victory!” What an awesome example to remember next time you are tempted.

Think about how you feel when you have resisted a temptation. Isn’t it a glorious feeling? What joy!!! Wow! Now think about how do you feel when you give in to that temptation and sin? You probably feel pretty lousy. I know I do! Agh, but the glorious feeling and obedience to God is what we need to strive for. Even Jesus was tempted by Satan in Matthew 4:1 “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.” Jesus was tempted. He knows how hard it is for us. But in Him we can triumph over temptation!

Zondervan’s Daily inspiration said “We must be ever vigilant. Vigilant in deciding what we will allow in—into our homes, into our heads, or into our hearts. The Bible warns, ‘Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour’ (1 Peter 5:8). Temptation—just that one little thing—is all around. But there is good news: the temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. ‘And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure’ (see 1 Corinthians 10:13)." Praise God for His faithfulness.

For my page, I used a lot of symbolism. First, I tore my paper in half as I thought about being torn between temptation and following what we should do in Christ. I then used two arrows--one covered in red paper to denote Satan, and one covered in heart paper to denote our love for Christ. Which way will I turn when I am tempted?

The beautiful flowers and leaves are from the new release from Layers of Color called Flowering Gems. I colored in the images with my watercolor pencils and then cut them out for my page.
Papers: K&Co. Wild Raspberry, Bazzill, Strathmore Watercolor paper
Stamps: Layers of Color Flowering Gems, Provo Craft 12 pt.
Stamp Ink: SU creamy caramel and close to cocoa
Embellishments: Deluxe Designs chipboard arrows, Stickles lime green, Basic Grey white chocolate chip micro-chip alphas, Robins Nest dew drops, Making Memories leather photo corners, Derwent watercolor pencils, Nestabilities small and large deckle dies

And here is my page on my stand: The scripture I chose for this challenge is:
1 Corinthians 10:13 ". . . 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 stand up under it."

Remember to use Keyword SCRC210 when posting in galleries. It will be easier for people to find your work if you use our keyword. Also, feel free to leave a link here for others to see using Mister Linky. Using Mister Linky is truly the easiest way for others to view your work. :) You can also view everyone's work by clicking on the Mister Linky icon above my signature. It's fun to get some love so be sure to check back to see everyone's work!

And remember, you can find all studies in this post here. So, will you turn to Him for strength when you are tempted? Will you turn to the "sIn" or the "SON"? Blessings, and see you with our next challenge on January 31st! In Him,