Thursday, August 18,
2016
O Lord, I have come to you for
protection; don’t let me be disgraced.
Save me and rescue me, for you do what is right. Turn your ear to listen to me, and set me
free. Be my rock of safety where
I can always hide. Give the order to
save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.
My God, rescue me from the power of the wicked, from the clutches of cruel oppressors. O Lord, you alone are my hope. I’ve trusted you, O Lord, from childhood. Yes, you have been with me from birth; from my mother’s womb you have cared for me. No wonder I am always praising you! Psalm 71:1-6(NLT)
My God, rescue me from the power of the wicked, from the clutches of cruel oppressors. O Lord, you alone are my hope. I’ve trusted you, O Lord, from childhood. Yes, you have been with me from birth; from my mother’s womb you have cared for me. No wonder I am always praising you! Psalm 71:1-6(NLT)
----------------------
Besides writing the Narnia series and
a host of other works on the Christian life, C.S. Lewis carried on a vigorous
correspondence with many people. Among
his letters is this bit of advice penned to a man who had asked for help
resisting temptation:
Of course I have had and
still have plenty of temptations. Frequent
and regular prayer, and frequent and regular Communions, are a great help,
whether they feel at the time as if they were doing you good
or whether they don’t. I also found great help in monthly confession to a wise
old clergyman.
Perhaps, however, the most
important thing is to keep on: not to be discouraged
however often one yields to the temptation, but always to pick yourself up
again and ask forgiveness. In reviewing
your sins don’t either exaggerate them or minimise them. Call them by their ordinary names and try to
see them as you would see the same faults in somebody else—no special
blackening or whitewashing. Remember the
condition on which we are promised forgiveness: we shall always be forgiven provided that we
forgive all who sin against us. If we do
that we have nothing to fear: if we
don’t, all else will be in vain. Of
course there are other helps which are more commonsense. We must learn by experience to avoid either
trains of thought or social situations which for us (not
necessarily for everyone) lead to temptations. Like motoring—don’t wait till the last moment
before you put on the brakes but put them on, gently and quietly, while the danger
is still a good way off.[ii]
Most of Scripture’s advice about the
temptation to do that which is wrong screams out: RUN THE OTHER WAY!!!
But, for anyone who wants to keep a
pure and right relationship with God and fellow humans, we also know that,
whether it is appetite for food, sex, power, recognition or any other
temptation dangling before our eyes, there are times we give-in. C.S. Lewis’ advice for confession at this
point is priceless…don’t offer excuses for giving-in, or being lured into it;
don’t minimize, and don’t exaggerate the sin…just call it by its’ common
ordinary name before God.
And remember, forgiveness is
dependent on your attitude. So that
means decide before you begin confession that you will ask God to help you
stand against that temptation the next time it shows up.
For You Today
If you struggle with addictive ways
to something that you’d never want known, ask God for wisdom at the point of
first recognition that temptation is coming, and strength to apply the brakes,
quietly, gently, and decisively. You
can’t RUN THE OTHER WAY, until you change direction!
Go to VIDEO
NOTES
[ii]
From The
Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume III, Compiled in Yours,
Jack
No comments:
Post a Comment