Don't Take The Bait | Daily Devotional 1608

You're listening to My Morning Devotional Podcast, episode 1608. Today's devote is called Don't Take the Bait.

Hey there, we're the Alessies, a ministry family working together in our church in Miami, Florida. And if you're like us, when days get busy and to-do lists get longer, it can be hard to find devotional time. That's why we've partnered with our friend Allison to produce a five-minute daily dose of heaven. This is the My Morning Devotional Podcast.

Good morning, everybody, and happy Wednesday. My name is Rochelle Alesi, and I get the privilege of being with you guys this week. We have been going through the book of James 1. We're going to be studying James for the entire month, but I get the privilege of doing James 1. And so today we're actually going to pick up from verse 13, and it says, When tempted, no one should say, God is tempting me. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin. And sin, when is full grown, gives birth to death. Don't be deceived, my dear brother and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change, like the shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits all the time. So this is so powerful for us because it truly builds on all the other things that we have read. We have read about standing the test, about persevering, the things that are developed in us as we are fighting through. But we have to remember that sin and temptation is going to try to take us off our game. As we're focused, as we're saying, hey, we're going this way, we are going to achieve, we're going to go. The Lord has called us somewhere. When you when the enemy knows that you're that focused to go wherever the Lord is telling you to go, temptations will come. None of us can say, hey, we'll never be tempted. We all will be tempted. That's why this is written. Because we're all going to deal with this at some point of our lives. And honestly, in different seasons, different seasons will bring different temptations. Different seasons are going to develop different things. So different temptations will be for those things. But temptation starts with a desire. And this is so important to know because it says it right here. That's where it starts. We have a desire. Just like we have the desires of our hearts towards dreams, the people we want to marry, the life we want to live, the passions that we have, the career we want to pursue, just like we have those desires, let's say those good desires, the Bible says there's some evil ones as well. And that's where temptation comes. And it starts with that desire. That's why it's so important that we edit ourselves and look inwardly every single day. That as we are facing something, as we're 10 standing the test of whatever we're going through, we say, okay, where is this desire coming from? And we don't act on evil desires, but we stay strong in the Lord. Because that it's beautiful that it says right here that the Lord chose to give us birth from the word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits of all He created. He wants our life to be first fruits, He wants us to be blessed, which means temptations will come. Those things will at some point be knocking. But we are strong enough to say no because He is with us. The Bible, the word of truth, this is the Word of Truth. Let the Word of God be what washes over you every single day. Having an evil desire does not make you an evil person, but you do not have to act on it. You can say no, you can read your word, you can take the word of God so seriously that that's what comes out of you. So today, guys, I encourage you, don't be thrown off by the temptations, but instead stand strong as well towards those temptations and say, I have the word of God that can lead me, that can strengthen me, that will guide me because I know where I'm going with him, and nothing is gonna throw me away or or make me lose my way because I know where I'm going with the Lord. And so I just encourage you today to do that. Be strong. Let the word of God be your strength today. Let's pray. Dear Father God, thank you so much for your word, the word of truth that you have given us. Lord, we are more than conquerors because of the word that you have given us. So today we say we're not gonna fall into temptation because when those evil desires come, we're gonna open up your word and we're gonna stand in the truth that you have written. You have given us everything we need, and we're not gonna let anything throw our or give us a distraction from where you are calling us to go or who you are calling us to be, Lord. We commit our lives to you and we say we are going to stand in your truth every single day of our lives. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

So there you have it, your five minute daily dose of heaven. Thank you so much for tuning in today. We pray these devotionals empower you to take on your day. If you found value in this devotional, share it with a friend, leave a comment or review for us on the app you're using right now. Until tomorrow, we pray that your latte is strong, but your love for Jesus is stronger.