7-24-2022

 Good Morning!    

              1 Corinthians 10:13; “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

    Did you ever buy or play with Weebles?  Remember, “Weebles wobble but they won’t fall down!”  They are small round bottomed plastic toys that are weighted in the bottom, so they always stay upright.  You can push them, and they will wobble to the left and right and eventually they stand back up.  Little (and not so little) kids can play with them for hours.  They always come back to stand up straight.

    Sometimes I wish I could do that in real life.  I slipped coming down the stairs a few times.  I wish I would have wobbled instead of going thud.  I would guess that if you have every fallen down and broke or cracked something you would have liked to wobble as well.  There are plenty of times when being able to wobble would come in handy.  Then we wouldn’t be knocked over and hurt.

    One place where wobbling can come in handy is when we face temptations.  Make no mistake temptation can cause us to be knocked and knocked hard.  Without faith, those knocks can send us sprawling all over the place.  It can break bones and everything.  Without faith, the devil can break us, cause us to hurt greatly but above all he will separate us from God’s grace by leading us away from God’s love. 

    Yet God provides us a way out.  He gives us the strength to wobble when we are hit.  We might wobble but we will get back upright.  When temptations hit, they can hit very hard.  Some people worry that temptation affects them.  But know that temptation can hit you hard but true temptations can hurt a lot.  They also give us an opportunity to look at our self.  Know that when temptation comes, and God allows it; it occurs not so God knows what is in our heart but so that we can know what is in our heart.  Temptation can bring you to your knees, but it is in this position that we best speak to God. It is here that we best recognize that we do not and cannot stand on our own.

   The only way we can stand is like the Weeble; we need something special inside of us.  We need something inside of us that will orientate us in the right direction.  We need God’s Spirit to dwell in us.  We need to use that Spirit to trust in God’s promise.  No matter how much we may wobble; God will not let us tip over or be knocked down permanently.  God will bring us back upright in and through his grace.  For it is by his grace that we are able to withstand the devil’s blows; it is only when we try to stand on our own that we get knocked over and damaged.

   God gives us the ability to face temptation.  God gives us the strength to remain upright and standing even if it makes you wobble; you can endure it because God has promised to give us that strength.

Gracious Father, I often wobble in the face of temptation.  Continue to give me the strength to face those tests.  Be with those who feel the sting of the devil’s attacks.  Bring them back upright in their life.  Strengthen their faith.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret