What Master Do You Serve?

In today’s world, it can be hard to stay close to God and resist temptations. Every day, we face temptations. We get bombarded with mixed messages that tell us how we should act, think, and dress. We can easily start to think that we need to change ourselves and fix ourselves. We can think that plastic surgery is the answer and that if we have that surgery that we’ve been pressured to get, then maybe we will be happier, healthier people. The trouble is plastic surgery isn’t the answer. Looking to the world for wisdom and guidance isn’t the answer. These things can’t and won’t bring us true happiness. Only Jesus can bring us true happiness. Jesus is the key to our relationship with our Heavenly Father.

Let us not forget that each one of us where handcrafted in our mother’s wombs. Psalms 139:13 ~ “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.” Our Father loves us so much that he took the time to piece and stitch together all of the pieces that make up our unique personality. He knows us better than we even know ourselves. He sees us, and he sees our hearts. He knows each and everything that tempts us. He knows when the devil’s whispering lie after lie into our ears.

One of my least favorite quotes is the saying that the grass is always greener on the other side. To me, this is one of the biggest lies that society tries to tell us. Yes, your neighbor’s down the street might have the biggest and best of everything. You might be jealous and tempted to spend all of your money to try to keep up with them. My question is, though, once you do end up with the best of everything that life has to offer, do you really think you’ll be happy. I think you’d always end up searching for more and more and never really be satisfied. Hebrews 13:5 ~ “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he said,” I will never leave you nor forsake you.” You see, dear readers, we all have a choice we can live for money and worldly possessions, or we can live for God. What choice will you make? No matter what, he will always love you, and he will never leave you. He wants you to serve him and him alone. You can’t serve him and worship money and worldly possessions. Mathew 6:24 ~ “No one Can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one or love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

Even Jesus was tempted in the wilderness. He endured forty day’s worth of temptation and torment from the devil. Mathew 4:3-4 ~ ³“And the tempter came and said to him, “If your really the son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread. ⁴But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ You see, Jesus knew that although his body was weak, he could persevere and have victory over the devil. He used the power of the written word to help him fight back. He had firmly rooted faith. He did not give into temptation. He was not overtaken by sin. He was victorious!

My friends, the devil is sneaky and cunning. He’s crafty and a master of deception. He will try and do whatever it takes to bend us and break us. He’s crouching at our door, and he wants us to let him in so that he can devour us whole. The thing is, though, we all have a choice we can give into sin and temptations, or we can choose to fight back. How do we fight back? Ephesians 6:10-14 ~ ¹⁰“Finally, be strong in the Lord and the strength of his might. ¹¹Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil, ¹²for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ¹⁴Stand, therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness”.

I don’t know about you, dear readers, but I’m so thankful that when I’m tempted, I am never alone. I’m not the only one fighting against the devil. My Father is right there fighting right alongside me. Should I stumble and give in to temptation, he doesn’t turn his back on me. He picks me up and holds me tightly. He wipes away all the tears from my eyes. He tells me that he loves me. He tells me that he forgives me. He tells me that we can keep working on fighting these temptations together one step and prayer at a time. I’m not fighting alone, and neither are you.

Author: Nadia M. Walker
Editor: JJ Michael Smith

God bless,
igotasavior