Psalm 119:11 Archives - Seeking God with Jaime Wiebel

Battling Temptation and Sitting Among Friends #79

Jaime Wiebel — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 08:16:00 +0000

Last week, I pointed you to three verse to meditate on during those sleepless nights. One reason, I believe, it is vital to get plenty of rest is because we become more susceptible to temptation when our body is weak.

When we are weak we tend to give into our flesh and its desires. For me, I say this as I am writing at 12:30 in the morning, I tend to be crabby with my kids. I have a shortened attention span. I am short on patience aka, I have none and I make short rash decisions for the sake of having a peaceful mind. Being extra tired means quiet time leads to sleeping and not praying and studying.

For many other reasons, we fall into temptation. Greed, pride, envy, sensuality, foolishness, popularity, and the list goes on. Our flesh is weak and it is easier to follow the trends of this world than going against the norm by following Jesus.

Today, we will put 4 verses into our arsenal for battling temptation. I hope you are ready.

Be Alert

“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41 (NIV)

While Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, He told His disciples to stay alert. He also told them to stay awake and pray. He knew they were about to be tempted in ways they could not overcome themselves and He wanted them to pray for strength so they would be prepared.

When we are tired, we lose focus, we are not able to stay awake to do what is necessary to fight temptation. Like the disciples, it means losing out on time to pray.

Pursue Holiness

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 1 Timothy 6:11 (NIV)

Another area of temptation is money. We have to admit, we like to be comfortable. In fact, most of us like to be beyond comfortable and would prefer to have such an abundance of money that we “think” we would never have to worry about money again.

Let me ask you a couple questions. How much would enough be? What would you do with enough?

Remember when Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, He took Him to the top of the mountain and said, “I will give you all the kingdoms of the world if you will bow down and worship me.” He offered Him more than enough. But at what cost?

In verse 10, Paul says money is the root of all kind of evil. He doesn’t say money is evil but the root of evil. Evil can grow from it in so many ways.

In verse 11, he encourages Timothy to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.

By putting your trust in God, you have what is eternal. By putting your trust in money, you only have what is fleeting.

Treasure His Word

Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You. Psalm 119:11 (NASB)

I love this verse. I cannot tell you how many times, I have been convicted by God’s Word. That doesn’t sound too appealing, does it? Hide God’s Word in your heart so those verses can come to you when you are doing something completely wrong. Eek!

But honestly, I want to know the right way to live. I think we all do. I think we are on a pursuit to make this world better and ideally, all of us would take the platform on world peace.

When we struggle, of course, we don’t want someone pointing to our flaws. We want to revel in them for a moment. But in the end, we know that is not right living.

Right living begins with knowing what is right and treasuring that truth, God’s Word, in our hearts. Oh, that I might not sin against my Lord!

God is Faithful

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. 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 an escape, so that you can stand up under it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 (BSB)

We must be careful to think we are above sin. As if we have some sort of super cape under our clothes and sin and temptation flee at our sight.

Pride is a very dangerous position to put ourselves in. We say things like, I would never…, and that could not happen to me and my family. In the process, of putting our invincibility shield on, we abandon the things that God teaches us in His Word.

In verse 12, Paul warns us to be careful to think that we are standing too firm so that we don’t fall. Any firm standing needs to be in God’s faithfulness and not in our own righteousness.

The encouragement that Paul gives us is that if we do fall, God is faithful to provide for us a way out of the temptation and even if it causes us to bend, it will not break us.

God is not only faithful to help us endure temptation, He is Faithful to complete all the good work He started in us. Lean in and Hold on.

Temptations will come our way. We can remember these four things to help us battle through them.

Be alert.

Pursue holiness.

Treasure God’s Word in your heart.

God IS faithful.

Personal Reflections:

Do you find yourself putting God on the back burner when you are tired? When you are giving into temptation do you look for correction?

How much money is enough? How do you know when you have gotten there? What is the next step with enough?

What is a quick tip you have for hiding God’s Word in your heart?

What comes to mind when you think of the words, God Is Faithful?

I am glad you are here. I would love for you to join us at Seeking God Daily. Because a couple friends and I are passionate about sharing God’s Word we have joined forces to bring together a Facebook Group called Seeking God Daily.

Seeking God Daily is a group that offers hope, encouragement, and support in learning God’s Word and applying the truths to our walk with Christ.

We want to encourage one another through authentic, honest and respectful conversation as we earnestly seek Him daily.Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

This week and next you will get to meet the ladies behind this new adventure. You can join this group by clicking HERE ! While you are there feel free to invite some friends along for the journey. We would love to have them!

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The post Battling Temptation and Sitting Among Friends #79 appeared first on Seeking God with Jaime Wiebel.

Teaching Children the Bible & Sitting Among Friends #29

Jaime Wiebel — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 06:00:00 +0000

I have small children and one thing I want for them is to know God’s Word and be able to hide it in their hearts. As a mom, I want to choose materials that aide in that process while remaining faithful to Biblical truth.

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:11

Growing up, I went through an AWANA program at our church. Many verses that I know and rely on today pop up from those I have hidden deep in my heart.

Being a children’s director for several years, I had to choose curriculum and teach many lessons. Also, when choosing materials for my own family, I look for several key features.

Has the content or meaning been distorted in any way?

When reviewing children’s Bible storybooks or literature, I look for them to be as Biblically accurate to the actual Bible story as possible in a language that children can understand and relate to.

Has a true story been changed to be too much like a fairytale ?

My goal when reading my children stories from the Bible is for them to have a real or accurate view of the Bible. Although there are fabulous children’s materials out there that depict stories of the Bible, paying attention to details is always important.

As a teacher or parent, it is helpful to know the story to expand on facts and make certain truths are being told.

Can I correct any misleadings or are the pictures too impactful?

Children are being bombarded with information and visual images from every direction. It is key to emphasize the Bible as truth and clarify what is not real or a fairytale. It is also important to remember when using Bible storybooks or other literature, they are the author’s version of the story put in their own words. Clarity may be necessary.

Pictures speak a thousand words, pay attention to the details.

When choosing materials that are Biblical based it is vital children know what is the Biblical truth from the story, what is the truth that can be applied to life, and what parts of the story are someone else’s thoughts.

Will my children be able to make better sense of the Bible?

Kids generalize information. It is often based on their limited experiences and knowledge. While some books make for great bedtime stories, mixing fiction with the Bible can leave a fine line or many gray areas.

I want my children to know the Word of God is true. If I put those truths into fiction without clarifying what is real and what is fiction, I am leaving them with differentiating information for themselves. I risk them thinking fiction stories are true or the Bible is a fairytale.

When I am using literature that is not straight from the Bible to teach Bible lessons it must be for the purposes of making the story more understandable or making sense at their level.

Finally, I have been teaching children Bible lessons for many years. To be honest, kids can always handle more than we give them credit for.

I will give you an example. I was teaching a group of 4-year-olds and was telling the kids (I always give lots of “grown-up” information) the book of Luke was written by Luke and Luke was a doctor. Why would it be good to know that Luke was a doctor? Luke, from the first verses, told us how important it was for him to be accurate with his information. To tell the truth. There are many people that don’t believe the Bible is real but Luke is looked at by many historical scholars because he wrote his details so precise. They are trustworthy.

Kids should get that, right? Why not tell them anyway? Someday, God may bring it back to them.

One little boy, I was telling this story to, was riding with his older brother and mom in the car and they were talking about church and the lessons and this little boy was telling his family that Luke was a doctor. His mother couldn’t believe he knew that and why he would know that. I told her I like to give the kids lots of information.

They can take it. They are like little sponges. Teach them and teach them truth. God’s truth! Friends, they are going to need it.

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

*What things do you look for in choosing children’s Bible based literature? Share with us below in the comments and share this post so your friends can join in the conversations.*

You can check my review of the ESV Family Devotional Bible here. We are loving this devotional at my house. All the devotions are actually contained within a full version of the Bible. That’s a bonus in my book!

Before you go, stop by my review and giveaway of Bible Belle’s. A series to help teach girls about the beauty within.

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Kelly is a homeschooling mom that shares her faith and love of family at Raising Samuels. Every week we are encouraged through through updates, lesson ideas, and enriching materials. Thanks Kelly for joining us here.

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WOW! I know Summer is busy so I thank you all for coming here and for the 97 Amazing posts. This party has been wonderful and it is thanks to you, friends, who link-up with us and those who stop by and read and SHARE! Thank you!

You all are amazing writers who share DIY’s, Recipes, Photos, Giveaways, Homeschool and Family and Faith. Many of you have amazing journeys of faith and I praise the Lord we are able to connect here!

Friends are here to encourage and challenge us in our walk of life, so enjoy!