
What I'm Writing
Temptation comes at the most unexpected times. How do you respond when you become aware of something tempting you? Apostle Paul tells us of his struggles in Romans 7:15 AMPC. "For I do not understand my own actions [I am baffled, bewildered]. I do not practice or accomplish what I wish, but I do the very thing that I loathe [which my moral instinct condemns]." Have you been there? I know I have.
I've been writing about one of my characters who responds to temptation in a way he knew was wrong. He even tells himself it's a wrong choice and verbalizes what the right choice is, but he seems powerless to follow through. James 1:14-15 AMPC says "But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own evil desire (lust, passions). Then the evil desire, when it has conceived, give birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully matured brings forth death." The path from temptation to sin is a slippery slope.
In the book of Genesis chapter 4, verse 7, the Lord tells Cain, "If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin crouches at your door; its desire is for you, but you must master it." The Lord tells us we must subdue sin, rather than allow it to control us. My character allows his desires to draw him away. and he'll have to deal with consequences for his behavior, just as we do.
But all hope is not lost. 1 John 1:9 AMPC says, "if we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action]" There is forgiveness offered by our most gracious God who gave us Jesus. What gratefulness fills our hearts in knowing this.
I love how explicit God's Word is in telling us the truth about sin. You'll have to read my next book when I finish it to find out what this character learns. The Lord always has a lesson for us.

What I am learning in my walk with the Lord
I love planning. I often tell my husband that it's a carryover from teaching for so many years. When you teach, you always need a lesson plan, it helps things run so much more smoothly. I still need a lesson plan for my days, I always want to know what needs to be done, as well as what is on my schedule as far as appointments. I know it's early, but I started to think about what my "word of the year" would be for 2025.
Recently, I've seen a theme during my time with the Lord. I'm studying Isaiah, and I realized how frequently I come back to Proverbs 3:5-6. This is how it reads in the Holman Christian Standard Bible: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about him in all your ways and He will guide you on the right paths." Many versions use the word "recognize" or "acknowledge" where this one says, "think about." I like reading verses in a variety of versions to gain better understanding and to allow the words to really seep into my soul.
I easily fall into the pattern of relying on my own understanding, and studying the book of Isaiah has shown me I am not alone in this. But I want it to change. I want to learn to trust the Lord with my whole heart and acknowledge Him in all my ways, I need Him to direct my paths. So, I was thinking about the word "acknowledge" as a possibility for my "word of the year." But it didn't seem to fit, or I guess, I wasn't sure how to apply it to my goals and intentions for next year. I felt a bit frustrated about that, and I asked the Lord to help me to know the right word.
The next day was Sunday, and my word came to me in the last hymn we sang. The hymn was, "Speak O Lord." You can listen to the song here: youtu.be/aH1Wn4fTiBs?si=ewjtFV9RYVI0DGK1 The first part of the third stanza says, "Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds; Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us." My word-of-the-year came through loud and clear. Grasp. I want to grasp the Lord's will and plans for me and apply His directions to my life. And I want to grasp, as in holding tightly to Him. When I grasp Him, I think of leaning into Him, listening to Him, lingering with Him, loving Him, and learning of His truth in a very personal way. I love it. Grasp is the perfect word for my word-of-the-year. And I have already started writing ways to apply it to my goals.
All this to say, what I'm learning in my walk with the Lord, over and over again, is what a wonderfully personal God He is. I am always amazed at how He knows exactly what I need. He truly knows me better than I know myself.

What I'm reading
I'm reading the book, The Prayer Life, by Andrew Murray. I'm only on the fourth chapter, but I'm really liking it. The chapters I've read so far have centered around the theme of prayerlessness. Many Christians struggle with praying, so prayerlessness is a good place to start. One of my favorite quotes from this book is this: "Nothing can preserve you from the carelessness or make it possible for you to continue in living, powerful prayer except a daily close fellowship with Jesus, our Lord." It always comes back to the importance of relationship with the Lord and the recognition of our state of desperation for the Lord to be at work in our lives and in our hearts. Apart from Him we can do nothing (See John 15:5). And if you need a good book on prayer, be sure to look into this one.
I really appreciate having you stop by to read my blog.
May your heart be blessed with the gift of renewed hope in Jesus,
Cheryl
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