Bible Devotion - 5/10/2021

May 10th, 2021

Living the Christian Life Day by Day (Vol 1)

Over the next couple of months, I am going to focus our weekly devotional lessons toward the daily duties of the Christian. Several times in the bible we find the phrase “day by day”. God provides these occurrences to help us focus on important areas of our Christian life that call for daily attention.

The first matter that I want us to consider this week is found in association with the life of Joseph, the son of Jacob.

We read in Genesis 39:10…

"And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her."

With this experience that Joseph encountered we are reminded that temptation is a daily experience and must be overcome on a daily basis!

Oscar Wilde said, "I can resist anything but temptation."

We often laugh at statements like the one above perhaps thinking of a delicious dessert that we failed to say “no” to, or a car that we impulsively bought thinking we had to have it; only to find out later it was a lemon. There are some temptations that may not seem as severe as others, but when it comes to our Christian life, we must learn how to overcome all temptations.

Years ago, I came across a spiritual equation that I have never forgotten: "temptation plus opportunity equals trouble." It is possible for someone to be tempted yet not have the opportunity to fulfill that temptation. On the other hand, someone may have the opportunity, but not be tempted. It is only when you get the two together that you have a problem.

Allow me to point out a few things in regard to the temptations that Joseph faced. Hopefully, they will help you with the temptations you fight this week.

First, let me point out that…

1. TEMPTATION IS A FACT OF LIFE:

In our text we find Joseph facing a tempting situation. We are reminded in 1 Corinthians 10:13,

"There hath no temptation taken you but such is common to man."

The word "common" speaks of that which is human, after the manner of man and characteristic of man. It is human to be tempted and to be tempted is human. We must expect temptation, but there are one thing that I see in Joseph’s life that helped him to overcome it and that is He lived a guarded Godly life!

We read that Joseph enjoyed the presence of God in his life. We read in verse 2, "And the Lord was with Joseph." In verse 3 we see that even his master recognized the presence of the Lord in his life. We read, "And his master saw that the Lord was with him."

Having alone time with God everyday will help you win you battle with temptation. Joseph also guarded his life as well!

When Potiphar's wife asked Joseph to lie with her, we read in verse 8, "But he refused." The word "refused" means that he "utterly refused." There was no thinking about the offer. He immediately and point blank said “No”!

Dear Christian, we can never drop our guard, not even for one moment. If you give the Devil and inch, he will become a ruler. He did everything in his power and ability to guard his life from sin and failure.

Proverbs 6:27-28 says, "Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?"

There can be no negotiating or compromise with sin. You play with fire and you will get burnt! You pick up snakes and sooner or later you will get bit!

Not only does temptation come daily but when it comes…

2. WE MUST FIGHT ITS POWER

The advance of Mrs. Potiphar was more than a onetime event. We read in verse 10, "And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her."

Day after day she made the same suggestion to Joseph, so how did Joseph fight the power of temptation? He had some principles and procedures in place in his life that helped him “say no” to temptation.

We read in verses 8-9, "But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand; There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife."

He thinks of how good his master has been to him; the position and privileges he enjoys because of his master's kindness. To yield to her offer would be a violation of the trust he had been given.

He adds in verse 9, "how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" The word "wickedness" speaks of the breaking down of that which is right. To yield to her advances would be a violation of God's laws and destroy the fellowship he has with God.

The next time you are tempted to sin remember that that sin will not only be a sin against God but it will have a severely negative effect upon your relationship with him.

Charles Spurgeon said, "Learn to say no. It will be of more use to you than to be able to read Latin."

We must learn to say no to temptation!

Lastly, we must...

3. FEAR THE OUTCOME OF YEILDING TO TEMPTATION:

There are always consequences to yielding to temptation and there is always a price to pay. In Joseph's case, there were consequences to not yielding to temptation. We read in verses 13-20 that Potiphar’s wife lied about Joseph making advances toward her and because of her false claims he was thrown in prison.

Yes, it cost Joseph for not yielding, but I submit unto you it would have cost him more if he had yielded. Sure, Joseph ended up in prison, but we read in verse 21, "But the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy."

If Joseph had yielded, it would have cost him the presence and blessings of the Lord in his life. He had lost a coat to Potiphar’s wife, but he had not lost his favor with God. Ask yourself which is more valuable?

We also read in verse 21 that not only was the Lord with Joseph in prison, but also that the Lord, "gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison."

Joseph had not lost his testimony and influence. If he had yielded his testimony would have been scarred and marred. When we think of the shame that often goes with yielding to certain temptation, we must ask ourselves if it is worth the cost? The guilt and embarrassment that goes along with yielding, as well as a testimony that is hurt and even ruined, the cost is far more than we should be willing to pay.

There is always a price to yielding to temptation but before you give into it you should ask yourself if it is a price you are willing to pay because temptation comes to us with many offers and some of them may get close to our asking price. Yet, we must never forget what the real price will be if we yield. Day by day we must win the battle with temptation! May God give us all strength this week.

Bro. Jeff Sizemore