The Jerk!

Another thing that Rick warren said yesterday (and I began to do some scriptural digging on this morning and developing it for myself) was about how predictable the devil is. The jerk (my own word-- you like it?) wears out the same 3 tactics every time he snags one of us! He is predictable! (You will find that in I John 2:16.) He will trap you every time with:

1. Lust of the Flesh
2. Lust of the Eyes
3. Pride of Life

Maybe you understand it better this way:

1. Sex
2. Salary
3. Status

Or this way:

1. Passion
2. Possession
3. Position

These 3 are:

1. The temptation to feel (flesh)
2. The temptation to have (eyes)
3. The temptation to be (pride)
   

However you get it, JUST GET IT!! The devil used these tactics on:

• Adam and Eve
• Moses
• Joseph
• David
• Paul
  
• Jesus
• And he uses the same old dirty tools on you!

Want to hear another crazy one? Every commercial and ad you see appeals to one of these 3!

Finally, be leery of shortcuts, they are often the gate to temptation. If Jesus would have been into shortcuts he would have turned the stone into bread. Instead of doing the super, the spectacular or the snappy, he chose the suffering and the sacrifice.