OUT OF THE BOX

  DRIVING GRANDMA TO THE DEVER FIELD I was ten years old, talking with my grandmother (Ma Ma) in her back yard, when my grandfather (Pa Pa) came walking out the back door. She said to him, “Tharon, I have to do some work down at the Dever field, and I need you to drive me. The field was a half mile away at the end of a dirt road. Pa Pa did not want to drive her to the field and have to wait on her. Neither did he want to leave her there and have to guess at when to go back and get her. He thought for a few seconds, reached into his pocket and took out the car keys, looked at them, looked at the car…and then looked at me. “Son,” he said, “Can you drive a car?” I was 10 years old and had never driven a car, but many times I had sat in Daddy’s pick-up truck going through all the motions of changing gears while pretending to drive it. Without hesitation, I responded, “Yes, Sir. I can drive it.” I was not about to miss this opportunity. Without another word, he handed me the keys and went b

    TEMPTATION AND LUST: PART 3   During temptation our lusts overpower rationality and common sense. We see only the object of our desire. In our temporary blindness we forget the potential consequences that await us. In those times of temptation, we are not mindful of rewards and plans God has for us, and we fail to consider the horrible consequences our sin will bring upon us. In those moments of overwhelming temptation, we have no props or support other than our relationship with Jesus Christ. Temptation exposes where we really are. When Satan dangles the “apple” in front of you, and at that moment you feel no “glory clouds” or spiritual strength, you must decide whether or not you believe God and whether or not you will obey Him. When temptation is at its greatest, it is the fear of God that keeps a person upright. “Oh…that they would consider their latter end!”  Deuteronomy 32:29 .   Lusts are never satisfied . They grow and strengthen when yielded to. They start out like someone

              ThisVenus Fly Trap is a beautiful flower.  The fly is drawn to it by its fruity smell and attractive red color. When the fly touches the stiff hairs on the inside of the plant's hinged leaf... it sets off an impulse that causes the trap to snap  shut imprisoning the fly. Further movement sets off the digestive process.  This is a good example of how temptation works. We are lured by what appears to be something pleasing to our flesh, not realizing the cost that awaits to ensnare us.  The Apostle Paul warns us that our lusts are deceitful. The writer  of  Proverbs says, "His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, and he is caught in the cords of his sin." It is important for us to realize the lusts of the flesh deceive us. The tempters that attract us are hiding snares that lie in wait to entrap. Lust has a deceptive allurement appearing sweet like honey but whose end is bitter as wormwood and produces death. "But each of us is tempted when he is drawn aw