Happy Thursday

Resisting Temptation

You shall have no other gods before me. - Exodus 20:3

Remember the bumper sticker, "I can resist anything but temptation?" The land to which the people of Godwere marching was filled with places dedicated to false gods  -- places that tempted God's people to turn from worship of Him. These places were to be destroyed. Why?  Because God told His people they should have no other gods before Him -- there is only one true and living God. He commanded the people to tear down these altars and pillars and images, to keep the Holy Land from being polluted by these hideous reminders of ungodliness.
 
God has commanded the same of us. But if we harbor evil in our lives and do not strive after holiness, we pollute our lives just as the altars to false gods polluted the Promised Land. Unfortunately, false gods don't come with horns and a tail.

False gods come all wrapped up in something pretty. From what I understand about the cherubim and seraphim, and all God's angelic creation, I guess there's nothing prettier than an angel. And the Bible says that "Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14).

Even though we understand this, God says temptations will come. And often they will come from unexpected places. So you and I must be on our guard. We must be careful of the books we read, the forms of entertainment of which we partake, the magazines to which we subscribe.

Our directions are clear. Resist the Devil. Avoid the things of the world. Flee youthful lusts. And the Word of God will be used by the Holy Spirit to feed us and make us strong, and guide us along the right path.

Prayer -- Lord, when I am tempted, open my eyes and turn me from the glittering baubles to treasure everlasting. Amen.

We will never know the power of God in casting out false gods unless we choose to turn that power on.

Daily Smile: 
An Illinois man left the snow-filled streets of Chicago for a vacation in Florida. His wife was on a business trip and was planning to meet him there the next day.

When he reached his hotel, he decided to send his wife a quick email. Unable to find the scrap of paper on which he had written her email address, he did his best to type it in from memory.

Unfortunately, he missed one letter and his note was directed instead to an elderly preacher's wife, whose husband had passed away only the day before. When the grieving widow checked her email, she took one look at the monitor, let out a piercing scream and fell to the floor in a dead faint. At the sound, her family rushed into the room and saw this note on the screen:

DEAREST WIFE: JUST GOT CHECKED IN. EVERYTHING PREPARED FOR YOUR ARRIVAL TOMORROW.
P.S. SURE IS HOT DOWN HERE.


In The News:

Anti-Religion Group Blasts Teen Valedictorian's Prayer

The Freedom From Religion Foundation blasted what it called the "open defiance" of a valedictorian who delivered the Lord's Prayer during a high school graduation ceremony last Saturday in South Carolina, Todd Starnes reports. Roy Costner, a senior at Liberty High School in Pickens, created national attention when he ripped up his pre-approved graduation speech and instead led the crowd in a recitation of the Lord's Prayer. A video of the speech was posted on YouTube and has since gone viral. It shows the 18-year-old setting aside his speech and saying, "I think most of you will understand when I say, 'Our Father, who art in heaven...'" As the crowd cheered, he concluded his remarks by pointing to the sky and saying, "For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen." A school district spokesperson said the valedictorian will not be penalized for what he did, and Costner said he has absolutely no regrets. "I'm happy with what I did," he said. "I want this to glorify God. I want to use this as a witnessing tool and I hope others will stand up for God in our nation." As for his critics, Costner quoted a passage of Scripture from the Gospel of Matthew. "If you deny me among men, I will deny you to the Father," he said. He also had a special message to the Freedom From Religion Foundation: "We are not in a country where we have freedom from religion. We have freedom of religion."

Egypt: Christian Newspaper Accused of Insulting Islam

The chief editor of a Cairo-based Christian newspaper called The Way and the Truth has been accused of insulting Islam through the newspaper, Voice of the Martyrs reports. A Muslim scholar brought the accusations against Nagy Youssef to Egypt's attorney general, who then referred them to the North Cairo General Court. Nagy could face up to 10 years in prison on accusations of "stirring up the religious divisions and despising the Islamic regime." In response to the accusations written about him in various newspapers, Nagy reportedly said: "Thank God for this free advertising to our great newspaper!"

NFL Player Rejects White House Visit Over Obama's Support of Abortion

Retired Baltimore Ravens center Matt Birk, who won a Super Bowl with the team last year, skipped the team's visit to the White House due to President Obama's support for Planned Parenthood, the Washington Examiner reports. "I have great respect for the office of the presidency but about five or six weeks ago, our president made a comment in a speech and he said, 'God bless Planned Parenthood,'" Birk, a former Minnesota Viking, told a local Minnesota sports blog. "I'm very confused by [Obama's] statement," he explained. "For God to bless a place where they're ending 330,000 lives a year? I just chose not to attend. Planned Parenthood performs about 330,000 abortions a year. I couldn't endorse that in any way." Obama spoke at the national Planned Parenthood conference this year, stating: "As long as we've got to fight to make sure women have access to quality, affordable health care, and as long as we've got to fight to protect a woman's right to make her own choices about her own health, I want you to know that you've also got a president who's going to be right there with you, fighting every step of the way. Thank you, Planned Parenthood. God bless you. God bless America."

Emergency Contraception: 'It'll Be Like Buying Tylenol'

Abortion rights activists celebrated outside the federal appeals court in Manhattan after the 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals issued an order permitting immediate, unrestricted over-the-counter sales of all two-pill emergency contraceptives. Unrestricted sales of Plan B One-Step contraceptive are still on hold until the court decides the merits of the government's appeal. Julie Rickelman with the Center for Reproductive Rights hopes the pills will be available without restriction within a month: "The two-pill products are going to be readily available to women without age restrictions, on any drugstore shelf. It’ll be like buying Tylenol. You’ll be able to go get it off the drugstore shelf, no ID, at the regular counter." That's exactly what worries opponents of the decision. Family Foundation president Victoria Cobb expressed concern about the ease with which young girls will be able to get this potent product. She points out the unintended consequences: "The government calls pre-marital sex risky behavior because of the high risk of STDs. This ruling may reduce [unintended pregnancies], but it is ignoring the STD risk." Cobb also said when a pill is marketed as the solution with no consequences, people with abusive intentions will put it to bad use -- potentially making it easier for child sexual abusers to cover up their acts. Cobb urged parents to stay involved and "be even more diligent about what their kids are given or taking."