Devotional from Pastor Tim

Temptation is part of life in a fallen world, but it does not define you. Being tempted does not mean you are unspiritual or far away from God… it means you are human. Jesus was tempted because of the vulnerability of His humanity and because there is a tempter. Temptation did not define Him and actually became another opportunity to simply trust His Father.

Romans 6 tells us that we are dead to sin but alive to God. That doesn’t mean sin feels dead to us, but that we are dead to it. It’s not about chasing a feeling that needs to change, but resting in a fact that never will. In Christ, sin has lost its grip on us, and our relationship to it is over. It doesn’t enslave us, own us, or define us. We owe it nothing. We don’t have to manage it, wrestle it, or pretend it’s gone; we just don’t belong to it anymore. So when we say “no” to temptation, we’re not depriving ourselves. We’re not suppressing desire, we’re remembering where it’s truly met…in Him. We’re saying “yes” to Jesus, the one in whom we belong and who alone satisfies the deepest longing of our souls. When temptation “feels” like more than you can handle, remember who you are and Whose you are…that is freedom!

‍“Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” – Romans 6:11

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