Senior Living - September 26

How to avoid being tempted to sin

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. - Galatians 5:16

Picture yourself walking on a set of train tracks when a train starts coming at you from behind. If the train engineer sees you on a track, he or she will blow the whistle. But at this point, you already have a few things going against you.

First, train engineers say often it takes more than one blast to get the average person’s attention. And large trains can’t stop the way motor vehicles can because the average freight train has about 100 cars, weighs 12 million pounds, and takes a full mile to stop.

Not only that, but an optical illusion happens with train tracks. When you turn around and see a train coming, it looks as if it is traveling half as fast, and is two times farther away from you than it really is. For example, if it is going 60 miles per hour and is half a mile away, it looks as if it is traveling 30 mph and is one mile away.

Now it’s easy to read those facts above and come to the logical conclusion that walking along train tracks is unsafe. Yet in the spiritual life, many people are content to walk along the train tracks of sin, which is much more elusive and dangerous than a train on a set of tracks!

Whatever your sin struggle is, don’t walk on the tracks. Avoid the sin that could potentially entangle you by guarding yourself against temptation!

Prayer Challenge

Pray and ask God to give you the strength to resist sin, especially the sin in your life that is particularly tempting.

Questions for Thought

What are some sins in your life that could potentially sneak up on you if you’re not looking?

How can you take action to avoid temptation to commit those sins?

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