2 Timothy 2:22 - Flee Temptation to Jesus!
2 Timothy 2:22 (NKJV) Flee also youthful
lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace
with those who call on the Lord out of a pure
heart.
2 Timothy 2:22 (NLT) Run from anything that
stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous
living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the
companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure
hearts.
COMMENTARY PEARLS
When Temptation Calls, Just Hang Up
Its common sense that if you dont
want to get stung, stay away from the bees! If
you dont want to get burned, dont get
close to the fire! If you dont want to fall off
the cliff, dont hang off the ledge!
The goal is not to see how close you can
get to temptation but rather how far away from
it you can stay.
Proverbs 14:16 says, A wise man is
cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is
arrogant and careless (NASB). You might think you
can handle temptation, but who are we kidding?
You need to do a frank assessment. You need to
analyze when and where you are most tempted and
vulnerable. Then you need to stay away from those
situations as much as you can.
The Bible says to run from temptation:
I pondered the direction of my life, and I
turned to follow your laws (Psalm 119:59 NLT).
If you have to physically remove yourself, do
it! When Potiphars wife tempted Joseph, he
left his coat and split. Sometimes you may have
to leave your coat. Get out of the situation.
Run from it. Dont stick around.
When youre tempted, get up and change
the channel. Or turn on music. Go for a walk.
Read the Bible. Call a Christian friend in your
small group. Do something to break the spell.
Here is some practical advice: Dont
ever try to argue with the Devil. Youll lose
every time. Hes had thousands of years to think
up lines to counter anything you could come up
with. Dont rationalize it. Dont justify it.
Dont argue it. The key thing to do is break the
focus. Dont look at the cookies and repeat, I
dont want them! I dont want them! Turn
around! The more you fight a feeling, the more it
grows in intensity.
When temptation calls you on the phone,
dont try to argue. Just hang up, and go do
something else. [Daily Devotional by Rick Warren:
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
The Best Way to Flee
Our culture is a pushover when it comes
to letting passions prevail. Especially
Christians. It's not at the banquet of the wicked where
we stuff ourselves on evil deeds; we've become
voyeurs, sampling what we've convinced ourselves is a
safe, nibbling-at-an-arms-length distance from the
table of the wicked. It's not pagans who have a
problem with the world, the flesh, and the devil;
it's believers.
I'm included. My spiritual battleground
is not over a torrid love affair or the x-rated
shelves in the video store. My paralysis prevents me
from reaching for common temptations. My fight of
faith is played out on the field of my thoughts.
What my body can't have, my mind will shift into
overdrive to deliver. But daydreams and fantasies only
frustrate, bringing feelings of restlessness and
dissatisfaction with the way things are.
The way you fight fire is with fire. To
combat powerful passions, you need something far
more powerful in your arsenal. In fact, the fire
of enticing thoughts must be fought with the
fire of the pleasures God offers. If you try to
fight lust with a bunch of threats and warnings
alone, you're going to fail. The fight of our faith
against wrong thinking is the fight to stay
satisfied with God. The battle involves more than
rejecting evil; it's pursuing God. It all comes down
to knowing Jesus better. When faith has the
upper hand in your heart, you are satisfied with
Christ. He's enough. He is sufficient. This is what
Jesus means when he says, He who believes in me
shall never thirst."
If you satisfy your thirst for joy and
passion by the presence and the promises of Christ,
then the power of sin in your life is broken.
That's real passion.
Draw me deeper, Lord, into your presence,
and draw me higher into your great joy. Let the
star-bright radiance of your life within me chase away
the shadows of lesser desires. [Joni Eareckson
Tada Daily Devotional:
http://www.joniandfriends.org/daily-devotional]
LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS PASSAGE
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2012/20121026-2138.html
EXCELLENT VIDEO SERIES ON 28 REVELATIONS OF
JESUS
1st of 28: Divine Dining:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_7j1QIKqmY
2nd of 28: Pictures of the Divine:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lNI-OQ7-eQ
3rd of 28: A Dirty Bible:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMkPvBuuFd4
4th of 28: Cared For:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztXyJVdcCds
5th of 28: Saved:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX45kGRe1HI
6th of 28: You Can Change:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd0gkvK18fo
7th of 28: Reprogramming Our Brains:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ov36f_RapXc
8th of 28 Our Holy Father:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XabXLEXsxbY
9th of 28 Gifts of Service:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtuGZviodkA
10th of 28 The Holy Spirit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in89XVs4cGo
11th of 28 The Law of God:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_Q601HjogI
12th of 28 The Sabbath:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sakgnKoTzZI
Live ongoing series in progress.
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
