Scripture

But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully matured, it brings forth death.

~James 1:14-15, LSB

Quote

No temptation is overcome until we stop trying to overcome it.

~C.S. Lewis

The Greek word translated ‘lust’ in the LSB is the compound word epithymós. The prefix epi can mean: upon, on, at, by, before, over, or against. You recognize the other word thymos from which we get thermos which means to heat or burn. Lust is burning desire that we rehash over and over, or you might say, a continual burning. As in the case of Amnon, David’s son, it can make a person sick.  Now it happened afterwards that Absalom the son of David had a beautiful sister whose name was Tamar, and Amnon the son of David loved her. And Amnon was so distressed because of his sister Tamar that he made himself ill. {2 Samuel 13} Tamar was Absalom’s sister [same father and mother] and Amnon’s half sister. The relationship would be incestuous but it was not frowned on then as it is now. Long story short, Amnon allowed his lust to consume him and he raped his half sister. To make bad matters worse, he mistreated her after he raped her by refusing to give her sanctuary. He shamed her further by putting her out into the street. Amnon’s lust turned to hate. He despised Tamar and this stirred anger which turned to hatred from Absalom who will eventually avenge his sister. {It gets complicated when children are raised in a harem}

What began as lust quickly turned to death. Amnon had been decieved by sin. What he thought was love was actually lust and when it conceived, it produced death. Chuck Swindoll says that a the discerning soul of a wise person will stay as far away from sin as possible. The fear of God will produce a fear of sin. A workable knowledge of the Bible will remind you of the consequences of sin. Years ago, a song was released that had these words, “It can’t be wrong if it feels so right.” The truth is–it can be very wrong when it feels right. We never give in to our feelings or our desires. “The heart is desperately wicked and who can know it?” {Jeremiah 17:9} You never trust your feelings; they are totally unreliable. Study God’s word, consider the consequences of sin; it will save you a lot of misery.

The word ‘entice’ is a fishing or hunting term; it means to be lured. Every good bass fisherman knows that you have to out think the fish if you intend to catch it. The lure the fish strikes is not really food, it only appears to be food. The fish strikes thinking it is getting a meal but it is getting a hook. Most people sin because they see the pleasure associated with sin but unfortunately, they do not see the hook. By the time they realize they are hooked, it is too late. Hooks are made with a barb which makes them hard to escape. Wisdon says, “Avoid sin at all cost becuse the ultimate consequence is death.” Every time we sin, something dies!

Extra

Billy Parker had a heart attack this morning and is on his way to Huntsville. Joe David is on his way and I have elected to stay here and pray. Ken Nelson made a little improvement. Lord willing Josh is going to drive me to Vandy Saturday morning. Melonie Mitchell is still in Hospital {Houston} and will be there two more weeks before she can move by to the apartment where she will stay for two months. She has to be close to the hospital for bi-weekly blood test.

I hope you have a great Thursday. The cool nights are wonderful unless you have a garden. Things will not grow until the nights get warmer. God bless you and thanks for reading the blog.