Saying Yes to Jesus and No to the Devil

I have been learning so much in my study of James with Beth Moore. One of the thoughts that hit me really hard was this...

Trials will come. Temptations will come, but who you give assent to, will show who is the lord of your life.

If you read the first chapter of James it talks about the progression of both trials and temptations.

James 1:3-4 talks about faith trials

"Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience: But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."

The progression goes like this...

Trials -> Patience -> Perfecting-> Completeness

James 1:14-15 talks about temptations

"But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."

The 2nd progression goes like this...

Temptations/Lusts -> Sin -> Death

In both progressions or seasons of your life, step #2 will never happen until you give assent to the lord of your life. One would hope that, that is the Lord of the Heavens and the Sea, but it might not always be the case. Look at the below diagram and maybe this visual will make you understand a little better.

When you are being tempted, you have to say no to the devil and the foolish thoughts he places in your head and you have to say YES to Jesus. This will be where the learning and thus the patience begins in your life. 

However, many people say NO to Jesus when they are tried and lose out on His blessing.

Now temptations ARE NOT faith trials, they are human, fleshly errors that we make. These are lusts and temptations that are born out of our sin nature. 

BUT once again these can be stopped in the first step. When our lusts pull on us we simply say NO to the devil and YES to Jesus. What a powerful tool, yet easy, tool that we can use in our Christian walk. 

No matter if it's a faith trial or a temptation, simply say NO to the devil and YES to Jesus. You can NEVER go wrong doing that. - Rejoicing in the Present