Devotion 2.29.16

George on "Seinfeld" had a passcode for his debit card.  He won't give it out, even when it means life and death.  Kramer, looking at George during this episode, begins to narrow down the possibilities and comes perilously close to guessing the passcode correctly.  His rationale?  George's desires.

Desire.  You know the word.  You have them.  You know you do, and to deny that you do is to deny the entire essence of scripture itself.  "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." (1 John 1:8)  Kramer knows he's onto George's desires (chocolate in this case) and sees George sweat as he narrows the guesses down to what it is that makes George tick.

We have desires.  Scripture is replete with our sinful nature and the desires that we fight in story after story.  It starts in the Garden, where Adam and Eve have a simple task: Tend to the garden and worship God, yet they don't succeed.  Satan, like Kramer, finds a weak spot. "Did God really say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?'"  That Eve even responds speaks of pride.  That Satan speaks of being "like God" shows he knows the weakness and flirts with Eve's lust to be like God by saying, "You will not surely die, for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God...."  That's all it took in a state of perfection.

During Lent, we've used the theme "Ctrl.Alt.Del." That attempt to reset our lives based on the lives we lead in our marriages, our children, our finances, and even in the sins we face, such as the potential to sin through yielding to our desires.  To whom do we turn?

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)

Pray that in temptation and as our desires stand before us, we turn to God to not yield to the flesh, and that when we fail, we turn to him for that forgiveness he provides through his Son Jesus Christ.

Hope Men's Ministry