To All,
bmerr here. I'm glad Mr. Lowery started this thread. If nothing else, it demonstrates that all of us, regardless of doctrinal differences, deal with common problems.
It is also probably common among us to get discouraged with ourselves when we fail to deal with temptation as we should. It's good for one to recognize failure in himself. Keeps one from thinking of himself more highly than he ought.
But discouragement can be, well, discouraging, and that's not a good thing to let go on for too long. With this in mind, I want to remind those of us who have obeyed the gospel as illustrated in the NT (the rest of you can do the same) that we "...have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin (Heb 4:15).
Think about that for a minute. "Like as we are". We usually understand that Jesus faced all the temptations that we do, but I think we have the idea that He faced them once, and never had to deal with them again. But that's not how it goes with us, is it? We face the same temptations day in and day out, some with more difficulty than others.
The Bible says that Jesus was tempted in all points "like as we are", which means that He faced the same temptations that we do, every day of His life on earth, just like we do. How he must hurt with us when we fail! How ready He must be to restore us to fellowship! Since He was a man, what compassion He must have for us! What a wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord!
In Christ,
bmerr