I can smell the death on the sheets covering me...

Hi.

!!!

Aiieee!

I'm leading bible study today!

Dave won't even be here...I'm going to be praying like mad...I have forty minutes to prepare, and certainly I can accomplish nothing worthwhile on my own...

I'm sitting with my back to the windows in the big window room at school. This is very odd, because now I can see the sky and the surrounding neighborhoods reflected in the screen of my laptop. It's wicked cool.

Anyways...we're going to be talking about Philippians 2:19-30 today, I guess.

Actually, I don't know. I have a few thoughts I've been curious about others thoughts on...temptation, for one...the whole idea of whether or not God tempts us. Jeremy and I were talking about it at our last meeting, and I'm curious as to what others think.

I guess I should have my own specific, clear view before I ask anyone about it, though. I'm not 100% certain what I think, so maybe I'll do some research on what exactly the biblical viewpoint would be.

And there's a passage in Matthew I've been back and forth on, in Matthew 5...

Anyways, this is a bible study, so I want to put as much of the focus on the bible as I can...

I don't know.

Maybe rather than a discussion, we'll just meditate on a passage or two. And THEN discuss the verses. I guess that would be hard with all the distractions around us. Especially these LOUD people that always come to sit in one of the other tables in the window room.

They're so loud. Gosh. And I'm not very loud at all. Maybe I'll challenge them to a rock, paper, scissors game, loser has to leave. I don't know how to cheat at rock paper scissors, though, and obviously I would need to cheat in order for us to be able to stay, unless I win, I guess. And then again, if I lose, we just go down to A level where it's nice and quiet. C level, where I am now, has better views but way more people.

Anyways, I'm down to twenty five minutes and counting. I'd better do something...something besides waste time thinking out loud in my blog.

Okay, here we go.

Temptation. I'm just going to keep thinking out loud, actually. We'll see where it leads...

Specifically, what is the question about temptation? Whether or not God tempts us. He is sovereign over all things and completely in control, so there is no question that he ordains things to happen...and therefore, he allows temptation to happen, because we are tempted to sin all the time, whether it be to steal a cookie or despair of our situation in life...

Temptation is the lure of sin, the pull of it. It is interesting that Jesus was tempted, because he wasn't inherently sinful the way we are. So his flesh couldn't tempt him the way ours can, but the devil could. He offered Jesus quite a bit if he would fall down and worship the devil...if we would break his fast...kingdoms and earthly glory, but Jesus resisted, as we obviously need to do. The devil tempts us, too, something we have to be vigilant about...

But back to the question, does God specifically and purposefully tempt us to sin?

I think the answer is no. However, God does use sin to teach us, and I think that he, in his infinite mercy and wisdom, can put trials before us in order for us to learn to be more dependent on Him.

Okay, God's word is clearer and more important than my babbling. Here's a verse I really like:

"No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to do it."

-1 Corinthians 10:13

Wow, okay, so no temptation can come upon us that God is not faithful to guide us through and protect us from giving in to. He allows temptation to occur, but if we trust in Him, we need have no fear of sin, because God will also give us a way of escape, so that we don't have to sin.

This is incredible!

How often can we prepare for and evade temptation and sin on our own? Knowing that God is in control and trusting in His will can make it all so much easier.

Just to make sure I'm clear, I think God allows temptation to occur, and through His sovereignty he uses evil and sin to His good, but on His own he would never directly tempt us. This would be sin, making it easier for someone to stumble. Rather than this, it seems like he allows the temptation, but prepares us for it and guides us through it, making what could be bad into a learning experience where we learn to more deeply trust God rather than ourselves.

Okay, I hope that was all clear. Let me know what y'all think. I don't know, I think these thoughts are fairly biblical, but I could be wrong. Unlike God's Word, I'm far from infallible.

I'll see what Jesse thinks if he comes today. I can always count on him for well grounded doctrine...

It's 12:04 and nobody's here. I wonder if anybody's coming. Probably just as well, really, since I'm not a very good leader or anything.

Well...I guess I'm going to start in on those verses in Philippians. Actually, that and I'll keep thinking about temptation too until I'm confident my views are right.

Ten minutes and nobody's here. I'll bet Dave told everyone I was in charge. That would scare me off, haha.

I think I'll hold off on writing about Philippians for right now. I don't want this blog to be a novel and a half...

I saw Amazing Grace last night and really, really liked it. I want to do some research on the whole story. I find it very interesting that the movie only got one and a half stars from the newspaper. They have consistently been giving all the new Christian movies coming out that exact rating. Thr3e, The Last Sin Eater, and others have all been getting knocked by critics, but now that I've seen one of the movies, this rating seems ridiculous. I mean, they may not be the best feats of cinematography ever attempted by mankind, but they're also not bad movies like such a rating suggests. I'm ticked now. The low rating Thr3e got took away all my eagerness to see it...now I wish I'd gotten a group together to go see it...

I don't know, I'm not TOO affected by reviews and stuff, but I guess I let them influence me to some extent.

In other news, I am going to Asia. I know because my fortune says so.

"You will enjoy a trip to Asia."

That was my exact fortune. Never mind the text message I sent out mentioning Africa.

Deathbed is one of the best songs ever written. So, so powerful. I highly recommend the new Relient K cd. It's brilliant. I'll post a review tomorrow...

Wasn't there something else I was going to talk about? I remember wanting to talk about something else.

Oh! Edgar Allen Poe. You want to know what my assignment is? In creative writing,

Oh, holy cow, a big noisy group just came in and took one of my chairs. Not that I need any. 12:20 and nobody's here. I'm really, really, relieved, though, I must confess. Not that I mind leading, I just don't feel prepared enough. I didn't have time for my devotions this morning.

Wow, I think I've been writing for an hour! I'd better stop while this is still manageable. Okay, quickly, in creative writing, we were all assigned to study an author that writes in our genre of choice and try to learn how to mimic his or her style of writing, and I chose Poe. Thus I'll be reading much of his fiction and trying to learn how to take apart his style and use it myself. I'm really interested in this idea, because I'd love to be able to read a writer's stuff and be able to sort of dismantle it and reuse what works for me.

Anyways, I'm off! Good luck reading all that! Sorry! Later llamas!