It's The Difference That Makes The Difference

There's a difference between temptation and sin, you know.

Have you been there, in the middle of temptation, on the cusp of potential sin? That feeling like being right at the tippytop of the first hill of the roller coaster...you can see it coming. You're tired, you're hungry, you're alone, you're angry...you're in trouble. But it's helpful to remember that temptation is NOT sin. It's the heat of battle. So hang on. Keep throwing punches, swinging that Sword, and raising that Shield.

I love Luther's famous words, quoting other famous words: 

“It is impossible to keep the devil from shooting evil thoughts and lusts into your heart. But see to it that you do not let such arrows (Eph. 6:16) stick there and take root, but tear them out and throw them away. Do what one of the ancient fathers counseled long ago: ‘I cannot,’ he said, ‘keep a bird from flying over my head. But I can certainly keep it from nesting in my hair or from biting my nose off.’”

Great points Martin made there, and great points Mark Driscoll makes here...