The people in HereAndNow have an advantage over us: they can see a tempter coming. The tempters have an unmistakable appearance, and their lures are very predictable. Bobbles, bobbles, bobbles… that’s all they ever want to talk about.  But make no mistake, bobbles are never really free.

It’s undeniable that when a tempter talks, people listen! Well, most of the people. The People of the Book are different in that they see past the deception, which puts them way ahead of the game, so to speak. Funny, it probably doesn’t look like much of an advantage to those on the outside. It probably looks more like foolishness. After all, who wouldn’t want bobbles? Well, Tim for one. But that didn’t eliminate other temptations.

Life would be wonderful in HearAndNow – and here and now – if you always saw a temptation coming, could call it for what it is, and then move on triumphantly. But unlike the tempters of The Bridge from OneDayBow, temptations often present themselves in disguise. Disguised, how? Sometimes as a natural reaction, an innocent mistake, a sense of entitlement, a bad attitude, a wrong desire,…  You get the idea.

Let’s take a look at page 84 of The Bridge from OneDayBow and see it from Tim’s perspective:

Battling the tempters’ lies was never any fun,

But the battle with his self-will was the hardest one.

He tried to choose the right way, but sometimes he did not.

And when life got difficult, he complained… a lot.

It often was a challenge to discipline his mind.

He tried to focus on Truth, but often he would find

That wrong, unruly thinking would fill his thoughts instead.

Sometimes he felt a war must be raging in his head!

(Ever felt that way? Like in the last 24 hours?)

I love that the Apostle Paul speaks honestly of his struggle with sin, as he writes in Romans 7:18-19:

¹⁸ And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.  I want to do what is right, but I can’t. ¹⁹ I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.

Whoa! Even Paul wasn’t exempt from temptation! But he doesn’t end the confession with, “Oh well…” and give up. And verse 19 makes a startling observation:

 ²⁰ But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

That may sound like a cop-out to some, but if so you need to read the entire book of Romans to understand context. For the sake of clarity, let me say that Paul was not trying to excuse his sin, nor does he encourage us to disregard our own. Paul was saved (from eternal death, through forgiveness of sin and its consequences), though not sinless in his human body. But don’t miss this, because it is really big!: Paul earnestly wanted to be good, do right, and press on. (And he did press on all the way to the end of his life, and encourages us to do the same!) Temptations were going to continue to dog him, and he certainly knew a lot about the tempters of the world, but Paul recognized that the battle was ongoing and victory comes through perseverance. And it’s not because we always get it right, but in the ongoing strength and deliverance of the Lord.

Well, I’m glad to report that Tim didn’t stay stuck. He recognized the troubles he faced on the outside, and the inside, and confessed his wrong behavior in prayer to the King. And something very good came out of it. He was reminded of the faithfulness of the Son in all He had already done, and would continue to do for him. It wasn’t the time to give up. The tempters couldn’t disqualify him, and the temptations served to remind him:

Tim realized the lessons he learned in OneDayBow

Provided perfect training for all that he faced now.

And if he’d walk in victory, he must not forget

To keep on the equipment – the war’s not over yet.