Temptations aren't all bad

     I was tempted to not write this today.  But, the Lord and reason won out and here I am.  Temptations have gotten a bad rap over the many years after the garden.  I'm not denying some temptations are bad.  However, as Oswald Chambers points out:  "Temptation is not sin."  The Bible concurs.  Maybe if we focused on good temptations we would have less time to engage the bad temptations that are all around us.  Good temptations are just as plentiful and much more useful.  For instance, do you feel tempted to help others?  Good temptation.  Do you feel tempted to pray, read your Bible and do the will of God?  Good temptation.  Do you feel tempted to let that insistent person into traffic ahead of you?  Good temptation.  Are you tempted to gaze upon God's creation and "waste" time just worshiping?  Good temptation.  How about being tempted to think about the positives in life?  Good temptation.  Maybe you, like me, are tempted to enjoy guilt free indulgence in good food and drink?  Good temptation.  Perhaps the greatest temptation is being tempted to let Jesus have control of all of your life?  Good temptation!
      Being positive is a great temptation regardless of situation, means, or even commitment.  We face temptations all day long.  Some are stronger than others and some are almost a dream they seem so unreal.  While I could have been tempted to not address positive temptations; to do the opposite would only serve as a reminder of how much and how often we fail.  I don't like to be reminded of all those negative temptations that I've engaged in over the years.  They are in the past and serve me no good.  But to engage positive temptations places me in a position where I'm future orientated.  I'm looking for the positive temptations that bring me to places and people where I can be a positive influence for Jesus.  Sounds weird.  But, what would happen if the people around you were to find themselves positive and positively motivated leading them to be a positive temptation to others?  What would the world look like if we substituted being pessimistic and were positive instead?
     My words (and yours) belie the state of our hearts.  What's in the heart is reflected and projected into our words and actions.  If we fill our heart with the negative, we miss the point.  People were appalled that Jesus choose to go to the cross, died a grisly death and was buried in a tomb of a stranger while the disciples fled.  Jesus counted that act an act of joy!  His heart was and is always about God's love for you and I.  For all people!  What we often think of as the end of the world is often the open door leading to the beginning of a new world.  What you and I bring through that door does matter.  Today I am tempted to live for Jesus' love poured out on that glorious cross.  He died for me.  Is it so much for me to do for him?  Today you will see temptations.  Perhaps you will see them in a much different context.  Remember, it's always your choice.