HEBREWS 11:23-26 –  By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.”

THEME OF THE DAY: THE JOY OF OBEDIENCE.   Satan does not present temptation and sin in their true colors.  Just the opposite.  He hides the pain and poison in  temptation and sin only putting forth sin’s pleasures, and don’t think it isn’t pleasurable.  It is but only for a season.  He did this with Eve and he continues to do so in our world with great effectiveness –  Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths (Genesis 3:1-7).  Eve succumbed to his tactics and the seeming pleasure of sin quickly went to nothing but pain, regret and remorse.

In today’s scripture, Moses did the opposite of Eve.  We read – By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.

What is the lesson we are to learn? The theme of today’s nugget – the joy of obedience.  When tempted to sin, and it looks attractive, and it will, stop and remember the joy of obeying the Lord.  By saying “no” to sin, we bring pleasure to the Lord, we affirm our love to Him, we protect our fellowship with Him, and we have the assurance of His protection against the tempter and sin.  Are those not joy-producing realities that come from our obedience?  Do they not direct us away from the fleeting pleasures of sin when we grasp these lasting pleasures from the Lord?

The next time we are tempted to sin, stop and think not on the fleeting pleasures of sin but on the joy that obeying the Lord will bring into our lives.

PRAYER: “Father, please protect me from being deceived as to the poison of sin.”

QUOTE: “Sin is always pleasurable at first, but soon produces nothing but pain.”

In the affection of Christ Jesus,

Pastor Jim