Today's devotional takes us to the book of Matthew 26:41 which says, "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak."
Let's meditate on this passage for a while and then we will pray together.
These words are from Jesus Christ who spoke these words during His earthly ministry.
The Bible tells us that at that time he was saying these words to Peter.
But today I believe he is saying these words to all of us, to every single one of us.
I believe the Bible is very specific with its use of words.
I believe Jesus Christ is very specific when he says things to his disciples. They are not mere spiritual advice given to fill space. They are deliberate.
It means that in this place the disciples were in real danger of falling into temptation just as we are today.
In fact, we are much more in danger of that in this present day because the temptations in the world have evolved.
They have taken on new faces.
They are much more cunning, much more seductive than they have ever been. And it is no longer news that living the Christian life requires intentionality.
It has always required intentionality. But today it requires even more of that.
The second sentence in Matthew 26:41 also unintentionally shows us our limitations as human beings.
I would say it's a warning. It tells us very plainly our state. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. It says meaning that as people many times we are willing to overcome these temptations. In fact, we are tired of having them in our lives and we want to walk away. But many times we find ourselves going back to them. The Bible tells us that the flesh will always and almost never be in agreement with the spirit and the same is true here.
The charge today is that we protect our minds from temptations and worldly desires.
Don't miss the note of personal intention there. No one else can do this guarding for you. It is something that you choose and something that you do yourself. Because if we are being very factual and honest with ourselves, we know that if Jesus Christ is what we want, if Jesus Christ is what we want to look like, it needs to be done.
The Bible says something very striking in relation to this in the book of Proverbs 4:23. The NIV version renders it this way.
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Above all else, above everything else, guard your heart.
I also particularly love how the KJV version of the Bible renders it. It says. "Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life."
It lays just enough emphasis for us to understand the weight of the statement with all diligence. It says, for out of it are the issues of life.
The issues of life, everything we do, flow from our heart and our mind.
We are largely a construct, a product of our thoughts. They shape our actions.
The Bible says in Proverbs 23:7 that as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. And now imagine that organ 🫀 we do life out of, the place where our decisions come out of is corrupted.
Just imagine what such a man will be, or what his life will look like, or what we will produce when it is corruption that dwells within us.
And today protecting your heart and mind does not work with just saying it. It is not just in the saying. It requires action.
The Bible pretty much gives us a directive on what to do in this world that seeks to claim our minds. And that directive is found in the first verse we looked at today.
Matthew 26 verse 41 which says watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
In fact, this directive is found in the first two words of the verse and they are watch and pray.
These are the words the Bible gives us as keys to protecting our minds from temptations and worldly desires.
It tells us to be watchful and to be prayerful.
Now let's look at them in the particular order in which they were given.
The Bible tells us first to watch, to be watchful. And I believe it means this in every sense of the word. To be watchful of what comes around us, of who comes around us, of what we watch, what we see, what we permit in our space, and what we subject our minds to.
Now, sometimes it may be impossible to be 100% at this, but we still have to be alert in the places where we do have control.
If you know you are weak in a certain area, you have to be careful of what people bring to you, what they bring around you, particularly when you know that those things tempt you.
You have to be particular about what you allow in your space. And by extension, you have to be watchful of the friendships you keep.
Do your friends lead you back to your temptations?
Do they lead you back to those worldly desires?
Or do they lead you away from them and lead you to God?
Our friends should be a covering. They should help us to stand rather than cause us to fall.
I believe a major part of being watchful is also to be mindful of what we fill our hearts and our minds with.
What do you watch?
What keeps you busy?
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