I finished my last post with a passage from the book of James about how God does not tempt us to see if we will resist. Even Satan cannot force us to sin. We have a choice. We decide what choice we will make.

What’s the best way to make the right choice? The answer is simple, learn what Jesus taught. I don’t know if this old saying is still used but I remember people saying when you need to make a decision ask yourself “What would Jesus do?”

How do you know what Jesus would do? There are three ways:

• Read. Stop using your Bible as a conversation piece, brush the dust off of it and read it. You don’t even have to read the whole thing. Pick one of the gospels (my recommendation would be Luke) and read it. One chapter at a time is fine. This will give you the fundamentals of what Jesus taught.
• Pray. Ask the Holy Spirit for help. He will guide you. You might have to wait a little while but he will answer you. Just remember it might not be what you want to hear but listen and follow his advice. How will he speak to you? Many, many ways. He has “spoken “ to me in dreams, He has spoken to me through listening to the radio, He has spoken to me just out of the blue. He speaks in many ways. All you need to do is listen. When I began my journey back my prayers were nothing but a conversation with God. Very informal. I would ask and He would listen and then answer.
• Go to church. Whether it’s Catholic mass or a good old fashioned Baptist prayer meeting, go. Listen. Talk to other likeminded people and learn.

Once you learn what being a good Christian is by following Jesus it becomes very easy to resist temptation. And the more you do it the easier it becomes.

I think back to the bad old days and realize if I had learned what the Holy Spirit had to say fifty years ago my life would’ve turned out differently. But I also realize that God is in charge and He has a plan for me so I must be right where I should be.

SO LONG as we live in this world we cannot escape suffering and temptation. Whence it is written in Job: “The life of man upon earth is a warfare.” Everyone, therefore, must guard against temptation and must watch in prayer lest the devil, who never sleeps but goes about seeking whom he may devour, find occasion to deceive him. No one is so perfect or so holy but he is sometimes tempted; man cannot be altogether free from temptation. – “The Imitation of Christ” . Thomas Kempis