E-pistle for October 14, 2005
Posted by: info <info@...>
Dr. Curt Scarborough, President
Freeway Foundation October 14, 2005
TEST, TRAIL, OR TEMPTATION?
Dr. Curt Scarborough
I. Concentration: on the difference between a test and a
temptation
Temptation (Greek) = (1) enticement to evil, (2) testing in general
(including trails).
1. God tests, but He does not tempt, James 1:13.
2. God permits testing (trials) to accomplish His purpose:
(1) To strengthen our faith and character.
(2) To prove the genuineness of our Christian commitment.
(3) To discipline us, as a means of moral and spiritual growth.
(4) To discipline us, as a means of purging us of dross.
3. Satan tempts; entices to evil for the purpose of our destruction.
4. James 1:14 teaches: "Each one is tempted when he is drawn away
(from doing God's will) by his own desires (inner sinful nature) and
enticed (Satan's enticement to sin).
II. Meditate: on I Corinthians 10:13
"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but
God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted, beyond what you are
able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you
may be able to bear it."
The Corinthians here are encouraged not to despair when they consider
four things:
1. Their temptations are not unique; they are the common experiences
of mankind.
2. God is trustworthy (to be trusted) because He is faithful to His
promises
. . . He never violates nor contradicts His integrity . . . His holy,
righteous
character.
3. God will not allow Satan to tempt us beyond our ability to endure
and
overcome.
4. God will provide THE WAY of escape so we will be able to bear the
temptation.
III. Revelation: on the spiritual implications seen here
1. Sometimes God's test can become Satan's temptation. Paul's thorn
(II Corinthians 12:7) was God's way of teaching him humility and the
sufficiency of divine grace; but it also was Satan's "messenger"
(temptation to sin) . . . to get Paul to blame God and to rebel against
God's divine purpose and His spiritual discipline (lesson).
2. God's provision for us in testing ultimately will be:
(1) To remove the trial (problem; circumstance)
for His glory, or
(2) To give us sufficient grace (II Corinthians 12:7-12)
. . . again for His glory!
3. Whenever we pray for someone else who is going through a severe
test (trial or temptation), we need to ask for discernment whether it
is Satan's attack or God's discipline, test, or lesson. One way to know;
is this situation producing spiritual benefits, life, and edification? Or
is
it producing just the opposite? (John 10:10)
4. Jesus teaches us to pray: "Lead us not into temptation, but
deliver us
from the evil one." Matthew 6:13. The Lord would not instruct us to
pray for anything outside the Father's will, nor for a spiritual blessing
that God will not provide.
IV. Applications: as a Christian, I need to . . .
1. Pray for discernment: is my personal "trial" God's test or Satan's
temptation?
2. If it is God's test, learn the divine lesson and benefit from the
spiritual discipline!
3. If it is Satan's temptation, find God's way of escape and take it!
4. See the same discernment when praying for someone else undergoing a
trial, so that I may intercede either for enduring for that person, or for
his deliverance.
"The Scrawny Plum Tree"
Dr. Curt Scarborough
It leaned at a crazy angle into the west wind back of my boyhood
home at
303 South McLeansboro Street in Benton, Illinois . . . that scrawny plum
tree. It was
ugly, and it was messy. Running a push-mower through that mine-field of
rotten
plums was hazardous to my health. Every couple of swipes, a plum-pit would
jam
the mower blades, and that machine would land a knock-out punch in my solar
plexus.
Its fruit had a shelf-life of about 30 minutes. On a Monday,
the plums were green
and as hard as a tax collector's heart. Presto-chango! On a Tuesday, those
incredible
so-called "purple-delicious" plums had turned icky and sticky. Either way,
that fruit was
totally inedible . . . good for only one thing . . . hand grenades! In its
pre-ripened
condition, a well-thrown missile could knock out cold another 8 year-old
kid. In its
mushy state, a plum-grenade could leave a huge purple stain on a
Sunday-go-to-meeting
shirt that no amount of Tide could wash out!
There was absolutely no mistaking the fruit from the
Scarborough's one-tree
orchard. When you spotted one of those famous, "purple-delicious" plums,
you knew
without a doubt exactly which tree had been its place of origin!
So it is with a person's life.
Jesus taught us in His Sermon on the Mount: "Do men gather
grapes from
thornbushes or figs from thistles? . . . By their fruit you will know them."
(Matthew 7:16, 20) The Lord here was speaking of persons who pretend to be
Christians, but whose real purpose is selfish and destructive. He advised
His followers
to be "fruit-inspectors," judging others by their life-style, character, and
influence.
It's in the same sermon where He warned "Judge not!" But there, He advised
His
disciples against having a mean, critical spirit of condemnation . . . or
else others
would treat them in the very same way.
Paul listed nine kinds of fruit which should be evident in a
Christian's life:
"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness,
gentleness, and self-control." (Galatians 5:22-23) In the next series of
meditational
thoughts, I will examine those "tasty traits" from a Spirit-filled person's
life.
Prayer for the Day: Lord, help me to remain attached to You, the True Vine,
so
that my life may bear genuine spiritual
fruit to benefit those
whose lives I touch.
Pillsbury College & Seminary
Tuition Fees for 2005
The Board of Regents of the Pillsbury College & Seminary has established the
following
Tuition rates effective, January 1, 2005: Undergraduate tuition: $60 per
credit hour
Graduate-level tuition: $90 per credit hour
Christian Doctor of Philosophy (C.Ph.D.) or Doctor of Christian Counseling
(D.C.C.)
NCCA: 60 credit hours - $5,400
Terms: $900 initial payment plus $150 monthly for 30 months
Christian Master of Arts (C.M.A.) or Master of Christian Counseling (M.C.C.)
or Master of Christian Psychology (C.Psy.M.)
NCCA: 45 credit hours - $4,050
Terms: $750 initial payment plus $150 monthly for 22 months
Doctor of Christian Psychology (C.Psy.D.) (Second Doctorate Only)
NCCA: 48 credit hours - $4,320
Terms: $870 initial payment plus $150 monthly for 23 months
Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) in Biblical Counseling, Expository Studies, or
Christian Theology
48 credit hours - $4,320
Terms: $870 initial payment plus $150 monthly for 23 months
Master of Ministry (M.Min.) in Biblical Counseling, Expository Studies, or
Christian Theology
36 credit hours - $3,240
Terms: $690 initial payment plus $150 monthly for 17 months
Bachelor of Biblical Counseling (B.B.C.) or Bachelor of Biblical Studies
(B.B.S.)
Final Year: 32 credit hours - $1,920
Terms: $570 initial payment plus $150 monthly for 9 months
The $50 registration fee will be refunded if the applicant is not accepted
as a student.
Entering students who submit a registration form for a degree program will
have 60
days in which to complete the process, including the payment of the initial
fee. After
60 days, the entering student who has not completed the process will be
placed on
inactive status, the registration form will become invalid, and the $50
registration fee
will be forfeited.
Pillsbury College & Seminary is owned, controlled and operated by Freeway
Foundation,
a non-profit ministry which provides "practical teaching and training for
successful living."
The Foundation pays the salaries and benefits of Pillsbury's administration,
staff, and
faculty members. The College & Seminary is housed at no charge in Freeway
Foundation's spacious modern building on a beautiful 2-acre campus in
northwest
St. Louis County. Since the overhead costs of the school are minimal, these
substantial savings are passed along to the student in the form of lower
tuition rates.
"Don't you wish there were a knob on the TV to turn up the intelligence?
There's one marked "Brightness," but it doesn't work!"
- Gallagher
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