temptation.

"Moses said to Israel, "Anything made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, or lead-that is, metals that do not burn-must be passed through fire in order to be made ceremonially pure" (Numbers 31:22-23). Nothing is acceptable to God unless it has been passed through the fire. Temptation proves the quality of your "metal." Though Jesus was severely tempted by the devil, He came forth as purest gold."

Christian or Non-Christian temptation will come your way. Jesus never promises His followers a temptation-free ride. He does promise someone to guide you through the temptation. That is why He sent His son, to express His love and to show us how even His son underwent temptation.

I think it is so easy to live day to day with the mentality that because we live in the type of world that we do that we aren't half as bad as the people around us. It is easy to fall into the habit of thinking that even the worst thing you've ever done isn't nearly as bad as what some people do daily. We compare ourselves to other people. This is flawed because people are not flawless. Jesus is the only blameless person to ever have walked the earth. Jesus, also calls us to follow Him, and deny ourselves of things of the world. He says this so we can grow in Him, and become more and more like Him... and less and less like the world.

Jesus went through ALL of the temptations that we face, and more. He knows exactly what we go through first hand because He has experienced it all.

I once heard a quote, "a diamond has to undergo extreme pressure, and pain to shine and shimmer brilliantly." It has stuck with me because it always reminds me that whatever the circumstances God has you in right now is for a purpose.