A wise fish will recognize LURES

[Meditations on a devotional book entitled "Made To Crave" by Lysa TerKeurst]

I have been born and raised in a Christian home, and it always amazes me when passages I have read through, and heard preached on at least a dozen times, reveal yet more! So it was in chapter one of this devotional.

1 John 2:16 clearly highlights THREE LURES to tempt us...
"For all that is in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life - is not of the Father but of the world."
1)LUST OF THE FLESH
-craving for sensual gratification (Amplified)
-PHYSICAL NEEDS (Lysa)
2)LUST OF THE EYES
-greedy longings of the mind (Amplified)
-MATERIAL NEEDS OR DESIRES (Lysa)
3)PRIDE OF LIFE
-assurance in own resources, and stability of world (Amp.)
-NEED FOR SIGNIFICANCE (lysa)

Now look at Gen.3:6
Eve
1)Saw tree was good for food (physical need)
2)it was delightful to look at (material desire)
3)desired in order to make one wise (need for significance)
Lysa says "the very downfall of humanity was caused when Eve surrendered to a temptation to eat something she wasn't suppose to eat" - ouch!

Then we look at Matt.4:1-11
Jesus was tempted to:
1)make stones into bread (physical need)
2)have kingdoms of the world (material desire)
3)throw Himself down onto rocks (need for significance)
-proving Himself Son of God
Of course, Jesus did not nibble at the lures.
Makes me think of all the scriptures that talk about the power of Christ in us. He is our example and help to recognize and resist temptation.
'His divine power has given us everything we need for life'
2Peter 1:3-11

1John goes on to say,
"the world is passing away and the lust of it;
but he who does the will of God abides forever."

Throughout the days that have followed my original reading of this chapter my eyes opened anew to the motives behind thoughts and feelings. It's rather startling - how SO much comes down to these three things.