Jennifer had been deep in thought for days. She was torn between a desire to
serve God and getting a juicy job offer. The job was hers for the taking just as
the HR manager had told her a few days ago. There was however a snag. “I like
you very much” said the man who stood between her and a job she had spent many
jobs pursuing. “How about we go out next weekend to celebrate your new job?” he
said, eyes twinkling with a devilish wink.
“I am sorry, I can’t do that. I am a Christian!” Jennifer blurted out. Still
smiling, he replied “Oh, don’t give me that crap. I’ve met a lot of your type
before. You can leave now, when you are ready, you can give me a call. Have a
nice day”.
“You can’t let this offer slip through your fingers!” exclaimed Jennifer’s
friend, Teni. “There has to be a way out somehow. Why don’t you just go out with
him with the understanding that nothing would happen between you two?” This
sounded reasonable and quite tempting but Jennifer was still not sure. She could
not forget the cunning look in the eyes of the HR manager when he asked her out.
Thankfully, Jennifer refused to take the bait. She lost the job offer but got
another job a few weeks later. This job was not as lucrative as the one she
missed out on but she had rest of mind. She shuddered to think of what could
have happened if she had compromised her faith for the job. Apart from the guilt
she would be carrying around, she would also have to live with the consequences
of the act; unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and of course
deeper consequences of abortion and infertility.
The devil is still using the same old bag of tricks against God’s people. We
need to have an understanding of God’s word in order to fight against these
tricks and overcome. Imagine what he told Eve, “Can it really be that God has
said, You shall not eat from every tree of the garden?” (Gen 3:1) God had not
said Adam and Eve could not eat of any tree in the garden, he was specific about
which tree they could not eat from and Satan knew this. However for him to
accomplish his aim, he had to start by twisting the truth.You and I know the
consequences of that action till this day.
Today, we are faced with so many opportunities laced with compromise. The enemy
knows that he cannot come headlong to try and coax you like he did Adam and Eve
so what he does is to use people we love and respect. They tell us that “it does
not matter”. We realize that it does matter when it is too late.
What is the antidote to compromise? The answer is simply, “doing it Jesus’ way".
Jesus’ way is using God’s word, straight, precise and unequivocal. “It is
written…..” (Like 4: 1 – 13)
The power in the word which made the devil retreat from his offensive against
Jesus, is very much alive and potent today. No matter how much color the enemy
wraps around what he offers us, the word will always strip off the deceitful
wrappings and reveal what is inside the package to us.
Steve Popoola
Steve Popoola is the editor of Biblepraise Newsletter. He was born in London but
currently resides in Lagos, Nigeria with wife Maris and their children, Praise,
Stephanie and Precious. He works in a bank as a Systems administrator . Formerly
an active singer, he still sings occasionally and speaks at invited forums. He
presently serves as the Head of Books/Library in his local church. He is the
Moderator/Editor of Biblepraise Newsletter. He can be reached through His email
address, steve@biblepraise.org
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
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The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.