"But remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience..."

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT)

   Remember! Don't ever forget! This is no gentle reminder for passive assurance that temptations will come into your life, but a call to ACTIVELY REMEMBER something very specific about the temptations that WILL come into your life. It is meant to aid us in fighting the warfare of the christian life.

   And it should be a great comfort to us to know that our temptations, our struggles, our fears, our pains are not something unique to only us; that everyone at some point faces them. So cease the pity party and remember that life is not about YOU. The temptations and struggles of life are meant to make us stronger and teach us, not to burden!

"...And God is faithful..."

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT)

   A large book series could be done on just this one phrase! God is faithful. No matter what challenges, what temptations, what frustrations, what fears, what disapointments, what pain creeps it's way into your heart, you can be assured through it all that God is faithful! He is faithful to heal, to execute justice, and to teach and strengthen through everything in our lives.

"...He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong..."

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT)

   He will KEEP the temptation. It will not get pass His gates if He knows it will become too strong. He knows our levels, our limits, our capacity for resisting evil and doing right. This is a promise that HE will limit the level of temptation in our lives so in this we can be assured that His grace, His love, His faithfulness will be with us not just when we are being tempted but the moment when the temptation was formulated and was there actively making sure that every temptation was within boundries of a certain size in regards to our ability to resist.

   It was mentioned here, in particular that it is God's grace that keeps His ever-loving hand controls the size and levels that the devil is allowed to use to tempt us. He is faithful first of all in the level of the temptation...

"...that you can't stand up against it..."

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT)

   I really like this verse. The reason I like it so much is the phrase "stand up." He doesn't say "resist" the devil, or "survive without sin," but that you can STAND UP against the temptations and the devils that test you. You can stand up and say "that's not what God's word says! Go back where you came from!" Not just so you can calmly and passively live through the temptation... but stand up against it and be victorious over it.

"When you are tempted, he will show you a way out..."

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT)

   When, not IF, you are tempted. Temptation will come. But here is another promise God has given us dealing with temptation. Not only will God be there at the beginning of the temptation's formulation to control it's level and degree, but He will be here when it's administered! He will be ACTIVELY SHOWING us a way out of the situation and temptation. So His love not only controls the level of the temptation but also provides us with a way of escape... God is a faithful God indeed!

"...so that you will not give in to it"

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT)

   God's ultimate goal is to keep us free from sin and to keep us from giving in the lies of the enemy and the false promises of sin to satisfy and please us. Sin is ultimately a hard master who whips those who allow Him in their lives; it will control you, bind you, and harm you in every way that it can. God doesn't want you to be in bondage to it! He wants you to choose to follow Him so that you can become free of it! If you don't follow Him, you follow lies and are in sin and only in Christ can you be free from the chains of sin and find the truth. Because Jesus Christ IS the truth.

   So here in a letter to the Corinthian church God reveals through Paul God's grace when it comes to temptation, not only when we face it, but when it was formulated. We have the assurance through the truth of Jesus' words that God is faithful and what He says He means and we can hold Him to His words.