How often do you face temptation? Sometimes it feels like it’s an all-day, everyday kind of thing. How do you react? If you are a normal human, sometimes you give in and sometimes you resist. And we’re not always talking about life altering, relationship ruining temptation. We face the temptation to lose our tempers, take more than our share, or any number of small nicks and scratches to our integrity. When we are faced with these hard questions, we must rely on what we’ve learned to find our strength.

We read the scripture to make a home in our heart for the word of God. Whatever you put in your mind and heart is going to be what comes out of your mouth and is seen in your actions. Think of all the slang terms you used growing up that your parents and teachers had no clue how to use. They weren’t exposed to them because they consumed different media than you and had different friends than you (and they weren’t as cool as you).

The author of Hebrews 4 tells us, “11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

Where you put your priorities will be seen in your life. If you can take time each day to study the word of God, you will see a change in the way you view and treat other people. You will react differently when you face the temptation of life. You can start by reading one verse a day. You can start by reading huge chunks at a time. There are a million Bible apps with a million reading plans, you can listen to the audio version, you can get a picture Bible, you just need to find a way to start.