Cycle of temptation...

Day 3 of my Beth Moore study has an insightful look at the cycle of temptation we experience daily. You can simply think of any sin you are prone to, e.g. overeating (gluttony), losing your temper etc... Beth took us through David's temptation in 2Samuel 11 to his restoration in 2Samuel 12:20. The cycle includes:
-the temptation.
-the hesitation (should I or shouldn't I-warning bell (the Holy Spirit) that something is wrong).
-the participation (giving in).
-the repentance (genuine regret with the attitude "I will not go there again by the grace of God."
-the restoration (God's Presence and love manifested)
In 1Corinthians 10:13, God promises that He will never give us more than we can bear, but will always provide a way of escape. Beth says, "The cycle..is as old as the Garden of Eden...Two things about a believer's temptation never vary:(1) We always have an open door, a way out. (2) Every door we refuse to walk through makes the next one even harder to enter."

What really hit me was when Beth talked about God not convicting us of our sin to show our utter wretchedness, for He calls us the righteousness of God in Christ." God convicts us through His Holy Spirit because He is grieved when fellowship between us is broken."
He wants a relationship with ME, one unbroken by wilful sin! He wants to commune with lil' ole me! That really wows me.

Father, I pray for a keen conviction of sin in my life and those I love. I know that You require a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart. Work that into our lives, Father. Thank You for your grace, Your mercy, Your unconditional love. Thank You for Your discipline when we go astray as it shows we are indeed Your children. Thank You that You love to restore us when we truly repent. Thank You, Lord.

Read Psalm 51 to appreciate why God loved David so much even after he gave into adultery and murder. The NIV version and the modern paraphrase The Message gives 2 slants.
(http://www.bible.com/)
Psalm 51 (NIV Version)
For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts [a] ; you teach [b] me wisdom in the inmost place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.
14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifices of God are [c] a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18 In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you; then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Footnotes:
Psalm 51:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
Psalm 51:6 Or you desired?; / you taught
Psalm 51:17 Or My sacrifice, O God, is

(The Message):
Psalm 51
1 -3Generous in love—God, give grace! Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record. Scrub away my guilt, soak out my sins in your laundry. I know how bad I've been; my sins are staring me down. 4 -6 You're the One I've violated, and you've seen it all, seen the full extent of my evil. You have all the facts before you; whatever you decide about me is fair. I've been out of step with you for a long time, in the wrong since before I was born. What you're after is truth from the inside out. Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life. 7 -15 Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean, scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life. Tune me in to foot-tapping songs, set these once-broken bones to dancing. Don't look too close for blemishes, give me a clean bill of health. God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life. Don't throw me out with the trash, or fail to breathe holiness in me. Bring me back from gray exile, put a fresh wind in my sails! Give me a job teaching rebels your ways so the lost can find their way home. Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God, and I'll sing anthems to your life-giving ways. Unbutton my lips, dear God; I'll let loose with your praise. 16 -17 Going through the motions doesn't please you, a flawless performance is nothing to you. I learned God-worship when my pride was shattered. Heart-shattered lives ready for love don't for a moment escape God's notice. 18 -19 Make Zion the place you delight in, repair Jerusalem's broken-down walls. Then you'll get real worship from us, acts of worship small and large, Including all the bulls they can heave onto your altar!