• You should not desire something that belongs to someone else (Exodus 20: 17)-"Do not covet your neighbor's house.  Do not covet your neighbor's wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else your neighbor owns."-We should not want anything belonging to anyone else.  We should want what we have; what God has blessed us with, what we've worked for with our own hands.  Desiring other's things is greed-another form of idolatry.
• Desire to honor God (Psalm 86: 12)-With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God.  I will give glory to your name forever,-When we desire to honor God, we are showing true love to God for who he is; what he's done, and what he's given to us for our lives.  We give Him glory, for only He is worthy.  We know that since He is the creator, He is merciful, He is loving, and He is wonderful-He deserves the glory; because it is nothing we've done, but what He's done for us, and through us that gives us the victory we have.
• Do not desire self-promotion (Psalm 119: 36)-Give me an eagerness for your decrees; do not inflict me with love for money!-The reason the Christian family desires not to be self-promoting is because it's vanity.  We cannot promote ourselves in our walk of faith because we understand that it was not by our own efforts that we have been saved, but by God's mercy we have been saved through our Lord and Savior Jesus.  We cannot take credit for anything.  God created the world and everything in it, and after man fell, man needed to be saved.  He sent his only begotten Son to save us.  He chose to give us the truth.  He chose servants before his birth to prepare the way for His coming.  Everything was meticulously planned.  Since man is sinful in nature, we need to pray to God to ask Him for an eagerness for His decrees.  Otherwise, we would be inflicted with desiring material things.  If we do not desire an eagerness for God, we will be inflicted by God with the love for money.  If we only have love for money, we cannot have or express our true sincere love for God.  God should come first.
• Money doesn't satisfy desires (Ecclesiastes 5: 10)-Those who love money will never have enough.  How absurd to think that wealth brings true happiness!- Since man was created by God, for the purpose of serving Him, man's true joy is in just that!  In honoring, serving Him, in giving Him praise for all His wonders!  The true joy of man's heart is in being able to please God.  Once man has obtained that, only then can he really experience a truly satisfied life; one of fulfilled purpose.  The joy that comes to man's heart from living for Him, living by his decrees, knowing that they are truly saved, knowing that they are His heirs-it cannot be compared with anything else.  The joy that money offers man is only temporary.  The joy of living in fellowship and good standing with God is eternal.  It cannot be taken from you.  Nothing can separate you from the love of God.  Man can lose his money.  But, man cannot lose his inheritance from God.
• Christians should not give in to sinful desires (Ephesians 4: 22)-Throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception.-When the bible tells us to throw off our old evil nature and former way, it's saying to repent.  It's saying that we should no longer act in an evil way, desire the wrong thing or everything, and we should no longer live in deception.  Doing whatever we please is living in deception.  We can do it if we choose, but, we will not be pleasing God if we do.  If we do not please God, we are not saved.  If we continue to sin, it is as if we never believed or accepted God anyway.  Since He loved us enough to come to earth and show us the way, we should love Him enough to live that way that He has shown, regardless of our fallen forefathers.  We should make every effort to live in a way that is pleasing before Him, even if we fail along the way.  We should get up, dust ourselves off, and keep walking the walk of faith, forgetting our evil past, and forsaking our sins.
• Sinful desires should not have a home with God's children (1 Peter 1: 14)-Obey God because you are His children.  Don't slip back into your old ways of doing evil; you didn't know any better then.-from the moment we accept the Lord as our Savior, we learn more and more each day about the kind of life that God wants us to live.  Therefore, it is expected of His children to forsake sinful desires.  If something is wrong, we should not desire it.  If we are struggling with sinful desires, we should be praying to God for strength to resist those temptations.  We should be doing everything possible to avoid it.  We should be fasting, and seeking counseling, prayer and advice from our Pastors, and Church Elders.
• Desire to do God's will (1 Peter 4: 2)-And you won't spend the rest of your life chasing after evil desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God.-Since Christ suffered physical pain, we must arm ourselves with the same attitude He had, and be ready to suffer too.  If you are willing to suffer for Christ, you have decided to stop sinning.  You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy-their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols.  Of course, your former friends are very surprised when you no longer join them in the wicked things they do, and they say evil things about you.  But just remember that they will have to face God, who will judge everyone both the living and the dead.
• God's children desire to obey God (1 John 2: 3-6)-And how can we be sure that we belong to him? By obeying his commandments.  If someone says, "I belong to God," but doesn't obey God's commandments, that person is a liar and does not live in the truth.  But those who obey God's word really do love him.  That is the way to know whether or not we live in him.  those who say they live in God should live their lives as Christ did.  We should love one another just as we love ourselves, just as Christ loves us.

I hope this study is helpful in understanding evil desires; and how to resist them.  Please consult your bible directly for clarity in any of the studies given in this blog, and refer to your Pastor, or Church Elders for additional advice or guidance.  May God be with you, protect and guide you-until the next study..

• Depression can follow exhausting times (Judges 15: 18)-Now Samson was very thirsty, and he cried out to the Lord, "You have accomplished this great victory by the strength of your servant.  Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of these pagan people?"  This occurred during Samson's vengeance on the Philistines.  This was an exhausting experience for Samson when his father-in-law had given his wife over to his best man in error.  He became so angry at that situation that he killed many of them.  The Philistines had burned and killed his father-in-law and the girl when they found out why Samson had burnt their fields in revenge.  Ignorance, or error  can result in tragedy, and have devastating consequences such as in this case.  People should be very careful when making decisions concerning marriage. Consultation with all parties involved is of utmost importance.
• God can encourage hurting people (2 Samuel 22: 29-31)-O LORD, you are my light; yes, LORD, you light up my darkness.  In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall.  "As for God, His way is perfect.  All the LORD'S promises prove true.  He is a shield for all who look to Him for protection.  This was David's song of praise.  David sang this song to the LORD after the LORD had rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul.  
• Depression can follow success (1 Kings 19: 3-4)-Elijah was afraid and fled for his life.  He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there.  Then he went alone into the desert, traveling all day.  He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die.  "I have had enough, LORD," he said.  "Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors."  This was in a time when Elijah fled to Sinai.  Elijah had succeeded in slaughtering the prophets of Baal.  Jezebel had sent a message to Elijah that the gods also kill her if by that time the next day she had failed to take his life like those he had killed.  But, since Elijah had been sent to destroy those people by God, God protected him and was with him.  Jezebel's plan to kill him would not succeed.  Instead, she was killed.
• God helps those who feel crushed (Psalm 34: 18)-The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those who are crushed in spirit.  He heals the heart of the wounded.  He consoles His children during difficult times.  This is a psalm of David, regarding the time he pretended to be insane in front of Abimelech, who sent him away.
• Abraham had hope when there was no reason to hope (Romans 4: 18-22)-When God promised Abraham that he would become the father of many nations, Abraham believed Him.  God had also said, "Your descendants will be as numerous as the stars," even though such a promise seemed utterly impossible!  And Abraham's faith did not weaken, even though he knew that he was too old to be a father at the age of one hundred and Sarah, his wife, had never been able to have children.  Abraham never wavered in believing God's promise.  In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God.  He was absolutely convinced that God was able to do anything he promised.  This was the faith of Abraham.  

This study describes the hope that God offers to man during the most difficult situations and challenges life can surprise us with.  Just when we begin to think there is no hope, He shows us that there is hope.  He is our hope, and our shield.  He blesses us in greater ways than we originally hoped for, or fathomed.  He shows us that His way is better than our way.  He teaches us not to lose hope, and keeps His promises of better days ahead to His children.  I hope this brief study helps you in your journey.  Until next study, Merry Christmas, God bless you, and keep the faith!! Joy to the world!