Philo of Alexandria, a contemporary of Christ, wrote, “When he mind has sinned and removed itself far from virtue, it lays the blame on divine causes. Solomon wrote in Proverbs 19:3, The foolishness of man subverts his way, and his heart rages against the Lord.” Temptation, is a concept that all of us struggle with. In the Greek The word for Temptation (peirasmos) is the same word for Trial. In other words, what could be a trial for some, is a temptation for others. Trials or tests are designed to help us manifest what we have learned and to help us as we grow and mature to understand what we still have to learn. God and Satan have two diametrically opposite ideas for the struggles that come into our lives. God’s desire is that we learn where we are in our Spiritual walk and gain strength and victory by trusting in Him. Satan’s, goal in the struggle, is to attempt to lead us into a deeper battle with sin. James 1:13-17 gives four strong proofs that God is not responsible for our temptations and even less responsible, for our giving in to them. He does so by explaining the nature of evil (v13), the nature of man (v14), the nature of lust (v15-16) and the nature of God (17) . Take time today to read this passage, and consider the battle that we face.