DAILY VIDEO DEVOTIONAL
Facing Temptation
Sammy Tippit: Monty, thank you again for sharing the devotion with us this morning. I want to talk to you a little bit about temptation because I know in the NBA, there’s incredible temptation, but there’s incredible temptation wherever you are. I mean, Satan hasn’t changed places. So how do you deal with temptation? I mean, you’re on the road a lot. You’re, I’m sure, away from… How does a man deal with temptation in a traveling schedule and busy schedule just in his life?
Monty Williams: Yeah. The Bible says, “…make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” There are just certain things I’m not willing to compromise. I don’t hang out. I don’t go to the malls by myself. I never have a lady in my office by myself. There are certain things I don’t watch on television. Some people may call that religious or whatever, but the Bible says, “For from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.”
About 20 years ago, I gave up secular rap music because I realized (and my wife let me know) I was different when I listened to that. I felt like I was strong enough (because I was a Christian) to decipher what was bad and what was good. The bottom line is I was filling up on that instead of God’s Word. You know, God always gives us a way out. When Moses killed the Egyptian, the Bible says he looked to the left, and then he looked to the right. Anytime you have to look to the left and the right, you probably shouldn’t be doing it.
Sammy: Right.
Monty: But then he gave Judas an option. Before Judas kissed him on the cheek, Jesus asked him a question. In that time span, Judas had a chance to say, “I’m not going to do this.” God always gives you a way out. You know, there is no temptation that’s too much for man. God always gives you a way of escape.
Sammy: That’s great. What you’ve done is you’ve built some hedges around your life, around your marriage, around your personal walk with the Lord. Would you call that accurate?
Monty: Yeah! That’s a better word than I would have used. I think, you know, putting up hedges around my life and trying to adhere to those hedges at all times has made my life a bit simpler. Being an NBA coach is hectic enough. It’s exciting enough. I don’t need to add to it. Yet I have five kids who are watching me at all times. They want to know if Daddy is going to say what the Lord says is right and if he is going to do what the Lord says to do.
You know, I’ve had times where I’ve had a song on that was a bit of a gray area, and my oldest child who is a bit of an ambassador in our family… She is strong enough to ask me, “Daddy, is that a song that gives God glory?” It makes me ask questions. If there’s ever a gray area, I don’t mess with it.
Sammy: That’s great. Thank you for sharing that. That’s meaningful to us.
Monty: Thank you
Romans : Chapter 13
11) And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12) The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13) Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14) Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.[c]
Book of the Month
Sammy Tippit told his fiancée, “I can’t promise we’ll be rich, but life won’t be boring.”
Sammy had no idea what an understatement that would become. Beginning in the bars of Baton Rouge and the nightclubs of Chicago, Tippit has shared the news of life-changing faith in Christ all over the world – including in the middle of a revolution in Romania, the aftermath of genocide in Rwanda, and war in Burundi and the Congo.
Sammy’s lifelong adventure has come at a great price. He’s been cursed, threatened, arrested, deported, and blacklisted. He’s also been personally broken, ravaged with illness, and devastated by grief.
Yet he continues to preach to in stadiums, in open fields, and via satellite technology to hundreds of thousands around the globe. For all other books…
About Sammy Tippit Ministries
STM has been providing inspiration and help around the world for nearly 50 years. Sammy Tippit, founder and president, is a world renowned counselor, teacher and evangelist with experience serving and helping people in over 80 countries. Sammy provides materials that help people tackle a broad array of social, societal, psychological and spiritual issues. He is particularly passionate about making materials accessible to other countries around the world. Sammy is married to Debara “Tex” Tippit, and they have two children and five grandchildren.
Sammy Tippit Ministries is a registered 501c3 non-profit organization.
Contact: info@sammytippit.org
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