What is the Temptation, Anyway?   What is the temptation that I must endure?    Is it doing “good” so I can mature? “Goodness”, with all its ability,    Will never lead to my Jesus’ knee.   Where did I miss it and make the wrong turn?    Was it trying to do the things that I learned Can any “goodness” be presented to God?    A faithful servant, indeed; I suspect, with the angels and heavenly hosts,    He has all the servants He needs.   Somebody said that my needs won’t move God;    That I am made in His image. Meaning, I think, that because of this,    Believing is part of my lineage.   I hear, Beautifully, wonderfully made, and I’m thrilled,    ‘Till I have to believe to exist. After days of complaints, I’m back at His knees,    and faith wakes up to assist. I have to confess, that apart from Him,    all that He did becomes very dim.   So, I see that when Jesus walked here on this earth,    that was true of Him in His physical    birth. Apart from His Father, which He has made mine,    His purpose would dim; He would have been blind.   This connection is vital and always His plan;    That only Their love could conceive;   So, let it be birthed in this daughter, this bride,    to walk with You and receive. There is, then, a cloak of great deception;    One of its’ names being ‘service’; When I try to get off this road he’s designed;    He starts getting very nervous.   Then, ‘goodness’ takes over and feeds my pride;    Intimacy’s trying so hard to survive, My body feels terrible; I’m so tired out;    I’m secretly wondering what life’s all about.   The wondering really doesn’t stop there;    I’ve come to conclusions that God doesn’t care. From somewhere the thought jumps into my head:    He doesn’t care ‘cause of what I did.   O.k, then, I’ll change it! And I start again,    around the mountain of paying for sin. Lord, I can’t fix it but I’m asking You to,    as my head’s resting on Your knee, Then,  You tell me the simplest step    and you say, You’ll walk along it with Me.   The dark Robe of Deception then falls to the ground    and reveals my nakedness covered... with The Robe that is free from my Righteous King,    That He put on me so that I could sing: Truly, my Treasure’s discovered.   I’ve noticed something, as we’re walking along,    in my birth day gift and I see, These things keep appearing behind and beside    as if they are following me.    Then, I look in my Lovers eyes and we laugh,    as we hand these things out to others;        And I know what a joy has filled my heart    with this Treasure that I have discovered. I think, with my heart filled with gratitude      WHAT A SUBSTITUTE ‘THINGS’                      FOR LOVES INTERLUDES