James 1:2-4 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

Dick van Dyke was famous for his Pratt falls. He would trip, slip, stumble and sometimes flip over the tiniest of objects, often as small as a hair or piece of string. It is silly to think that we are so easily tripped up by little sins. If we have been walking with the Lord fo any length of time at all, we know where temptation comes from, our old nature.

1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

John 15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

He who walks in the spirit does not stumble nor fall. To walk by faith requires a purpose, a direction, a mindset, an unction. When we have this the temptations of the old life are suppressed. It is not that temptation still does not exist, it is ignored, passed over, like a hair on the floor that will not trip us up.

Our problem is that we do not always walk in the spirit. We are human and as such not yet perfected. We walk through the world, even though our lives are in Christ. We perceive the world, we see. smell and taste the world yet these are not temptations. They are the world.

Romans 6:2 How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

Temptation is the old dead man we were knocking on the coffin. Don’t answer.

Proverbs 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

We acknowledge God because we believe in Him. When we see things that cannot be explained by any natural means, we acknowledge the hand of God, His mercies, His grace. Sadly it is not for all to believe and acknowledge. So what do we do with the scoffers?

The second part of this verse is just as important as the first, perhaps more. We see a healing, praise God. They say you have no proof. This is not the time to argue. I admit it isn’t easy to face a scoffer who laughs at our faith but getting defensive and allowing our emotions to take over will not win them over.

Psalms 3:8 Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.

Salvation is not ours to give. All we can do is show the blessings bestowed upon us by the God we serve. How we do that comes from following directions. Acting defensive before scoffers does not prove God’s grace, it only confirms the scoffers belief in who we are as Christians. We cannot exceed their expectations by meeting them.

In all thy ways includes those moments when your faith is put to the test. Will you get defensive or will you seek God’s directions? While their salvation is our responsibility, showing the grace which is a gift from God towards us is our duty.

Romans 12:1-3 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.