WATCHWORD:
Turn to me and have mercy on me, as You always do to those who love Your name. Direct my footsteps according to Your word; let no sin rule over me. Psalm 119:132-133
31 Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead. 32 As he talked about this openly with his disciples, Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. 33 Jesus turned around and looked at his disciples, then reprimanded Peter. “Get away from me, Satan!” he said. “You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.” Mark 8:31-33
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” 7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” 10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” 11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him. Matthew 4:1-11
Meditation:
Get Thee Behind Me…
I can resist anything, except temptation! In your life-time has that thought ever gone through your mind? Maybe after that second (or third) glazed donut?
We just read a Meditation on common sense and faith, why am I now reading about temptations? Well, my friends, when you have muted common sense and turned your back on faith, you open wide the door, and extend an invitation, for temptations to come waltzing right in. For a moment it feels so good, and then…
Circumstances suddenly change, to our chagrin, the word that our children are forbidden to say comes flying out of our mouth (and the children are in the back seat!). Oooops. When we stand guilty of being tempted, do we suddenly become Flip Wilson and point our finger at the devil who made you do it? Or do we find some other scape-goat?
What follows the surrender to temptations? Oh, yeah, regret! Feelings of quilt. Funny how that seems to work. Okay, Heavenly Father, I got the message. Hopefully, we pay the price and learn the lesson.
Seriously, do we believe that little guy, dressed in red, with a pitchfork, is equally as powerful as God? In our imaginations do we have that guy on one shoulder and a little angel dressed in white sitting on the other? Is that how temptation works? A competition? Come now, are we back to being children?
Jesus made it clear that the One who is in us is greater than the one that is in the world (1 John 4:4). The truth is, the devil doesn’t have any power over us that we don’t let him have. Often our permission comes in the form of apathy, we drop our Christ-guard and get sloppy in our Walk. Maybe we ignore a wrong done? Turn our back on need? Pass by on the other side and fail to do likewise?
The fact is there is an evil influence in the world and it impacts us. And the closer we are in walking with God, the harder the evil influence will work to get us off track. Just look at Jesus. In Matthew 4, Jesus was coming off a spiritual high point in His life. He had just been baptized. He saw the Holy Spirit descend on Him. He heard His Heavenly Father say, “This is my beloved Son; with Him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). And that’s when the devil started in on Him.
When does the devil start in on you? You look around, and your church seems to be failing because the numbers are down. Do you think about where should I go to worship? Do you not know, are you not aware that worship is within you? Your worship time is God’s house, God’s place with you. Maybe your church isn’t what it used to be. Is that pride working on you? A little evil grit in your life? The church, the service, the building, the gathering, is The House of God.
What do you do? You praise Him and follow the path He has laid out. Those pressures, that evil grit, those thoughts about the way it used to be? Time to say, as Jesus did: Get thee behind me Satan. Amen.
Favorite Verses:
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5
Closing Prayer:
Lord Jesus, temptation constantly encircles us in this life. Help us turn to You for strength, rely on You for provision, and trust in You first and most of all. You have delivered us from the cost of sin, Lord Jesus, by Your work on the cross. As we continue in this world, let Your life shine in us and be a lighthouse of the gospel to all others. May our hearts forever delight in You, Lord, and may we love You more and more each day. Lead us God, and help us have the courage to follow You always. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
