MATTHEW 4:1-4

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

TO PONDER

I have to confess that I might be saying something that may be a bit controversial. These three temptations that Jesus faced seem to me to be a bit obvious. No rational person would fall for them. I feel that the temptations that I face and succumb to are a lot more subtle. I have also come to know that when I have an issue with something written in the Bible, there is very likely something that I am missing or have misunderstood.

The first thing we notice about Jesus’s responses, is that He quoted from the Old Testament, the Hebrew scriptures. This is great for refuting wrong theology where twisted theology is being used to tempt us to do something against God’s will. The challenge for us is, do we really accept that all of what God has organised to be written in the Bible is for our benefit. Or do we think that it is OK to pick and choose what we accept as applicable to us today (acknowledging that some of the guidance given in both the Old and New Testament was specifically applicable to the cultural norms of the day)?

But the other thing we notice about the three temptations was that Jesus was being tempted to do things that benefit Himself, all at the expense of carrying out God’s will for Him – and against achieving His redeeming work for us humans. Jesus had a very clear vision of why He was here on this earth.

Can I suggest we can look at temptation in two different ways. We can be very legalistic about living correctly and not succumbing to temptation, which can lead to pride and even the temptation to deny our failures. Or we can see temptation as trying to lead us away from our relationship with the Heavenly Family and from living as our loving Heavenly Father wants us to live. Knowing that our God loves us deeply, whether we succeed or fail in resisting temptation, tends to take the power out of the temptations. And, if we are busy concentrating on how God wants us to live, in love to all those we interact with each day, the temptations find less time to intrude into our conscious or subconscious minds.

Thank God for the gift of His Holy Spirit living in us!

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, we have no ability on our own to fight the temptations that lead us away from our relationship with You. Thank You for the way You are working in our lives to grow us in our relationship with You. And thank You for the activities You are calling us to be involved in as we work with You to bring Your saving good news to others. Amen

Today's devotion written by Charles Bertelsmeier, LifeWay Epping