Thursday
When someone tries to tempt you to do something you know is wrong, what do you do?
Jesus is faced with four temptations presented by Satan and each time, Jesus responds by quoting scripture, by quoting the truth. You will see Satan trying to misuse the scripture and reinterpret them for his own use. I think this is a warning for us,
a) know our Bible and what it means,
b) there are people out there who will twist the words of scripture around to make you believe that what is wrong, is right. Take for example the prosperity gospel that many of our age preach, or the name it-claim it practice. On the surface they seem true, but when you pick out just certain passages of scripture (often out of context) to support your belief you are doing what they call “text-proofing” and by doing that you can make the scripture say and mean what you want.
So why was Jesus’ even tempted? Jesus knows what it is like to be tempted, he understands our weakness. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15)
And to show us that we can, by using the Word of God stand up to any temptation we might encounter. We don’t have to stand up to temptations alone – we have the Holy Spirit and we have the Word of God.
If you are facing a temptation, please know that you can have victory over it. I Corinthians 10:13 says,“The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”
You can fight against the foe who wants to see you fail, give up. And you have a very loving, forgiving Father that only wants what is best for you. Repent, turn away, use the gifts that God has given us and I know that your temptation will become easier to overcome, I know this because I’ve have been able to experience it in my life.
Shalom
Pastor Kathy