Temptation of Jesus

 PRAYER PRACTICE

Cup Prayer – This prayer will help you pour your heart out to God (Ps. 62:8). Begin with your hands folded together like an upside-down cup. Pour out before God all your fears, anxieties, guilt, sin and shame. Tell Him what troubles you. Take time to be specific. When you feel like you’ve poured out your heart, flip your hands over, folding them like an open cup, ready to receive from God. Sit in silence, asking God simply to fill you with His Spirit. If your mind runs back to sin, shame, anxiety or concerns of the day, flip your hands back over and pour it out to the Lord. When you are finished praying, read today’s Scripture and listen as God shares His heart back with you.

UALC DAILY READING

Luke 4:1-13

DEVOTION / REFLECTION

Temptation, Lure or Love 

by Judy Webb

The passage today is the familiar scene where Jesus is in the dessert, and Satan is tempting him. I have read this many times in the past and I must confess that I never truly took it seriously. The idea that the devil could successfully tempt Jesus is preposterous. So, I reread this a number of times. I know from past experience that there is ALWAYS a message in scripture, and often the message for me is one I never considered before.

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. (verses 1, and 2)

Jesus was human in every way and his temptation is no exception. Jesus had been fasting for 40 days and must have been starving. The thought of bread would have been mouth-watering at this point. If you have ever tried even a 24-hour fast you know how challenging it can be. You recognize how easy it is to justify taking just one bite of a sandwich. Hunger is a powerful motivator.

This text is teaching us that not only was Jesus human as are we, and temptation is real for us too.  "Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." (Hebrews 2:18) Temptation is not sin. "...we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are -- yet he did not sin." (Hebrews 4:15)

There is so much in these 13 verses that I will never look at them the same. I do recognize Jesus' humanity, but more than that I recognize his love for us knows no bounds. He is willing to undergo testing just to show us that we too, can resist the lure of Satan. Scripture is full of examples of temptation and overcoming same. When tempted Jesus used God's Word to get him through. We can do the same. 

1 Peter 5:8-11 "Be alert...your enemy prowls...looking to devour." Jesus is teaching us that temptation is real, is all around, and the devil will use anything and anyone to pull us out of His loving arms. We have the power to resist and cling to him. "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7)