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)

Temptation of Jesus

PRAYER PRACTICE

Spoken Prayer – Out loud, pray for God to speak to you through your reading. Praise God for giving us His word. Ask the Spirit to help you read with faith, and to live out what you hear from God through the passage.

Daily Reading  

 Luke 4:1-13

Devotional

Truth- God's Word Sets us Free

by Nancy Gleeson

Imagine Jesus being tempted all forty days in the desert, never giving in to Satan. The pressure of temptation only relents when we give in and Jesus never did! It’s similar to what we may be feeling after spending most of 2020 in a pandemic denying ourselves what we really want.  

The mind desperately wants to end suffering and finds it hard to resist illegitimate ways to fulfill real desires. Satan takes advantage of such circumstances! If Jesus is hungry, Satan says He should turn a stone into bread. Jesus responds with scripture that conveys the truth that every word of God is more important than the bread we eat.  (Notice that Jesus did not draw on divine resources that are unavailable to us.)  

The question put to Jesus was, “If you are the Messiah, why are You so deprived?” Likewise, we may be asked, “if you are a child of God, why are things so tough?” Why not go ahead and do a little something for yourself? Satan, being a Bible expert, can twist Bible passages out of context to lure us out of suffering and into sin. We must know what the truth of God’s word is.

God never allows us to be tempted beyond our ability to resist. Jesus was hungry but full of the Spirit. We are sometimes the opposite, full stomachs but empty in Spirit. Like Jesus, we need to walk in the Word and in the Spirit. Therein lies our power over sin!

Consider: There, in the power of the Holy Spirit, armed with knowledge of scripture, we can withstand temptation and conquer the evil one. Give it a try this week and see if God's Word doesn't help us overcome temptations.

Testing, Temptation, and God's Word

When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. (Luke 4:13 NIV)

I never noticed this verse before, but as I was preparing to compose this devotion, it was like God put a yellow highlighter in my hand. Whenever this happens, I can be pretty sure He has something to say to me.

When I read these 13 verses in Luke, I never wonder how Jesus would hold up. I never consider that He might give in, so I didn't really think there was much for me to learn from these lines. But, how wrong. God never wastes an opportunity to teach us. When Jesus came to earth as a man, the greatest lesson was about to be given.

Jesus was sinless and would remain so, but we aren't. Jesus knew, even those many years ago, that you and I would need to learn about Satan and his devious ways. We need to be aware of his ways. Jesus knew we would be in jeopardy of failing, of falling for the Devil's lies. He knew we needed to understand we must learn from Scripture how to recognize and overcome the deceit. We need to become familiar with God's Word and capture it in our hearts.

Once His Word is a part of our Spirits, we can call on it, just as Jesus did. We can defeat Satan's attempt to derail our lives. But, just as with Jesus, who was repeatedly tested by evil, we must know that Satan is just waiting for the opportune moment. He will not miss an opportunity to disrupt our journey to Eternity. 

Be on guard, as we enter 2020, a new decade, it is likely Satan wants to claim us as his ambassadors. Because we have captured God's Word in our hearts, and we call upon it when temptation approaches. Get ready to shout, "Satan, you have no authority here!"

Comment below or email your thoughts here.

Luke 4:1-13