Tag Archives: jesus was tempted

January 17, 2024 · 5:46 AM

Stand In Victory

Everyone knows the story of David and Goliath from 1 Samuel 17. The Philistines were encroaching on Israel’s land and trying to take it. The armies were encamped on two mountain sides with a valley between them. For forty days Go,oath taunted the army of Israel. When David heard it, something stirred in him. He was willing to leave the mountain side and enter the valley to fight. Goliath laughed at him because he was small and young. In verse 45, David, full of confidence, said, “You are coming against me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the Israelite armies, which you have defied“ (GNT). In order to win the battle in the physical realm, he understood it needed to be won in the spiritual realm first. He also knew it was God who gives victory.

In Matthew 4. The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness where He fasted for forty days. When he was weak physically, but strong spiritually, Satan came to attack Him. He told Him to turn the stones into bread if He really was the Son of God. Jesus didn’t need to prove who He was and replied with Scripture. Then Satan took Him to the top of the Temple and told Him to jump and let the angels catch Him. Again Jesus pushed back with the Word of God. Finally Satan showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and offered them to Him, but Jesus fought back with the what God had said and told Satan to leave. Jesus understood that victory came from God and used God’s Word to achieve it.

Isaiah 54:17 says, ”But no weapon will be able to hurt you; you will have an answer for all who accuse you. I will defend my servants and give them victory.” You can have confidence in whatever battle you’re facing today. No matter how loud and intimidating or manipulative the enemy’s voice is, God’s Word is stronger. Don’t try to win a spiritual battle with your physical strength or wit. Seek God first and He will give you wisdom in how to fight it and He will give you victory. Let Him defend every accusation against you. Remember the battle is the Lord’s. You still have to step onto the battlefield, and you still have to face your giant. However, you don’t have to be unarmed. Like David, we can have confidence our victory lies in the name of the Lord. No weapon formed against you shall prosper. Stand in victory today.

Photo by Attentie Attentie on Unsplash

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

June 14, 2023 · 5:36 AM

Memorizing Scripture

One of the things I learned about myself early on was that I could memorize pretty easily. I could watch a movie once and pretty much be able to quote it. When my parents would send me to vacation Bible school, I found out they give prizes to kids for memorizing Scriptures. That was all the motivation I needed. Then when I got into junior high and high school, I was required to memorize entire chapters in the Bible. Since it was for a grade, it didn’t have the same motivating power, but I did it. One of my friends there didn’t just memorize chapters in the Bible, he memorized entire books in the Bible. I never got that far, but memorizing Scriptures all those years helped me to know God’s Word and to be able to recall it whenever I need it.

Right after Jesus was baptized, He was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to fast for forty days. At the end of the fast, Satan came to tempt Him. Jesus responded to the first temptation by telling him that man doesn’t live by bread alone, but by the Word of God. The third one was always interesting to me because Satan used God’s Word against Jesus to try to get Him to sin. Jesus recognized it being out of context so He wasn’t able to fall for the temptation. He often pointed to the Scriptures throughout His ministry while teaching to help us understand it more and to show us that it needs to be foundational in our lives. He built His life on God’s Word and so must we.

Psalm 119:11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (NLT). Just like Jesus used God’s Word to defeat the enemy, we can too, but we have to have it in our heart. It’s good to read God’s Word every day, but when we memorize it, something different happens. We plant it in our mind to stay. Our brain sees it as important. Studies show that we typically can only recall about 10% of what we read. That’s why reading alone isn’t enough. Memorizing Scripture isn’t just for kids. We as adults need to be doing it as well. It will take discipline and effort on your part, but the rewards outweigh that. Not only will it help you fight temptation and keep you from sinning, it will help your brain and change how you think.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

November 21, 2022 · 5:49 AM

Positive Pressure

Several years ago I was diagnosed with sleep apnea. I would fall asleep, but never get rest. I would also stop breathing for up to a minute before popping up gasping for air. The doctor said that having my heart go from a resting rate to the sudden fast beat could kill me, so he put me on a CPAP machine. He explained that I had a negative pressure where the pressure outside my body was greater than the pressure inside my body. The CPAP, which stands for continuous positive air pressure, would force air inside my body to push against the negative pressure and keep me from not breathing. Ever since I’ve been on it, I’ve been able to get rest when I sleep.

In Matthew 4, Jesus had just been baptized and was led into the wilderness for a 40 day fast. While He was hungry and weak, the enemy brought negative pressure in order to tempt Him. He was first tempted to turn stones into bread, but He pushed back by quoting the Word of God. He was then tempted to test God, but again He pushed back with what the Bible says. Finally He was offered earthly kingdoms in exchange for eternal ones. Just like before, He was able to overcome by the Word of God. In doing so, He taught us how to overcome the negative pressures we all face.

Psalm 1:1-3 says, “Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do” (NLT). Having God’s Word in our heart provides a positive pressure inside us that pushes back against all the negative pressures from people around us. Without having it in our hearts, we can have the life choked out of us spiritually. Reading the Bible, memorizing Scripture and studying it are all ways we create positive pressure inside our spirit in order to overcome.

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

6 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

July 26, 2022 · 5:48 AM

Looking Down The Road

When I was younger, I had a really cool sports car. It liked to get up and go, and I had a heavy foot. It wasn’t long before I was caught going over the speed limit. I went to the judge and asked to take defensive driving so that it wouldn’t go on my record. I took the class from a friend’s dad who taught them on Saturday’s. I was embarrassed to be there, but I did it. However, I didn’t learn my lesson. Less than a year later I was back. Over lunch, he said, “Let me tell you a little secret. You need to start looking 30 seconds up the road instead of right in front of you. If you learn to do that, you’ll make better decisions and see things before they’re right in front of you.”

In Matthew 4, we read where Jesus was tempted by the devil. The devil tried to get him to turn stones into bread, to jump off the Temple to prove He was God’s son and bow down to him in exchange for the world’s kingdoms. In each case, Jesus refuted him with the Word of God. Satan was trying to get Jesus to go for things in the moment to satisfy the human nature of wanting things now. Because Jesus knew the Word of God, and was guided by the Spirit, He didn’t go for what was right in front of Him. Instead, He looked down the road at the purpose for which He was sent, trusted God’s Word and made the right decision.

Psalm 119:105 says, “Truth’s shining light guides me in my choices and decisions; the revelation of your Word makes my pathway clear” (TPT). Others versions will say it is a lamp to your feet and a light to your path. Knowing God’s Word is critical for us believers. One of the ways it helps us is to help us look forward down the path, so we can make the right decisions. It’s light shines on our present situation as well so that we can see what’s really going on and choose wisely. The wisdom and perspective it gives will help us in all areas of our lives. In order to put it in our mind and heart, we must study it, learn it and memorize it. God has given us all we need in it, but it’s up to us to open it up and use it to help us in our present and down the road.

Photo by Bogdan Kozlovskyi on Unsplash

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

November 4, 2019 · 5:55 AM

Resisting Temptation

Every one of us are tempted to sin. Because we are unique, we are tempted with different things, but often it’s in the same way. Temptation starts by causing us to doubt what God said and tries to make us think that there is something better than what God has already blessed us with. If we don’t stop those thoughts immediately, we start moving towards sinning. We try to justify why we deserve whatever it is. We then convince ourselves that what we have is not enough. We continue down this road until we give into the temptation and sin. Deep down we know it’s wrong, and so many times the actual sin is anticlimactic because we’ve built it up in our mind so much. The problem then is that we have to deal with the consequences of that sin. Temptation is not a sin. What we do with it could be.

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had all they could ever hope for. They were surrounded by God’s beautiful creation and provision, yet they were convinced that what God had given them was not enough. They wanted more. Genesis 3:6 says, “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise and insightful, she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate” (AMP). They entertained the thoughts of temptation that led them to sin. They bought into the lies that God was withholding something good from them and that they deserved to have more than what God gave them.

Fast forward a couple thousand years to Matthew 4, and as Jesus comes up out of the waters of baptism, the Spirit led Him into the wilderness. He was in a barren place deprived of God’s provision, food and beauty. The same enemy came to Him to create doubt about who He was and what God had promised Him. The difference was that Jesus didn’t entertain those thoughts. He immediately went to what God said as truth, and He trusted the character of a God to not withhold any good thing from Him. He saw temptation for what it is, an attempt to break our relationship with God. He fought back with God’s Word and didn’t try to justify the sin based on where He was in life, what He was going through or what He felt like He deserved.

You and I have a promise we can hold onto during times of temptation. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation [regardless of its source] has overtaken or enticed you that is not common to human experience [nor is any temptation unusual or beyond human resistance]; but God is faithful [to His word—He is compassionate and trustworthy], and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability [to resist], but along with the temptation He [has in the past and is now and] will [always] provide the way out as well, so that you will be able to endure it [without yielding, and will overcome temptation with joy].” You don’t have to give into temptation. You have the ability to resist. You are able to endure it and can overcome it. Trust that what God has given to you is enough. If you don’t feel like it is, then be like the two people in the Parable of the Talents who took what the Master gave them and multiplied it. Your future is based on your choices and thought life. Don’t give in to the lies the enemy brings. Trust God and speak His promises, resist the devil and he will flee.

Photo by Nadine Shaabana on Unsplash

3 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

July 8, 2019 · 5:41 AM

Being Resolute

Several years ago, we were in the hospital as my mom was dying. The doctor brought the whole family into a room and explained the seriousness of her problem. He told us there was nothing more they could do, and then he talked about hospice care. After he left, my dad kept us in the room. He said, “I still believe in miracles, but we need to be prepared if God doesn’t answer our prayers the way we want Him to. You need to each determine in your hearts now that you will not be bitter against God if she passes away.” I thought it was an odd thing for him to tell us until she passed away and bitterness tried to creep in.

Determining what you’re going to do ahead of time is critical. When temptation comes, it’s too late to decide what you’re going to do. Unless you’ve determined in your heart how you’re going to handle it, we usually end up succumbing to it. You can’t just think, “Oh, I’ll never fall for that.” You need to determine in your heart what you will do and say in times of temptation. Jesus had determined to use the Word of God. We on,y have three of Hos temptations recorded in Scripture, but we have His responses too. Each time He was able to fight temptation with knowing what God’s Word says. The Psalmist said that if we will hide His Word in our hearts, it will Nelly us not to sin.

Psalm 119:112 says, “I have determined in my heart to obey whatever you say, fully and forever!” (TPT) That’s a great thing to determine, but it only works if you’ve spent time in God’s Word to know what He says and if you’ve determined ahead of time. Each of us will face various temptations for the rest of our lives to hurt our relationship with God. When you made a commitment to Christ, you committed to following Him for the rest of your life. Shouldn’t you also commit to obeying everything He says? God’s love language is obedience. If you haven’t done so, determine today that you will obey Him for the rest of your life and that you won’t give into to temptation.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

4 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

September 29, 2016 · 1:20 AM

Let’s Make A Deal


One of the game shows I grew up watching was “Let’s Make A Deal”. It’s a fun environment where the audience dresses up in ridiculous outfits hoping to be chosen by the host to come on stage. They can choose to trade what they have for what’s behind Door #1, Door #2, or Door #3. Sometimes, they would win a fabulous prize, but often they would get a Zonk (a worthless prize). There are a lot of times in life when we make bad trades. We sometimes trade moments of pleasure for a lifetime of regret. We sometimes trade happiness for a better paying job. Life is full of trades.

When Jesus was fasting in the wilderness, just before He began His ministry, Satan met Him and offered three trades. The first trade was to trade spiritual strength for a full belly. We know He was hungry and it must have been tempting to turn those stones into bread, but Jesus knew it wasn’t a good trade. Too often we are tempted to give up our spiritual significance for an insignificant morsel. In Luke 4:4, Jesus said, “It takes more than bread to really live” (MSG). 

In the second temptation, Satan offered Jesus the kingdoms of the world if He would bow to him. The trade here was to displace God from the throne of His life and put Himself there. Satan still tries that with each of us. Our flesh wants to play “King of the Hill” with God for who’s in control. Like Jesus, we need to understand it’s a bad trade. Jesus reminded him and us that the way to a successful life is to worship the Lord with absolute single-heartedness. We can’t give in to the temptation to trade places with God on the throne of our life.

The third temptation of Jesus was to jump off the Temple and let the angels catch Him. Satan was asking Him to doubt God’s protection by testing it. Jesus knew God would send the angels if he fell, but to jump would appear to be an act of faith, but would really be an act of disbelief. That’s why Jesus quoted the commandment, “Don’t you dare tempt the Lord your God.” Our enemy often masks what you’re really trading to make us think we are doing something spiritual when really, we’re doing the opposite.

The best way to make sure you don’t trade for a Zonk, is to know God’s Word. It’s what Jesus used to look at each trade that was offered. Every one of us are tempted daily to make trades. We need to take a closer look at what we are being offered and what we are being asked to give up. Leading a Spirit led life, immersed in the Bible, will help you to make fewer bad trades. Whatever you’re being tempted with today, I hope that you will take a moment to look at it in the light of God’s Word and ask God to help you make the best choice.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

June 13, 2016 · 2:20 AM

The Wilderness


I’m on a trip to Israel. For the next couple of weeks, I’m going to be sharing some of my insights from going to the places throughout this country that was written about so much in the Bible. One of the first things you notice here in Israel is how tough the terrain is. It’s a very mountainous country, but these aren’t friendly mountains. They are covered in rocks and they protrude from the ground in an unforgiving manner.

As we drive through southern Israel, you can’t help but think how difficult it must have been to travel by foot. Not only is the terrain rough, but this time of year, it’s very hot. As we traveled from Masada to Jericho to Jerusalem, we stopped to look at the Mount of Temptation. It is where it is believed that Jesus spent 40 days and 40 nights fasting and was tempted by the enemy. If in fact it was the place, it would have made a difficult fast nearly unbearable.

Matthew 4:1 says, “THEN JESUS was led (guided) by the [Holy] Spirit into the wilderness (desert) to be tempted (tested and tried) by the devil”. It’s important to note here that He was led by the Holy Spirit to go into this place. The wilderness is a tough, unforgiving place, but when it is the Holy Spirit leading us, we can trust God will protect us and give us everything we need.

It’s not always comfortable where the Spirit leads us. Sure we like it when God leads us to the mountain top, but that mountain isn’t always a beautiful mountain. The road can be hard, and the mountain can be rough. The Spirit will often take us to seek and to save the lost. In many cases, they are in the wilderness of life themselves living a rough life. To find them, we have to leave the green pastures and endure rough terrain.

With the leading of the Holy Spirit we cannot fail. Of course, His definition of success and failure may be different than our own. We only see in part, so we can only know in part what God’s plan is. He sees the bigger picture and knows what needs to happen in order to accomplish His will. Our responsibility is to follow the Spirit’s leading wherever that may be, even if it’s the wilderness. If we are willing to trust Him, and to follow His leading, we can rest assured He will not let us fail in the wilderness.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,