To My Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Temptation

Luke 4:1-2 “Jesus returned from the Jordan, full of the Holy Spirit, and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for 40 days to be tempted by the Devil.”

 As I drive by the Crispy Crème Donut Shop in South Charleston my sweet tooth begins to taste the sweetness of the glazed soft shell that opens up with a rewarding vanilla filling.  There you have it my temptation and then when I finally get home in Saint Albans I pass that wonderful Tim Hortons which also have that donut that my sweet tooth craves.  I wonder if I was tempted in the desert just like Jesus would Satan have led me to turn stones into donuts (instead of bread)?  I don’t think I could have been as strong as Jesus but with God’s help and our faith in Him we can move mountains!

 I recently read a short devotion written by an author named Beth Moore and putting it in my short basic words here is what I learned.  God’s Word tells us that Christ was tempted just as we are. So I believe that long before He was thirty years old, Christ experienced numerous other temptations exactly like those we face in our day-to-day struggles. What thirty-year-old hasn’t been tempted?

 Yet although Christ’s experience in the desert wasn’t His first grapple with temptation, it did represent an intense season that was tailored by the enemy for the challenges of messiahship that lay ahead. Some issues were meant to be settled from the very beginning of Christ’s ministry.

 Satan is very shrewd. He probably won’t tempt you to turn stones into bread, assume authority over the kingdoms of the world, or throw yourself off the highest point of the temple. He designs temptations to each person’s challenges. But we can learn from Christ’s response to these extraordinary tests. Scripture is always the most powerful tool in our fight against temptation. Don’t fight back with your words. Fight back with God’s!

 Hebrews 4:15 “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without sin.”

 
AMEN!!!

Reverend Richie McNiel