'temptation' Tagged Posts

'temptation' Tagged Posts

Daily Devotions

Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! for it is written, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”’” vs. 10 Matthew 4:5-11 As Jews dreamed of the coming Messiah, they imagined a ruler like David to whom all the kingdoms of the world with all their splendor would be obedient. And in the wilderness, as he considered the dimensions of his call, Jesus came to realize that for that to happen he would need to make a…

Daily Devotions

He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’” vss. 2-3 Matthew 4:1-4 It had been an exhilarating and exhausting time for Jesus. First, he had gone for baptism at the Jordan, and in the immediate aftermath he had heard a voice saying, “You are my Son, my Beloved. With you I am well-pleased.”…

Daily Devotions

But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’” vs. 4-5 Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7 The ancient Hebrews used the story of temptation in the Garden of Eden to explain the presence of evil in the world–when not taken literally it contains profound truths about human nature and our relationship to God. Often we think…

Daily Devotions

Then the people answered, ‘Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods…therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.’” vss. 16, 18b Joshua 24:16-18 As they entered the land of Canaan the people of Israel were positive and optimistic. In their enthusiasm they quickly endorsed Joshua’s challenge and said that they too would serve the Lord. Of course that’s not how it worked out–they didn’t realize how hard it…

Daily Devotions

They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” vs. 8 Genesis 3:8-10 Every ancient civilization had creation myths, stories that were told to successive generations describing how the world had come into existence, and how human beings ultimately made their appearance. We’re familiar with many of these tales,…

Daily Devotions

But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, ‘Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’” vs. 33 Mark 8:31-33 Having resisted the temptations of Satan in the wilderness, it must have surprised Jesus to hear the tempter’s voice coming from his most trusted disciple. But that’s how temptation works! Seldom can we be tempted by those who we don’t know well–we just don’t trust them…

Daily Devotions

And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’ And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.” vss. 11-12 Mark 1:9-15 Mark is a “bare bones” gospel. As the first to be written it charts Jesus’ ministry from baptism through resurrection, but leaves the teaching and parables to Matthew and Luke. Here Jesus gets no time at all to bask in the glory of his baptismal experience–immediately he is…

Daily Devotions: May 13, 2018

May 13, 2018 John 17:11-17…“I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one.” vs. 15 In his High Priestly prayer, Jesus expresses concern for his disciples; he’s going to be leaving them behind and he wants them to be safe. Even though he knows that God loves the world, there’s also a sense that the world can be a dangerous place. Most of us know what…