Skip to main content

Kick Temptation in the Face

Temptation is inevitable; it is a fact of life that we face every day. We are constantly tempted by food, drink, self promotion, pride, addictions, pretty things and much more. You know by now that when faced with temptation, giving in is too easy. Practicing self control and using reason allude you for a moment, making resistance nearly impossible. We've all been tempted by something; even Jesus was tempted.

In Luke 4:1-13, we learn that Jesus went into the wilderness full of the Holy Spirit and was tempted for 40 days. HOLD UP...He was full of the Holy Spirit and was tempted for 40 DAYS. During his 40 days in the wilderness, he was tempted by lust of the flesh (he was human, too), lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; he punched every form of temptation right in the face. He totally nailed it, and why wouldn't he??? He's the perfect mix of God and man, and he totally rocked his time on Earth.

Lust of the Flesh
First, his flesh was tempted. The devil says, "IF you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread." The devil questions Holy Spirit revealed truth, then he tempted Jesus to gratify his flesh. Jesus responds by saying, "People do not live by bread alone." He is not tempted by bread because he knows in his heart that food would only gratify him for a moment; the living word nourishes the soul.

Lust of the Eyes
Then, the devil takes Jesus up to LOOK (lust of the eyes) at all the kingdoms and offers him authority over all of it. The devil tries to persuade him by saying the kingdoms are his to give and promises to hand it over if Jesus worships him. Jesus is not into selling his soul to the devil, and he informs the devil that Scriptures say, "You must worship the Lord your God and serve ONLY him." He isn't willing to pledge allegiance to the devil in exchange for authority over the kingdoms (which he gets anyway by way of his Father: King of kings and Lord of lords).
Pride of Life

Lastly, the devil takes Jesus to the highest point of the temple and prompts him to jump off to see if God protects him from injury. Jesus knows the character of his Father and to "not test the Lord your God." Testing God is an arrogant act that is a result of pride of life.

Here's the thing: Jesus didn't resist temptation because of his awesome personality or by sheer force of will. Jesus resisted temptation because he walked with the Holy Spirit inside him, which guided, protected and informed him.

By our adoption into the family of God, we are offered the same thing Jesus was offered. Don't go into the wilderness unarmed hoping for the best; go into the wilderness armed with the Holy Spirit living inside you and kick temptation square in the face. You, too, are a child of God and a child of man, which gives you the same all-access pass Jesus had on Earth.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reforming Undesirable Behavior

You know that thing you do that you don't wanna do but you keep doing it because you can't stop doing it? These behaviors might include: lying, cheating, raging, gossiping, pornography, drinking, drugs, eating, throwing up, etc. Reforming these behaviors on your own can prove to be a little tricky. I'd say reforming undesirable behavior might even be impossible on your own. But there is still hope for us. With the love of God, the power of the Holy Spirit and a renewed mind, you can reform your behavior. Youth conference with lots of God encounters! An encounter with God is the easiest way to reform undesirable behavior because the encounter will fill you with the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord renews our minds in a way that informs our bodies of what's beneficial to our spiritual health in the eyes of God. So, your mouth doesn't want to lie anymore; your tongue won't allow you to eat certain things; your eyes will be opened to the evil of pornogra
Post a Comment
Read more

Patient for the Promise

Going off the 🏕 grid is really in right now, right? A lot of people are buying 🌳 land, getting a tiny home and moving towards the simple, slow life. It’s exciting and exhilarating and dreams are coming true everyday for people who hope to be self sustained.  Going in faith on a 🗣🙏🏼 word of God is kind of the same feeling. He gives us a vision, a word or a dream that is irresistible. It’s exciting and exhilarating as we think about what He has for us and what it will look like. Our dreams come true as we see His word unfold right in front of us. What we don’t realize when we get started is the 😳 opposition that inevitably pops up along the way. For example, when people dream about living the simple life in the country they see 🌤 sunrises and sunsets with ☕️ coffee on the front porch in a white rocking chair. They see quiet, peaceful evenings spent with the family in the yard. They see baby 🐐 goats and 🐱 kittens frolicking in the barn. That IS a reality of a dream co
Post a Comment
Read more

The Meaning

My name is Jessica and my husband's name is Jarrod. We believe in God. We also believe in the spiritual gifts. Jarrod is an associate pastor at a small church in our hometown. It is a non-denominational church; by this we mean we are Bible based, spirit filled people who just LOVE enjoying God. We each have very good and close knit families but we also view the church members as our family. We love them like sisters and brothers and really enjoy spending time with them. Everyone has their own passions; some of us share passions. My passions include my husband and dog, teaching math (even though I "retired" last year from the teaching field, I tutor students and use every chance I get to explain math to people), and a good, strong cup of coffee. :) My favorite spiritual gift to learn and practice and be practiced on is prophecy. Prophecies are when God's children ask their Father for a word and hear it through feelings, verses, maybe an audible voice, a thought appe
3 comments
Read more