Tag: temptation

The Temptation of Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Temptation of Jesus by Gustave Doré (1832-1883)

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.

During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”

But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say,

‘People do not live by bread alone,
    but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say,

‘He will order his angels to protect you.
And they will hold you up with their hands
    so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”

Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”

Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.”

“Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say,

‘You must worship the Lord your God
    and serve only him.’”

Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus. (New Living Translation)

Get Thee Behind Me Satan, by Ilya Repin, 1895

In our most vulnerable moments, there are dark forces that attempt to swoop in and offer demonic delights for us to consider. This is what we call “temptation.” Indeed, it can be quite alluring to entertain ways of getting what we need, and want, through dubious avenues and shadowy back alleys, other than the light of God.

In the desert, the place of preparation for ministry, Jesus fasted and prayed forty days and nights. If ever there was a time when Jesus would be vulnerable to alternative religion, the devil mused, wringing his demonic hands together with wicked delight, it would be out in the desert by himself.

So, Satan tempted Jesus with three whoppers he thought would get to Jesus, for sure. Having tempted Jesus with food and a way to fame, and having failed both times, Satan gave his final temptation, and his best effort at getting Jesus to take a different path.

To us this temptation to bow down and worship Satan seems like a no-brainer. Well, of course, no one would do such a thing as this, especially Jesus. And he did not. But it was still quite tempting, and this why: Jesus knew very well what was ahead of him.

He had just spent forty days in an intense orientation for an upcoming three years of hard ministry with an end that he knew would be characterized by torture and a horrendous death. If there was a way to get around all that pain and suffering, maybe Jesus would take it. 

Satan presented to Jesus an alternative way, a different path to achieve his purpose for being on this earth. Jesus could have it all without the three years, without the hard slugging to communicate the kingdom of God has come. Most of all, Jesus could circumvent the cross and establish his rule over all the earth – all pain free! The temptation, yes, was very tempting. Become King Jesus now with no suffering.

This has always been one of our great temptations, as well: Take the easy path. Get what you want, what you deserve, now, with no hardship. 

The values of God’s kingdom include trust, patience, and perseverance. Temptation insists we need none of those hard things to be successful.

Satan is the original slickster, marketing his quick and easy wares for people to buy into the notion that life can lived without pain and hardship, and with wild success, right now! The scary thing about it is, Satan can deliver… but it will cost us our very lives. Slavery to sin is the price we pay for hitching our hopes to the quick and easy.

The Christian season of Lent is a time for the slow, patient, deliberate development of the soul in attachment with the Lord Jesus. Engaging in spiritual disciplines is hard. It is difficult to fast and pray. Growing in Christ is slow and takes a great deal of learned perseverance.

Far too many of us are tempted to circumvent the hard work of discipleship and simply have some spiritual professionals distill everything we need into one hour on Sunday morning, or in a nice neat 5-minute devotional.

For yet another easy alternative, it could be that we opt to fabricate our own religious practices and beliefs, picking and choosing what fits our lifestyle, as if convenience and comfort are the summum bonum of life, instead of worship.

Christ was able to face down temptation because the desert strengthened him. Yes, he was vulnerable. But he was not weak. If we want to handle temptation, it will take the hard slog of Lent to help us. It will require the desert to spiritually form us and prepare us for godly ministry that puts the devil in his place.

Lord Jesus, you are the king of all creation. Just as you chose the hard path of God’s kingdom, so help me to persevere with faith and patience. May my life reflect your words and ways, in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

A Desert Spirituality (Mark 1:9-15)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year B1 Comment

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tested by Satan, and he was with the wild beasts, and the angels waited on him.

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the good news of God and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” (New Revised Standard Version)

40 Days of Desert

We are in the season of Lent in the Christian Year. Beginning with Ash Wednesday, Christians take a forty-day journey, leading to Holy Week and Easter. Jesus spent forty days in the desert being tempted by Satan. So, the Church remembers this event with the season of Lent.

This is the season in which many Christians give focus to the temptations we face on a regular basis. We intentionally practice spiritual disciplines, such as fasting, and give up something for six weeks, so that we might become aware of our attachments to other things and how much we rely on them, instead of trusting God.

It was important for Jesus to be in the desert; and it’s necessary for us, as well. Jesus retraced the steps of the ancient Israelites, who wandered in the desert for forty years before entering the Promised Land. The people needed to re-connect with God, after having failed in their faith. Trust had to be strengthened and developed before they could be ready to receive God’s promises.

Jesus accomplished what others did not: He faced down the devil and overcame temptation in the desert. 

The forty days were a necessary preparation for the upcoming three years of ministry that would culminate in Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Before any of that could happen, Jesus had to experience the desert.

We, like Jesus, need a desert spirituality. The desert forms us into followers of Jesus by learning to overcome temptation, so that we will not be shaped into followers of Satan. God desires to strengthen our faith, and facing down the temptations of Satan are crucial to our spiritual development.

For Christians, the desert becomes the gymnasium where we are broken down through the stress of temptation, so that we might become spiritually stronger in our faith. Without this kind of spiritual training, we become vulnerable to Satan’s accusations, and easy prey to his temptations.

Christ’s Desert

After the baptism of Jesus, the Spirit flung him into the desert. There was real danger in the desert, wild animals and all. Yet, put in that situation and having come through it, Jesus was able to deal with the crafty pursuits of Satan to distract him from his mission. 

Throughout the Gospel of Mark, after tossing demons out of people, Jesus commanded the unclean spirits not to tell anyone who he was. Part of what was going on, is that Satan wanted to tempt Jesus to gain fame and power through popularity and accolades. But that was not the way of Jesus. He was not going to bring in the kingdom of God through the avenues of careful marketing and brand recognition.

Another practice of Jesus throughout his ministry was to seek places for solitude and prayer. The needs Jesus daily faced were large and vast and never ended. Yet, he resisted working without any rest or guidance in prayer. 

A temptation could have been to please people and never get away to pray. Yet, through solitude and prayer, Jesus connected with his Father; he moved from place to place proclaiming the good news of God’s rule and reign. Jesus did not succumb to the temptation to settle in one place and build a petty kingdom of his own, apart from the Father.

As Jesus walked the countryside telling people of repentance and faith, he often spoke in parables that were designed to foster thought and reflection. Jesus was not duped by the temptation to always be black and white about everything, merely giving the bottom line of his teaching to people. 

Christ did not teach in order to get immediate results, or to let people know which side he was on concerning the issues of the day. Instead, Jesus was about the business of building something permanent that would far outlast his short three years of ministry.

Because of the desert, and through his Father’s affirmation, Jesus lived a unique three years on this earth that has never been equaled before or since.

Our Desert

Years ago, I went on a leadership retreat in the Canadian wilderness. We were so far out in the sticks that we needed special first aid training before leaving, because if someone got severely injured it would be hours before he could receive any medical attention. There was no cell phone service, no towns, no anything except mile after square mile of wilderness. 

We were continually vigilant to not attract bears. The wilderness can be a dangerous place. One day, we were each dropped off on our own personal islands for an entire day, alone. Being face to face with yourself can be hard to deal with, which is what a desert experience does – it exposes the idols of our hearts and the ways in which we are tempted.

A person does not need to be in the Canadian wilderness or in the actual desert to experience the effects of desert life. The Holy Spirit has a way of throwing us into the desert through a change of circumstance, so that we will exercise our spiritual muscles and get in spiritual shape. 

The top three temptations that people face on a daily basis are: 

  1. Worry and anxiety
  2. Procrastination and putting things off
  3. Gossip and other sins of the tongue 

So, how do we face down those temptations and retrace our steps back to the path of God? Here are some lessons I have learned in my own desert experiences:

  1. Know your weaknesses. Know yourself, and the temptations directed at you. The three I just mentioned all come from a tendency toward perfectionism. We worry about the future, of not saying or doing something perfectly. So, we procrastinate for fear of screwing up and not being perfect. And we gossip to others about their faults and weaknesses because it maintains the illusion that our perfectionism is intact, at least as compared to others. Perfectionism is slavery. For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1, NRSV)
  2. Understand the importance of timing. When are you at your weakest, and vulnerable to temptation? What triggers you to sin? Whenever kids act up, we first wonder if they are tired or hungry or have some other need. It’s the same with us. Carrying sleep debt, skipping meals, or eating junk food because we are in a hurry, will set us up for temptation. Elijah faced down four-hundred prophets of Baal, then fell apart when one woman, Jezebel, went after him. He needed food and rest. Discipline yourselves; keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8, NRSV)
  3. Look to God and others. Don’t rely solely on your own willpower; or believe that you can resist temptation all by yourself, all the time. Even Jesus looked both to his Father and his disciples. Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be grieved and agitated. Then he said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.” And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, yet not what I want but what you want.” Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:36-41, NRSV)
  4. Have a plan. Flying by the seat of your pants will not always work. The clever see danger and hide, but the simple go on and suffer for it. (Proverbs 22:3, NRSV) One of the ways I personally resist temptation is by having a daily plan of worshiping God, praying, and reading Scripture at set times throughout the day. For me, it’s significant to have more than a few minutes of “quiet time” in the morning.
  5. Overcome evil with good. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:21, NRSV) Applying this to the top three temptations people face, that means worriers will love their enemy and pray for those who persecute. For the procrastinator, it means to take intentional steps of faith and risk, being real and vulnerable with others through accountable relationships. For the gossip, they will seek to speak words of encouragement that build others up.
  6. Know that you are never alone. Angels attended Jesus. Even the Son of God was not on his own.  Whatever you are facing is likely not unique to you. Others face it, too. Our brothers and sisters throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of problems when they seek to walk with Christ.

Let the desert shape and strengthen your faith. If the Holy Spirit has thrown you into a dry place, then instead of bucking the situation and complaining about it, learn all you can about resisting temptation so that you can come out the other end a stronger, more faithful follower of Jesus Christ. 

May it be so, to the glory of God.

The Model Prayer (Matthew 6:7-15)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
The Lord’s Prayer, by He Qi

And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

“Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (New King James Version)

God knows what we need before we even ask, which means the Creator of the universe has the divine ear inclined to listen to us. The Lord desires, even longs for us to pray to him.

Since this is God’s daily disposition, Jesus communicated for us a model way of prayer which exemplifies the values of Christ’s Beatitudes and reflects the priorities of God’s kingdom.

The Lord’s Prayer is meant to be prayed often, mindfully, and with flavor.

Jesus gave us six petitions to guide us in our prayers: The first three petitions are priorities of God that set the tone for the next three petitions, which are centered in our problems of living in this fallen world.

Addressing God

Jesus gave us instruction of how to address God: “Our Father in heaven.” All the pronouns in the Lord’s Prayer are plural, not singular. We are to be concerned for both our own individual issues, and for the needs of the community, and of the problems of the world.

“Father” is an endearing and relational word. “In heaven” balances the closeness and nearness of our heavenly Father with his sovereign and transcendent nature. Our God is both near and far – a close friend as well as a holy king. So, we address our prayers with a proper understanding of who God is.

First Petition: “Hallowed be your name.”

“Hallow” comes from the root word for holiness; it is to sanctify and set apart. God is concerned that we know the distinction between the Creator is holy, and so, the creatures are also to be holy. 

As He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16, NKJV)

Notice the use of the verb: not hallowed “is” your name, but hallowed, or holy “be” your name. Jesus guides us to pray that God’s name would be shown as holy through us by the way we live. The world sees a holy God when God’s people walk in holiness, reflecting the Lord’s benevolent nature. 

Second Petition: “Your kingdom come.”

We live in a fallen world that has come under the domain of dark forces. The unfolding drama of Holy Scripture is that God is on a mission to restore creation to a benevolent rule.

Jesus is the King, we are the subjects, and God’s realm exists wherever his subjects go.  And where his subjects go, they are to pierce the darkness by embodying the good news that King Jesus has overcome the demonic realm and brought us into God’s kingdom. The prayer and proclamation of this good news is of utmost priority to God.

Third Petition: “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

God’s ethical will has been revealed to us by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount; the Beatitudes are the cornerstone of his teaching (Matthew 5-7). God’s will is that Christ’s followers be humble; grieve over sin in the world; act with gentleness instead of prideful condescension; hunger for true righteousness instead of legalistic self-righteousness; show mercy; be pure in heart; pursue peace; and, rejoice when persecuted. All of this results in being salt and light in this dark world. (Matthew 5:3-16)

Jesus spells out God’s will in his sermon. Christ’s followers are to:

  1. reconcile with others instead of hold grudges
  2. deal with lust through accountability instead of making excuses for mental adultery
  3. cherish our spouse instead of taking the easy way out when problems arise in marriage
  4. tell the truth at all times instead of shading it
  5. love, not retaliate when personally hurt or insulted.

If God’s will seems an impossible task, that’s because we need divine resources to live a Christian ethic; we need to pray!

The first three petitions are priorities for God. They are asking the same thing – that the full manifestation of God’s reign on earth be realized. 

Therefore, our prayers are not primarily to receive goods and services from God, but for us to render service to God. These prioritized petitions are a desire to see God honored on earth as God is already honored in heaven.

Fourth Petition: “Give us today our daily bread.”

Our bodies enable us to do God’s will, and so we must be concerned for them. Daily, we must have the basic necessities of life to carry out God’s priorities for the church and the world.

In the ancient world, people were paid at the end of each day. Folks also shopped every day at the marketplace for their food because there was no refrigeration. Whenever there was a flood or a drought, it meant much more than high grocery prices; people faced starvation and death.

They needed to trust God for today, and not worry about tomorrow. Even though contemporary people may not always readily perceive their great dependence on God, we still are in divine hands and need faith.

Fifth Petition: “Forgive our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

Sin is pictured as a debt. If someone has sinned (trespassed) against us, we must forgive them, thus releasing them from their debt. To forgive does not mean to forget. Rather, we do not hold the debt (the sin) over someone’s head for the rest of their life. 

The person who is forgiven by God is a forgiving person. Our own forgiveness implies that we have done the hard work of repentance through identifying our sin and renouncing it. So, if we fail to forgive, it demonstrates a lack of change on our part. We cannot be forgiven if we spurn God’s freely offered grace. 

Forgiveness is important to Jesus. Thus, we are to squarely face our bitterness. Simply sweeping our hurt under the rug and not extending forgiveness only gives the darkness a foothold into our lives – which is why we are to pray the final petition:

Sixth Petition: “And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.”

Just as we must trust God for our physical necessities, we also must trust God for our spiritual needs – which hinge on the issue of forgiveness – our forgiveness from God through Christ, and the forgiveness we extend to others who have hurt or offended us. 

An unforgiving heart is a major temptation to hate, seek revenge, and retaliate. If we have spent days, weeks, months, years, or even decades harboring an unforgiving spirit through anger, bitterness, and avoidance of facing our past trauma, we have embraced the dark side and need deliverance from evil. 

Freedom comes through acknowledging the offense, receiving grace and forgiveness from God, and passing that same forgiveness and grace to those who hurt us. This is not about whether they deserve it or not; it’s a matter of what I need to do.

Conclusion

The truth sets us free; telling our secrets brings freedom. Apart from naming our shame, we will remain bound and in need of liberation. Tell your secrets to God in the prayer closet, and then tell them to a trusted friend(s). We pray, and we act on what God tells us in prayer.  

The Lord’s Prayer is a model prayer. That means we use the six petitions of Jesus to frame our prayers in our own words, as well as say the words in our favorite translation of the Bible.

Praying this prayer daily shapes our everyday lives, serves as a guide for how to live, and provides discernment in making life’s many decisions. So, let us daily and in every way make use of our Lord’s Prayer.

Our Father in heaven, the One who is both near and far,

May your Name be shown as holy through us, your people.

May others submit to your lordship and become holy, too.

Help us to know your will and to do it.

We need you God, so provide our necessities for today.

Forgive us of our great and many sins, just as we forgive those who have sinned egregiously against us.

Lead us in paths of righteousness, which shoo the devil away.

For you are the Ruler, the Mighty One, forever full of glory and grace. Amen!

It’s Not Over Till It’s Over (Ezekiel 33:10-16)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

The Lord said:

Ezekiel, son of man, the people of Israel are complaining that the punishment for their sins is more than they can stand. They have lost all hope for survival, and they blame me. Tell them that as surely as I am the living Lord God, I don’t like to see wicked people die. I enjoy seeing them turn from their sins and live. So if the Israelites want to live, they must stop sinning and turn back to me.

Tell them that when good people start sinning, all the good they did in the past cannot save them from being punished. And remind them that when wicked people stop sinning, their past sins will be completely forgiven, and they won’t be punished.

Suppose I promise good people that they will live, then later they start sinning and believe they will be saved by the good they did in the past. These people will certainly be put to death because of their sins. Their good deeds will be forgotten.

Suppose I warn wicked people that they will die because of their sins, and they stop sinning and start doing right. For example, they need to return anything they have taken as security for a loan and anything they have stolen. Then if they stop doing evil and start obeying my Law, they will live. Their past sins will be forgiven, and they will live because they have done right. (Contemporary English Version)

“It ain’t over till the fat lady sings,” is an old adage which means one should not presume to know the outcome of something that’s still in progress. In more contemporary language, we might say, “It’s not over till it’s over.”

Those sorts of proverbs are asking us, “What are you doing today? How are you living your life, right now?”

We need to be present to the time we are inhabiting at this moment. There are two opposite temptations for us in relating to time.

  1. “I did a lot of good things in the past. I worked hard. I was generous. Now it’s time for me to do whatever the heck I want. Nobody is going to tell me what to do or how to live my life.”
  2. “I did a lot of bad things in the past. I partied hard. I took advantage of people. Now it’s time for me to do good. I don’t know, though, whether it will ever be enough.”

In other words, the temptations are either to rely on all the good I’ve done, earning me a license to do what I want; or to believe I can never overcome my bad past. In both cases, it’s to keep thinking our past is the controlling factor.

But it’s not.

Just as there was a flip-flop of living, it could very well happen again. The guy who did good in the past, then didn’t, now responds to overtures to stop living a selfish life. He begins doing the good he used to do. And the guy who had a sordid past, then changed and did good, now goes back to his old life, like a dog returning to its vomit.

It’s never over, till it’s over. As long as we’re still breathing on this earth and walking on it, the outcome of life is still yet to be determined. There is always the opportunity for new life. And it begins with identifying and confessing where we are in this present time.

If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from everything we’ve done wrong. (1 John 1:9, CEB) 

Being right with God means assessing our relationship at all times. Forgiveness and reconciliation are activated by admitting one’s true condition. Secret sins tucked away deep in the soul will only fester and boil. The result of un-confessed sin is spiritual blindness, darkness, and death. 

There cannot be new life and renewal, revival, or revitalization of life and ministry apart from real honest tell-it-like-it-is biblical confession. 

If this scares the hell out of you, it really should. Dealing with sin in a radical straightforward manner is what Jesus talked about in his Sermon on the Mount, in saying we should pluck our eyes out if they offend, and cut our hands off if they cause us to sin; because it’s better to be in God’s kingdom with no eyes and hands than to burn in hell with our parts intact. (Matthew 5:29-30) 

Confession is more than simply mouthing some words about not being perfect and a sinner like everybody else; it is to lead to a complete turn-around and change of how we live our lives. We can change. We are neither fated to be a screw-up forever nor a good person till the end.

Instead, we have to put the work in – mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

Change is what the biblical word “repentance” means. It happens by dealing squarely with our past thinking, choices, and behavior. This is why some form of a prayer of confession really needs to happen at every church worship service. 

Ignoring such a vital liturgical prayer and practice will, at best, leave people with no guidance for confronting sin; and, at worst, will teach people that confession is not necessary to Christianity and leave them a spiritual mess. 

Yet a carefully constructed prayer of confession can lead believers to unburden the things they have done, and the things they have left undone – which opens us to the advocacy of Jesus Christ who speaks on our behalf because of his once-for-all atoning sacrifice for sins.

Confession, repentance, and change are more than single events; they are a way of life for the believer. As long as you are still able to read this, there’s still the opportunity to live the good life and forsake the wicked life.

Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. (Hebrews 4:7, NIV)

It ain’t over till it’s over.

Creator God, you made us in your image: may we discern your goodness in all that we see, and serve you with all goodness in everything we do, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.