Journey to the Cross 2017, Day 10

Saturday, Day 10:  Matthew 10                     

The End. Over. Finished. Completed. Done. But that’s not always true. The end heralds new beginnings. Just as we end one month, the next day we begin another. We get fresh starts – every year, every month, every week, every morning . . . . We can’t undo the past, but we can learn from it - and God can redeem it and use it for good. I was reminded of that one morning as several of us sat chatting – and suddenly the inconsequential segued into the very important.

I love that touch of God when He whispers through our lives and touches chords that can be shared for His glory. The topic of suicide arose – and in a moment of tender trusting transparency a couple of us shared how it has affected our lives. It was a God-moment. I had a distinct sense of knowing why I was there in that moment at that time, and I love that God takes the painful places in our history and uses them for His glory – redeeming them, and making them Kingdom-useful.

Matthew 10 is my chapter for today. In the listing of the 12 disciples, I noted that the punctuation groups the names by twos. I knew they were sent out by twos, but had never paid attention to the punctuation before . . . . Go. Freely give. Be on your guard. Proclaim.

I also note they were sent very specifically to the Lost Sheep of Israel.  They are God’s chosen people, and were the first to have the opportunity to hear – but the message inherent in this chapter is that many will not.  Jesus warns his disciples that persecution will come, but not to fear.

“Do not be afraid of those who can kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Sometimes I am guilty of thinking of God in too warm and fuzzy of terms . . . rather like a small toddler whose father is the King – a child who freely crawls into the throne room and up into his daddy’s lap with no fear of reprisal, just the expectation of warm, loving arms to lift him up and hold him….   It is an image I love.

Yes, one day He will separate the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the weeds . . . . He is a God of Judgment as well as a God of Mercy.  Certainly, I want to hold Him in the proper highly esteemed place He deserves – but I also love knowing Him as El Roi, the God who sees me – and loves me in spite of myself . . . .

Jesus’ final words in this chapter are piercing:  “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven.”

Humor for today:
At Sunday School they were teaching how God created the whole world –  including human beings. Little Johnny was especially interested in the part of the story that told how Eve was created from one of Adam’s ribs.

Later in the week when Johnny’s mother noticed him lying down on the couch, seemingly in pain, she asked him what the matter was. Johnny responded, “I have a pain in my side. I think I’m going to have a wife.”

Journey to the Cross 2017, Day 9

Friday, Day 9:  Matthew 9                            

Matthew 9 is my passage for Day 9. I’m so glad I chose Matthew!  Again, so much to munch on! What the paralytic obviously wanted was physical healing but Jesus gave him so much more – and took care of the most important issue first – the forgiveness of his sins.

Next I note that in response to the man’s healing, people praised God for what Jesus did. I need to remember that – to affirm the person’s obedience to God, certainly, but to give my praise to God, not to man. And then there is Matthew. A Jew who worked for the Romans – an outcast to his own people, and merely used as a pawn by the other . . . and Jesus ‘chose’ him. Each of these moments is a lesson of who Jesus is – and I love the reminders – but my heart gravitates to the woman with the issue of blood.

Twelve long years she had suffered. Dr. Luke tells us that no one could heal her – a detail a doctor would pay attention to in relating the story.

This woman was desperate. After all, she barged into the procession as they were following Jesus on his way to heal Jairus’ daughter.  Sounds a little self-centered, actually – but her hope and her need compelled her. She had been isolated and ostracized for 12 long years. Because of her issue she couldn’t go to public worship. She was unclean. No one could even sit in the same chair she used or sleep in the same bed without risk of also becoming unclean. (Leviticus 17)

She shouldn’t have been in a crowd. That was against the rules, too, because anyone she touched became ceremonially unclean; and to make matters worse, she intended to put them – and Jesus – at risk for being unclean. She was desperate, desperate, desperate! It appears that she thought she could just sneak in from behind for a silent healing – if only she could just touch the hem of his garment! How did she know that? How many times had she stayed just far enough away from the crowd to honor ceremonial law, and watched him heal others? We aren’t told how she came to faith – but she did! It was no longer just a hope, a ‘he could if he wanted to’ belief.

Matthew just doesn’t give us the whole story – so I had to go to Luke for this one . . . .  Dr. Luke tells us that as soon as she touched his cloak she was immediately healed. But Jesus had more for her that day. He engaged her in conversation – allowed her to make a public profession of her healing – and reinstated her to society by that proclamation. She came for what she wanted. He gave her what she needed.  God’s perfect healing included the restoration of relationships, and by his making certain her healing was proclaimed she was restored to fellowship with others. I just love the model of His outrageous grace, and that he knows better than we do just what we need. 

Thank you, Lord! 

Humor for today:
A teacher came up to a little girl in her class during art and asked her what she was drawing.

She answered, “God.”

The teacher said, “Oh, honey, no one knows what God looks like.”

And the child replied, “They will when I’m through.”

Journey to the Cross 2017, Day 8

Thursday, Day 8:  Matthew 8                           

I can’t even get past the first few verses in Matthew 8 without digging deeper. Jesus came down from the mountain and large crowds followed him – but then in his path was a leper. I can see the crowds shrinking back, repelled. After all, the lepers – abandoned to the countryside away from contact with healthy humans – were required to walk around repeatedly saying, “Unclean, unclean” so people would stay away from them to avoid potential infection. But not this man. He’s not following the mores of his society. This man comes and kneels before Jesus. The Law does not allow him to come that close to people, but he came anyway. However, it was not he who reached out and touched . . . .  Oh, his words did, certainly . . .  “Jesus, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” And then Jesus touched him – a leper  –  an untouchable – and said, “I am willing. Be clean.”

In the fall of 1970, I came to Jesus as one who had ‘spiritual leprosy.’ I was ‘outside the camp,’ ostracized (it was at least partially self-imposed, but it felt like real abandonment), and as I knelt before Him, He touched me with His incredible, forgiving, cleansing love. I was the prodigal daughter. I had known Him and walked away because He let me down (or so I thought.) I mistakenly thought that His being ‘in control’ meant he was a controlling God, and that nothing bad could happen to me with Him in control. He had disappointed me. He had failed to protect me. He had let me make a huge mistake (that led to more) and I was very angry with Him – so I abandoned my faith.

My healing was not wrought as immediately as the leper’s appears to have been (though his physical healing and his social healing are two separate issues.) Mine was more like peeling away layers of an onion – until at last, I felt I was freed completely – even from the guilt of my sin. Don’t misunderstand, I am dreadfully sorry for the sins I committed and for the mistakes I made, but God has redeemed them, and I no longer feel guilt. And, of course, now I understand about ‘free will’ and that God’s being in control is not synonymous with controlling every situation in our lives. I also understand that we live in a fallen world and that bad things happen – but that the difference for us as Christians is that we can have inner peace – a peace the world cannot offer – a peace that gives us an inner calm no matter how stormy the circumstances we are living through. And I know that we see difficulty through different eyes because this world is not our long-range focus.

Another difference for us as Christians is that we can learn amazing lessons through times of trial. In 2000, after going through a series of challenges culminating with a plethora of issues precipitated by having an oophorectomy, I learned firsthand that God deserves our praise and worship no matter what our circumstances.

In the difficult months that followed that surgery – including being in the throes of trying to handle all of the issues related to being executrix for my stepmother’s will, her lawyer committing suicide, and having to start all over again with another attorney – and being in the midst of building and moving, which meant no longer having my 30-years-long church support network available to me – some days all my journal stated was HELP! in very large print. But, like Peter, I knew there was nowhere else to go. I knew that because I had tried life without Jesus – and my resolve after coming back to faith was total commitment. When people say “God will never give you more than you can handle” I think, ‘They haven’t been where I have been.’ But I do know this: He will never give me more than HE can handle – and I know He is smack dab in the middle of it going through it with me, whatever the ‘it’ is. It is a wonderful assurance! That’s the most amazing thing: He walks with us through every painful step – as well as the joyous ones. It isn’t about feeling. It’s about faith. He says He will be with us – and He is. No matter what.

As for redeeming the bad – He has. There are others who have walked away from God because of their own terrible circumstances who have believed one of Satan’s most insidious lies: that God can’t or won’t love them anymore. They believe in Him, but they have been told that ‘once they have put their hand to the plow and turned back, they are no longer worthy’ and they take that to mean that He won’t accept them – so they live outside the gate, ostracized. A few years ago God placed me in the right place at the right time to be able to be the one who could share my story with one woman who needed to hear it. Her immediate response was, “Well, no offense, but if God can forgive you, then He can forgive me.” No offense was taken – just pure joy in seeing God redeem the bad that had happened to me, turning it to joy in seeing someone else restored to a right relationship with Him – and then later to see her be instrumental in passing that on to others….

And just an aside - for those who believe and misuse that bit about ‘putting our hand to the plow’ NONE of us are worthy to begin with. But – when God forgives with extravagant grace, what a testimony to His amazing love. His amazing, extravagant grace is why I call myself ‘A child of God’s grace.’ I am.

Just after going through the worst of that terribly tough time beginning early in 2000, God gave me a chorus to a calypso beat. These are the words:

I don’t deserve your love. I don’t deserve the life you have reserved for me.
I don’t deserve your love. I don’t deserve the grace you give to set me free.
I don’t deserve that you, the Son of God, died on the cross for me.
I don’t deserve your love, but thank you, Lord, that you give it to me, so freely.
I don’t deserve your love, but thank you, Lord, that you give it to me.

Not everyone agrees with me – or with the sentiment expressed in this chorus – but that’s O K. I know that what I deserved was death – as in the ‘eternal separation from God’ death – but He didn’t agree. Oh, how beautiful the song of the Redeemed.

When Jesus healed this particular leper, he told him not to go talk about it – but to go do what was required by law. If you want to read the extensive process that involved, you’ll find it in Leviticus 14:2-32. What touches me about that, is that Jesus wanted the testimony to be proclaimed to the Priests. They were the ones who knew the prophecies of the Old Testament. If they were paying attention they would have recognized Him as the Messiah. Few did, apparently.

So – I read the whole chapter – but that’s my tidbit for today. Blessings!


Humor for today:
Following an unresolved argument a man and wife were giving each other the silent treatment. At bedtime the man realized that because he was prone to sleeping through his alarm, he would need his wife to wake him up at 5 a m the next morning for a long-anticipated fishing trip with his buddies. He had to meet them in the designated location by 5:30 a m or be left behind. Not wanting to be the first to break the silence, he left a note pinned to her pillow – where she obviously couldn’t miss it – written in large letters: ‘PLEASE WAKE ME UP AT 5 A M.”

The next morning the man awoke to find he had slept through his alarm and missed his trip. He was furious, and was about to go find out why his wife hadn’t awakened him when he discovered a note pinned to his pillow that stated, “IT’S 5 A M - WAKE UP!”

Journey to the Cross 2017, Day 7

Wednesday, Day 7: Matthew 7                           

This is another of those chapters that covers a lot of terrain. Another sermon series . . . . I see some wonderful ‘what if’s’ in this chapter: What if we lived by the guidelines suggested, that however we thought about others, God would think of us, and to whatever extent we extend grace to others, God would extend grace to us? We cannot help but observe – but we are absolutely admonished to leave judgment to the Lord (or be willing to be judged by the exact same standard with which we judge), pay attention to our own shortcomings, and treat others as we want to be treated. It’s nutshell Christianity where the rubber meets the road.

Then in verse 13 the message switches to admonishments about how to get to heaven and whom to believe. There is only one way. Jesus is the narrow gate. No options. No other way.

False prophets were warned against in Jesus’ day – and they have been surfacing ever since – misleading people with false promises and erroneous information. Just in quick review I can think of several: The Church of Jesus Christ Christian AKA The Aryan Nation, which was/is neither Christlike nor Christian (perhaps a redundant statement  – but I want it to be perfectly clear!); Jim Jones & his Jonestown, Guyana followers who committed mass suicide; David Koresh and the Branch Davidians; the Bahgwan Shree Rajneesh and his compound in Antelope, Oregon; and a plethora of -isms that fail to present Jesus Christ as the only way to God. False prophets bear fruit, but it is bad fruit . . . . Bad fruit poisons and misleads people. It may seem appealing, but it’s like trying to make a ‘balanced diet’ out of marshmallows. Jesus’ message is a message of His love. It welcomes our taking responsibility for our choice. He wants us to choose Him, but we aren’t forced to. And – it’s personal.

Perhaps the most compelling verses in this chapter are 21 - 23. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father, who is in heaven . . . .”

Several years ago I read a book titled The Vintage Jesus because I wanted to know if the author teaches the truth.  His vernacular made me gasp a few times – but technically I have only one issue where I disagree – not about who God is, but about who we are.

I disagree on the same issue with my own church and have stated that, sometimes vociferously. The statement I disagree with is that ‘we are all sinners.’ I strongly object to that as our designation once we have accepted Christ so I take exception to that statement, and believe that it restrains people from living up to their best in Christ and as Christians.  “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he . . . .”  If I think of myself as a sinner it excuses me quite easily from living up to the standard Christ sets for me. Our identity is to be in Christ – and it holds us to a very high standard. Our plumb line is straight – Christ Himself. My identity is no longer ‘Sinner’ but ‘child of God’; ‘dearly beloved’ (aka loved one); ‘saint’; ‘redeemed’; ‘saved’; ‘friend’; joint heir with Christ.

“While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” – but once we accept Him, we are no longer identified as ‘sinners’ but as ‘saved by His grace’. My daughter will ask for proof from scripture, so here it is:

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (note the past tense)

John 1:12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—

John 13:33 “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come . . . .”

Romans 8:16-17 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

John 15:14-15 You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

Romans 9:25-26 As he says in Hosea:
“I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people;
and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,” and,
“It will happen that in the very place where it was said to them,
‘You are not my people,’
they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’ “

Ephesians 1:18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints

Acts 2:21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Luke 1:68 Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people.

We are the redeemed - our identity is not ‘sinners.’ That is not to say we do not sin.  We do. But, just like a child, we live up to how we are identified. If you want a child to do well, you praise his strong points, rather than focus on the negatives. When a preacher says “We are all sinners” I react. It was my identity. Now my identity has changed. I realize Paul identifies himself as the chiefest of sinners – but he does us a disservice not to put it in the past tense. O K - I can step down from that soapbox now . . . .

Chapter 7 ends with the story of the man who built his house upon the rock. When we build our lives on the solid teaching of Jesus Christ - our Rock - no storm can destroy our house - but when lives are built on anything else, it is like building on shifting sand, and when trouble comes - and trouble always will come – that house will not stand . . . .

The children’s chorus from my childhood has been wending its way through my brain all day.

The wise man built his house upon a rock
The wise man built his house upon a rock

The wise man built his house upon a rock

And the rain came tumbling down

The rains came down as the floods came up

The rains came down as the floods came up

The rains came down as the floods came up

And the house on the rock stood firm.

The foolish man built his house upon the sand
The foolish man built his house upon the sand

The foolish man built his house upon the sand

And the rain came tumbling down

The rains came down as the floods came up

The rains came down as the floods came up

The rains came down as the floods came up

And the house on the sand went splat!

So build your life on the Lord Jesus Christ

So build your life on the Lord Jesus Christ

Sp build your life on the Lord Jesus Christ

And the blessings will come down

The blessings come down as the prayers go up

The blessings come down as the prayers go up

The blessings come down as the prayers go up

So build your house on the Lord

Prayer for today:  

Dear Lord, help us see ourselves as You see us:  redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, Your only begotten Son, who gave His life and poured out His blood as the payment for sin so we are no longer called 'sinners'  – who are those who are away from You – but as 'sons' and 'daughters', which You have made us by Your grace.  

Amen

Humor for today:
Bill and Joe went on a camping trip. Joe took his old canvas framed tent to be their ‘home away from home.’ After they got it set up and organized with the cots in just the right places and all their gear appropriately stowed, they were worn out, so they crawled in and fell fast asleep. Several hours later Joe woke up, and waking Bill, asked him, “Bill - look up and tell me what you see.”

Bill replied, “I see millions of stars.”

“What does that tell you?” asked Joe.

Bill thought for a moment and then patiently responded, “Astronomically speaking, it tells me there are millions of galaxies, and potentially billions of planet. Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo. Timewise, it appears to be approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, it’s evident the Lord is all-powerful and we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, it seems we will have a beautiful day when we get up later today. What does it tell you, Joe?”

“Well,” Joe observed, “It tells me that someone has stolen our tent.”

The Journey to the Cross 2017, Day 6

Tuesday, Day 6:  Matthew 6                           

Matthew 6 could be a several-week sermon series! Jesus covers a lot of territory in what has been encapsulated in this one chapter: giving, prayer, fasting, priorities, worry . . . . This is not an in depth study so I’m just going to choose one little nugget:

Matthew 6:22-23
“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”

Today is the first time I have looked at this passage with different eyes. Always before I thought of it in terms of the Truth of the Gospel, and for those who ‘think’ they have truth but don’t, that the light they think they have is actually darkness – and how great the darkness is when it is misconstrued as light . . . . I applied that very quickly to those of specific religions that don’t honor Jesus Christ as God: though light came into the world, they don’t accept Him, and so are in darkness. I also applied it to those whose theology isn’t sound, for various reasons.

But, today I realize it is sandwiched neatly between very distinct clarifications about our relationship with money  – and if I am to truly pay attention to context, I have to wonder if the message isn’t actually one reiterating that message: not of theology, but of ‘stuff.’ Could it be that this is saying when our eyes become so accustomed to seeing what is around us and we long for or prioritize inconsequential ‘stuff’ instead of a totally sold-out relationship with God, we are settling for darkness?

If nothing else, it is thought-provoking . . . .

A few years ago I sat in a seven-million dollar home in a gathering, and the owner of the home said, “If I lose it all and still have Jesus I will still have everything.” It was a stunning statement. One I have mulled over many times. I love God’s blessings of home and family - and general good health (so far)  –  but also have to acknowledge that the man who spoke those words spoke truth: “If I lose it all and still have Jesus, I have everything.” Nothing else will leave this world with me  – but Him!

Lord, thank you for your blessings. Help me always keep them in perspective, and Lord, let your light shine into me and through me. Dispel any wrong ways of thinking or feeling that could be darkness.

Humor for today:
A little boy visiting his grandma was playing in her bedroom. “Grandma,” he said, “You know how you told me we come from dust and return to dust?”

“Yes, dear,” she responded.

“Well, Grandma,” he observed, “ I just looked under your bed - and someone’s either coming or going.”

The Journey to the Cross 2017, Day 5

If it looks like we skipped a day by not numbering yesterday, this is a reminder that the Sundays leading up to Resurrection Sunday do not count in the 40-day countdown of Lent.

Monday, Day 5: Matthew 5                            

There is so much in Matthew Chapter 5.  ‘Do not resist an evil person’ leaps out to me – as does ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.’  The reality is I do pray for those who misrepresent, malign and misunderstand me – but I am not truly persecuted, though sometimes I feel like it.  Sunday’s message at church talked  about the persecuted church – the truly persecuted – and in the light of that comparison, this is hard teaching . . . . Our Christian faith teaches forgiveness. Letting stuff go.

This chapter includes the Beatitudes, and a healthy ‘be’ attitude is the best kind . . . . We cannot always affect our circumstances, but we can affect our attitude.

Lord, when I need an attitude adjustment, nudge me to praise. You inhabit the praises of your people.

Chapter 5 ends with an impossible directive: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” I know I can’t actually do it - but by His grace, I can press toward the mark – and I’ll get a lot further intentionally pressing forward than I will if I don’t try.

Lord, help me be an intentional Christian today. I’m so grateful you impute righteousness to us, and that you see us through the filter of your Son!

Humor for today:
A young woman who was having no luck finding employment through all of the normal avenues decided to go door-to-door in a posh neighborhood and seek odd jobs. She bravely walked up to the door of the first home, knocked and asked the man who answered the door if there were any chores she could do to earn money.

The man replied, “Can you paint?”

“I sure can.” She replied confidently.

“Well, then, you can paint my porch if we can agree on a price.”

“How about $50 dollars,” she replied, “Is that O K?”

“That’ll be just fine. You’ll find the paint in the garage.”

He, of course, was ecstatic. He had been avoiding the project for a long time, and was getting tired of his wife bugging him about it. Now he had this drop dead gorgeous blond willing to do it for a mere $50.! He closed the door, feeling quite smug.

About an hour later, there was another knock on the door. It was the blond. “I’m all done,” she reported, “I had lots of paint so I gave it two coats - and, by the way,” she continued, “It’s a Ferrari, not a porch.”

HEAD’S UP:
We are frequently warned about scams.  

I received a call from a young man claiming to be my grandson. I asked him for his name, and he said scoldingly, “Grandma, you know my name . . . .” I said, “Well, I still want to know your name.” And he hung up. The reality is, I was forewarned about that one. I know someone who fell victim to it a year earlier. The young man who called her said, “Hi Grandma” and she responded with “Brian, is that you?” Then he had her hooked . . . .told her his tall tale of trouble, and that he was going to be jailed in Canada if he didn’t pay the fine immediately . . . and she went straight to Western Union and sent the requested money - - a couple thousand dollars, as I recall . . . . She truly thought she was helping her grandson.

Another scam happened to my Cambodian friends who helped someone because the person claimed to be a Christian – but the reality is there was a hefty pay-off for helping that was promised.  All they had to do was give the person the money needed up front, and as soon as the immediate problem was resolved, they were to be handsomely rewarded.  BEWARE!  Anything too good to be true is! (Except Salvation through Jesus Christ).   They lost their money and a nice Rolex watch in the process of trying to help. 

Just this morning I got an email telling me I had won a brand new BMW.  I get email scams fairly often.  Some even seem legit  – but I check them out . . . . I got an e-mail once that said my account at a certain bank had been compromised and they needed me to fill out the online form to get it cleared up. I went straight to the bank, and they were already aware of the scam . . . an effort to get my I D.

Another one that is fairly recent is calling people acting like they are the Court system  – telling you that you are going to be arrested for failing to show up for your jury duty . . .  and in the process of your being flustered they get your personal info from you and steal your identity, drain your accounts and leave you wondering how it happened.

We are told we are to be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves . . . .hopefully a word to the wise is sufficient.

The Journey to the Cross 2017, First Sunday of Lent

The First Sunday of Lent:  Matthew 4             

What a perfect day to consider the Temptation of Jesus and the beginning of His ministry.  Several things leap off the page and grab my attention.  The first of those is that Jesus was led by the Spirit to go into the wilderness to be tempted.  His following that leading was intentional.

When bad things come into our lives we are most likely to see them as assaults of the devil, but we need to assess them carefully.  The Holy Spirit led Jesus to be tempted.  Sometimes the Holy Spirit is the author of the challenges we face.  We need discernment to know when that is true, but whether the challenge comes from God or is allowed by God, He is with us through it, and the test is whether we will succumb to it or be strong in the Lord and give the problem to Him to solve. 

However the problem arrives at our doorstep, God will redeem it and use it for good if we trust it to Him.  He always does.   We are promised that we will have trials of many kinds – and their purpose is to make us strong.   No body-builder ever got strong by just consistently lifting 3 pound weights.

Once I give Jesus my life – it truly is His to do with as He pleases – and if He wants me to travel through a valley so He can use it as a testimony of faithfulness so someone else can gain courage for their journey, my life is His to live as He chooses.  I am not my own.  I was bought with a price – a huge price. 

So – Jesus was tempted.  He was fully human as well as fully divine, and he had not eaten for 40 days.  That was when Satan came to Him – when Jesus was His weakest.  Jesus was hungry, so the first thing Satan offered him was bread, along with a temptation to prove He was fully God by turning stones to ‘delicious fresh-baked whole wheat rolls’.   It was a temptation appealing to his basic need of sustenance. 

Next Satan popped Him over to the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem and dared him to leap off, misusing God’s Word by quoting scripture to Him. Jesus passed the second test of survival and quoted appropriate Scripture right back to him. 

For the last temptation the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory and offered to give them to Jesus if He would bow down and worship Satan.  Really, he lied to Jesus.  Yes, it is true that Satan was granted to be the prince of the power of the air for a period of time – but it is a short-term lease.  He acted like those kingdoms were his to give – but they weren’t.  And, Jesus did not come to set up an earthly kingdom.  His kingdom is in our hearts. 

Jesus was tempted in all the ways that we are.   What will we do for acquiring basic necessities if there is a compromising temptation lurking in the process?   Are we willing to compromise when we are tempted in areas that challenge our safety and security?  What will we do when tempted with power if the outcome would compromise our integrity? 

I love that after the temptations angels came and ministered to Him.  I  believe God sends special people – and occasionally angels – to minister to us as well….

In the remainder of this chapter Jesus calls his first disciples – Simon Peter and Andrew – and his message to the 2 fishermen was, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 

A few years ago God spoke to me and said, “I want you to contend for what I contend for.”  Several months later, after asking Him many times for clarification about what He contends for, He said, “I contend for mans’ souls.”   And He does.  That’s why God became a man and died for us.

Before the end of the chapter He calls 2 more fishermen as disciples and then Matthew reports that Jesus started His ministry, going throughout Galilee, teaching, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every kind of disease imaginable.  

Humor for today:

On an overnight stay when she was 4 years old, our youngest granddaughter crawled into bed between my husband and I the next morning.  After singing a few songs together, she announced, “Pa is a good looker.”  Pa was genuinely delighted with her affirmation, assuming she was complimenting his suave good looks.  But the bubble was quickly burst when she continued, “He can see and find things really good.”