Thoughts From the Bible

Read Luke 4: 5-8-  In these verses we see Satan tempting Jesus with power, authority, control and celebrity. Verse 5 says, “Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  (6) And the devil said to Him, ‘All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.’”  These are things so many people strive for in this life. They want power and authority. They want celebrity and all the money and fame. These traits drive so many people. We see Satan using those things at temptations. We should take a lesson from this and know those traits could be detrimental if not carefully considered.  The other lesson we must take with us is how Jesus deflected Satan’s overture. Verse 8 says, “And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Hm only you shall serve.’” Jesus gives us scri...

Luke 4: 3-4-  Jesus is now in a weakened physical condition after 40 days in the wilderness and fasting. Satan then appears to tempt Him. We see in verse three, ‘And the devil said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”’ We need to understand this is one of the many ways Satan works. When we are at our weakest points, Satan will jump in to get us to fail in our commitment to Christ. He looks for our weaknesses.  Then we see Jesus respond in a weakened condition, ‘ But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word of God.’”’ Jesus fought Satan with the word of God.  Satan knew Jesus was hungry and physically needed food so that is where the temptation came. We need to spend time understanding our weaknesses and work to guard against Satan working to take advantage of them. We need to follow Jesus’ example and know the word of God so in situations of conflict we can rely on His Word, and w...

Luke 4: 1-2-  This chapter gives us a description of Jesus in the wilderness and then being tempted by Satan. Verses 1 and 2 say, “Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, (2) being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days, He ate nothing and afterward, when they had ended, he was hungry.”  Jesus had been baptized and her the voice of God bless Him, and the Holy Spirit inhabit Him. What a spiritual high would that be? From a apex spiritual experience, we see Jesus led into the wilderness where, in a weakened state, He would be tempted. We need to understand there may be times when we are led by God into situations that may not be positive experiences. There will be struggles, temptations, and difficulties. God will also be there providing sustenance, guidance, love and strength. That is life in the real world.  Proverbs 12: 5-6- The thoughts of the righteous are right, but the cou...

Mark 1: 12- 13-   Mark is extremely  concise in his writing in these verses. He has encapsulated forty days in the wilderness and several temptations from Satan.  Jesus went into the wilderness to be tempted and then show us how He relied on the strength of God. Verses 12 and 13 say,  “The Spirit  immediately  drove Him out into the wild erness. And He was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And He  was  with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to Him. ”   Jesus had to face temptations no different from the temptations we face. Jesus was in a weakened physical state  similar to   how we are weakened at  different times  in our lives. Jesus did one other thing that I know I do not always do and that i s to allow the angels to minister to Him and help to strengthen Him.  I need to learn to allow time to stop, clear my mind, read from the  Bible  and allow God to freshen my spi r...