Lord, Can I Be Saved from Temptation?
Good Morning Friends,
Cats are more interesting than dogs. No matter what a cat has done wrong, they always try to make it look like the dog did it. Maybe that is why a dog’s tail is between his legs and a cat’s up in the air. It seems that cats know no guilt and always seek to claim power with a sense of aloofness. And dogs on the other hand are falling all over it with a sort of innocence that is interested in everything. There is a message here in understanding the attraction of both community and solitude. There is a message here about the devilish temptation of playing God like a cat and the effects of being drawn to everything like a dog. Maybe that saying that curiosity killed the cat is more about us being attracted to sin than we would like to think. But perhaps there is a balance between the two where God’s love never ends and provides a better alternative than the sin we might desire…Here in our affliction and waiting, there is hope, and with each new day… new mercies. Here we embrace a process of spiritual discernment… when our very souls reflect on prayers answered and prayers to be prayed asking: Lord, Can I Be Saved from Temptation?
Scripture: Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. No one, when tempted, should say, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one. But one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it; then, when that desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death. Do not be deceived, my beloved. Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
James 1:12-18 (NRSV)
4Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. 3The tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ 4But he answered, ‘It is written, “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” ‘ 5Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6saying to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, “He will command his angels concerning you”, and “On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.” ‘ 7Jesus said to him, ‘Again it is written, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” ‘ 8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; 9and he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’ 10Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! for it is written, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.” ‘ 11Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.
Matthew 4:1-11 (NRSV)
19The thought of my affliction and my homelessness is wormwood and gall!20 My soul continually thinks of it and is bowed down within me. 21But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,* his mercies never come to an end;23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.’ 25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. 26 It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
Lamentations 3:19-26 (NRSV)
Message: Ok we are going to be tempted. But evil only has so much power over us as we allow it to have. Still eventually we will be desirous of something that is not good for us. It is a battle about power and the only tipping point for good is God’s steadfast love…. His unending faithfulness is everything. Here on the precipice we have a better view but there is danger…a hidden danger when we get too close to the edge. The problem is that we do not always see it. Then sometimes God’s faithfulness and love provides a way for us to say “no” to sin. Here at the cross our focus changes from the attractiveness of the temptation and the self-pity of our own situations to the reality that God’s faithfulness keeps us standing, breathing and alive. Here we realize that God’s faithfulness delivers us from temptations….those desires for power. Here friends the salvation of the Lord and His return is our hope. It is to this God that we must turn when we are facing temptation. Indeed, perhaps love instilled in us combined with the reality of justice is the only thing that can help us face the struggles of life and win the battle over temptation. Here the Holy Spirit’s love bears witness in our election and leads us away from temptation. This Holy Spirit love burns bright with a light that shines so that we see not fall over the temptations and sins of this world and over the edge into the pit. Friends, we are to think about the good things we have been given through Christ…His love, His purposes, His power and truth, His ability to overcome temptations.
We are to imagine how Jesus’ return with justice and His love in us now might indeed effect our ability to avoid temptation today.
Pray we resist temptation and not be distracted from the straight and narrow. Pray today that our lives be sustained…that our lives be redeemed…that our lives not be led into temptation. Pray that we not give into the temptation of discouragement. Pray that we not be tempted beyond what we can bear. Pray that when we go adrift in life’s storms we find an anchor in our remembrance of God and the hope He provides. Pray that we experience His firm presence holding us secure. Pray that our confidence be in Him. Pray that we be consumed by His compassion for us. Pray that we rejoice in how great …great is His faithfulness. Pray we understand how faith responds to trials, temptations and the truth. Pray we have patience in the midst of trials and temptations. Pray we realize that temptation is inevitable. Pray we follow the example of Christ when tempted. Pray we have the grace to not reject Jesus. Pray we obey the command to have an abiding love. Pray we realize it is a sin to try to do this alone. Pray we love an animal to awaken our soul and then learn to love something majestic so we know that love is eternal.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 