Temptation

In Luke 4:1-13 Jesus is led into the desert and faces a number of temptations. A sermon on that passage can be found here.

Dealing with temptation

"Turn the Bread into Stones". In other words ‘solve all your problems with a quick-fix’. Be it world hunger or personal diet there are offered to us endless solutions. ‘Send money here’. ‘Buy this’. Global poverty issues canot be solved by throwing money at them any more than our waistlines can be trimmed down by puchasing the latest keep fit DVD course. There are no quick fix options for discipleship. It's the long haul that brings results and builds solid commitment.

“It’s all yours”. Satan offers Jesus dominion over all creation and peoples. Of course it comes at the expense of compromising His beliefs. How many times have we heard that voice? “Forget your convictions for a moment, take a short cut, it will get you what you want”. In so many areas of life we are fooled into believing that the end… namely our personal influence and power… justifies us using means that are less than godly. We foolishly compromise on what we believe rather than allowing God's Word and the inner voice of the Holy Spirit be our guide.

“Jump of the Roof… God will catch you!” Of course God loves us! But that doesn’t mean that we can live however we please. We are invited to return that love… not strain it to breaking point. ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test” comes the voice of Jesus. The danger is that if we persistently refuse to learn, refuse to see and refuse to hear…then we become a person who has not learnt, nor can see, nor can hear anymore the loving call of Jesus saying, "Come to me and be made new".

Prayer: Lord, Scripture teaches us that You truly understand the temptations we face in our lives. The desire for things we shouldn’t have. The search for instant answers for our complex and deep rooted problems. Our tendancy to be presumptious of Your love. Forgive us. Renew us. Strenghten us through the power of Your Holy Spirit. ‘Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.’ Amen. “

Don’t Blame Peter

“Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" - not knowing what he said.” (Luke 9:33)

Luke 9:28-36 gives us the account of an event known as the Transfiguration. It’s an awesome moment. Jesus is transfigured by the glory of God and seen communing with two great figures of the Old Testament, Moses (representing the 'Law') and Elijah (representing the 'Prophets'). Peter is in awe! A sermon on this passage can be found here.

Peter should have kept silent but instead he speaks out. At other times in his life, when he should of spoken out, he kept silent. Don’t blame Peter. We are all guilty of acting just like him. I’m sure you can think of things you wished you had never said and actions that you now regret having taken.

One wonderful thing about this story is that although Jesus corrects Peter, Jesus doesn’t disown Peter. It’s not a comfortable thing to have your faults exposed. Yet until they are, spiritual growth is unlikely.

It is for us to take our whole lives and apply to them the scrutiny of the love of God. Seek for God to show us our faults, and God will do so. But be aware… this may be a humiliating process. Not because God is in anyway unkind, but because our own faults are hard to face. We quickly turn the spotlight on other people’s shortcomings, but if we ourselves wish to be transfigured by the glory of God, then we need to shine the light of God’s love upon ourselves.

Prayer: Lord, I’m hesitant to invite You to shine Your light into the darkest corners of my life. Remind me that healing will not come to those places until I’m prepared to let You in to heal the hurt. Thank You for the renewing power of Your love in forgiving the failings we hesitate to name. Amen.

Super Bowl Disciples

Only a small number of people ever get to play in a Super Bowl game. The demands placed on the players are incredible. Win or lose, they have to give their all to their game.

Jesus calls us to be disciples with a high level of commitment. A sermon reflecting on that theme can be found here.

In common with disciples of all times and all places following Jesus involves leaving something behind. In the first fisherman's case it was their work and home. For our selves it can be our habits and ways of thinking that need changing. What kind of things might Jesus be calling you to leave behind at this point in your spiritual journey?

Discipleship also involves taking on something new. The first disciples had to become "Fishers of men". Allowing our lives to be embraced by God’s love adds a new dimension to our daily life. Are there any ‘new things’ that God is calling you to embrace this year?

For the first disciples following Jesus meant they had to go somewhere else. They had to move beyond the comfort zone of their familiar surroundings. Where met God be inviting you to reach beyond your comfort zones?

To succeed at any venture takes not only inspiration but also determination. Be it NFL success or spiritual maturity … the call is to press forward with all that we are.

Prayer: “Lord help me to respond to Your love with determination and allow Your love to change me. And when I fail, pick me up again and remind me that Your love is stronger than my weakness. Amen. “

Misplaced Pride

Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves; vanity, to what we would have others think of us.
(Jane Austen)

When Jesus preaches in His hometown the people are not impressed. After all isn’t He just Joseph’s son? A sermon reflecting on the story can be found here.

Misplaced pride can be a tremendous barrier to spiritual growth. There is a right sort of pride to have in ones self or ones community. The sort of pride that comes from thankfulness and from rejoicing in whatever good has taken place.

Misplaced pride is the sort of pride that sees only the positives and ignores the negatives. It is ‘rose-tinted glasses’ pride. It refuses to acknowledge that there can be room for improvement or any need of change. Most disastrously of all it blocks out grace from having free reign in our lives.

We must caution ourselves against being so proud that we fail to recognize the potential in the familiar. When Jesus sought to work wonders the home-town crowd just couldn’t accept that wonderful things were meant to happen in their ordinary day to day to experience of people and places. And the result? Nothing happened!

Do not join them in their unbelief. Do not allow misplaced pride to prevent your spiritual growth. Believe.

Prayer: Lord I believe. Help thou my unbelief! Help not to exclude my daily, familiar and routine life from the sphere of Your blessings. Amen.”