Lord, I am Tempted

Daily Lectionary Readings
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Psalm 91:1-2,9-16
Romans 10:8-31
Luke 4:1-13

Luke 4:1-13 New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

Luke 4
The Temptation of Jesus
1Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, 2where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
3The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread."
4Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone.'[a]"
5The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7So if you worship me, it will all be yours."
8Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'[b]"
9The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. 10For it is written:
" 'He will command his angels concerning you
to guard you carefully;
11they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'[c]"
12Jesus answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'[d]"
13When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

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Luke's Gospel has Jesus going through a period of trial and temptation immediately after his baptism in the Jordan. He is taken away into the wilderness for 40 days (40 days of Lent). During that time he was tempted. I don't know about you, but I think temptation is difficult to resist at times. During his temptation, the devil attacked him on three specific points.

First of all, the devil offers him food--sustenance. I guess the devil forgot that in the Old Testament, God provided food for his people as they wandered in the desert. Manna was available for them in the morning to satisfy their needs for the day. Jesus didn't need food at this point. God was nurturing him as he prepared himself for what was yet to come.

Secondly, the devil seeks to divert Jesus' attention from who he was supposed to be worshipping. Again, this brings to mind the Old Testament. As Moses was on the mountain getting the Ten Commandments from God, the people were down below forgetting whose they were. Instead of worshipping God, they created their own idol out of gold. Looks, like Satan was trying to get Jesus to fall for the same trap the Israelites had already fallen for once before. This time, however, Jesus resisted and insisted on worshipping only God.

Finally, Satan tries to get Jesus to test God. Seems this trick didn't work either.

His ministry was off to a good start and Satan then left him for a more opportune time.

I sometimes wonder what the opportune time is that makes most of us give in to temptation. I came across an acronym called HALT to help battle temptation.

H- Hunger
A - Anger
L - Loneliness
T - Tired

If any one or more than one of these elements is present in your life at a given time, then you are more open to temptation. Think about your own life. The next time you feel tempted, see if the HALT acronym is true at that moment of your temptation. If it is, then do something to relieve your hunger, anger, loneliness, or tiredness.

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PRAYER: Lord, as temptation comes our way, please give us the power to resist.