Jesus tempted in the wilderness

 

Who has been not been on an exercise program and not been tempted to stop? Who has been on a diet and not been tempted to cheat?

Working at an urgent care as a registered nurse I would leave work and go straight to the gym and walk in my scrubs for twenty minutes or a mile which ever came first. I really did not like exercise and thought I had an allergy to exercise. Exercise necessary to weight loss and dieting has been my life style since I was twenty-five years old. I had this exercise routine down to a science. Sometimes my family would meet me at the club. Dale my youngest son joined me this one evening, he soon became bored and jump off the treadmill without shutting the machine off. The next evening after work, I arrived and proceeded to walk my twenty minutes or a mile which ever came first. Realizing my shoe’s untied, surely it is unsafe for one to walk on a treadmill with your shoe untied, and the smart thing to do is to turn the machine off ….

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Matthew 4:1 It is always good to go to God’s word and read about temptation.  This verse says that the Holy Spirit orchestrated this meeting.

[Tweet “Each time Satan tempted Jesus to give in to a desire Jesus countered with God’s word.”]

Each time Satan tempted Jesus to give in to a desire Jesus countered with God’s word. Having been on a diet since I was twenty-five years old, I know about temptations.  The first thing about being tempted is the temptation starts in your mind. If you can stop the temptation before it becomes action, you are ahead of the battle. Why? because, it is not a sin to be tempted.

Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 1 Timothy 6:8

Also, we can take our thoughts of temptations captive to the Lord as instructed in 2 Corinthians 10:5, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

The first temptation from Satan with Jesus is in verse three and Satan called the tempter, he says to Jesus to turn the stone into bread. Jesus had been there forty days and is hungry. Jesus uses the word of God and shares, Jesus answers verse 4, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

The second temptation from Satan is he took Jesus to the Holy City and offered him to basically throw himself down and the angel would protect him and Jesus replies in verse 7, Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’

The last temptation from Satan is he took him to a high mountain and offered him everything if Jesus will worship him and Jesus replies, in verse 10, “Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”

Beloved, I know about temptations. I wish I didn’t but I do. I also know about forgiveness. I struggled a long time not forgiving myself for my sins. I have worn a mask. I have been the clown laughing on the outside crying on the inside. I could even share the why but in a word it is all called sin and the why doesn’t matter. I realized that to not forgive myself was foolish because of Psalm 103: 11-12

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

I would like to tell you that I turned the treadmill off and tied my shoe and got back on the machine and finished my twenty minutes or mile which ever came first but I stepped off the back like I saw my son do and had quiet a valiant fight on the way down. The man on the stair stepper rescued me and I tied my shoe and finished my time. Unfortunately, later my husband had to help me undress I had strained my shoulders fighting on the way down. 🙂

Life Lesson: Take your thoughts give them to the Lord, there is a way out, temptation is not a sin. Common sense, turn off treadmills to tie one’s shoes.

Song: Forgiveness

Father God, Jesus walked on the earth very much man and was tempted and yet he prevailed so there is hope for each one of us when we are tempted we do not have to sin. Daily we can take our thoughts to you and we can stop them at the threshold before the temptation ever comes to fruition. Help each one of us to be strong and not be foolish, help us to turn the machines off before we get off the machine so we prevent harming ourselves with our choices. In Jesus’ name Amen.

Beloved, what are you tempted by? Will you take your thoughts to Jesus?