Luke 4:13 – When the devil had finished every temptation, he left (Jesus) until an opportune time.
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You know Satan wanted to stay on top of Jesus 24/7 tempting and attacking Him. But after a period of intense temptation Satan left Him alone. Clearly Satan didn’t want to leave Jesus alone but the Bible promises that if we will do two things the devil has to get out of our face – 1. Submit to God and 2. Resist the devil (James 4:7) . Certainly he doesn’t do that by choice but he must flee. If the devil is constantly knocking at your door and never goes away, something is wrong – either on the submission side or on the resisting side.
Monthly Archives: April 2011
Identify Yourself
John 13:35 “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
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We have developed lots of ways to let the world know we believe in Jesus. Bumper stickers proclaim our faith. Scripture passages on checks, greeting cards and refrigerator magnets; profile descriptions on Facebook; jewelry with crosses, a fish and WWJD all tell the world we are followers of Jesus. Jesus said there would be another way they would know but this seems a little strange to me. Let me explain.
Will Everyone Be Saved?
Luke 3:6 And all flesh will see the salvation of God.’”
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This passage says, “All flesh will see the salvation of God.” Does that mean, like a couple of well known Christian leaders proclaim, that there is no hell and all will be saved? Or could it be proclaiming something totally different?
Cross Words #6 & 7
John 19:30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Luke 23:46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.
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At the end Jesus committed His Spirit to the hands of the Lord. I have found there are times when I have come to the end – the end of my ideas, my own resources, my plans, the end of myself. At those times, when all I can do is give up or commit it to the Lord, I have discovered God is faithful with the things I commit to Him.
How much better it would be for me if I would commit it to Him before I get to the end of myself. An old song says it best:
Oh what peace we often forfeit, Oh what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer.*
In His hopeless and helpless situation Jesus committed His Spirit to the Father and God raised Him from the dead. When we commit things to God we can trust He will take good care of the things that belong to Him. As long as we retain ownership they remain our problem and responsibility.
Commit that problem, fear, concern, need, weakness, whatever it is, to Him right now. It only takes a second to give Him ownership of it all.
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Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
* What a Friend We Have in Jesus. Text: Joseph M. Scriven, 1820-1886 Music: Charles C. Converse, 1832-1918
Cross Words #5
John 19:28
Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”
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All was now completed. His life, His work, His mission and His pain would soon end. In your dark times remember, no matter how hard the trial, it too will end. The sun will rise again. Don’t give up hope. Don’t quit.
An old farmer said his favorite Bible verse was, “It came to pass.” When asked to explain he replied, “When problems come I remind myself this trouble didn’t come to stay, ‘it came to pass’.”
But don’t waste your pain. There are lessons in life that we cannot learn on the mountain top. Character is forged in the fire of affliction. Be “thirsty” for God in the dry places. It is God’s desire that when you emerge from the flames you will have been changed. That to a greater depth you will “know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.” Philippians 3:10 On the other side of the cross is great joy, victory and resurrection life.
I walked a mile with Pleasure;
She chatted all the way;
But left me none the wiser
For all she had to say.
I walked a mile with Sorrow,
And ne’er a word said she;
But, oh! The things I learned from her,
When sorrow walked with me.
-Robert Browning Hamilton
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Hebrews 12:2-3
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Cross Words #4
Matthew 27:45-49
45 From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. 46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”-which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”
48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
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In this moment Jesus experienced a depth of grief that the Christian will never have to endure – the utter hopelessness of abandonment even by God. Darkness – as though the sun itself and all creation could not bear the sight of what was happening. For the first time in all eternity the Son was separated from the Father, rejected by Him because of our sin. Jesus, who always referred to God as “Father” became sin for us and can no longer use that term of affection and relationship. As one abandoned and alone He can only cry out to the distant God. Continue reading
Cross Words #3
John 19:26-27
When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.”
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Hey, when I am hurting, it is hard to think about the problems other people might be having. My own pain, grief or loss can be so consuming that I am not aware of the pain, grief or loss of others. In the midst of His own anguish, however, Jesus expressed concern for the well being of others. He did not just teach His followers to do that – He modeled it in the darkest of hours.
In helping others we often find healing for our own pain.
This is because a principle of life is by giving you receive. You reap what you sow. In pain, as we sow comfort to others, we will reap comfort. As we sow we reap. As we give, we receive.
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Philippians 2:3-5
… in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: …
Cross Words #2
Luke 23:41-43
“We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
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This thief on the cross seemed to understand what we try to forget – that we all deserve death. If God were to annihilate all humanity no one could claim He was unfair or unjust. We would simply be “getting what our deeds deserve.” This second statement of Jesus from the cross is important because it assures us we do not have to “get what we deserve.”
The law of Kharma, in Texas terms says, “What goes around comes around.” You get what you deserve. The cross graciously crushes that concept forever. I don’t get what I deserve. By exchanging places with Jesus on the cross I get to be made right with God, I get to enjoy what only He deserved. Does that seem unfair? It is! Does it seem too easy? It isn’t! It was very difficult – so difficult that in anguish Jesus asked if there was any way He could avoid it.
It was hard, even for God, to pay the price to forgive my sins. But it was impossible for me to do it so, if it was to be done, God Himself had to inflict the penalty for my sin upon Himself. “This man has done nothing wrong” yet He absorbed the sin of the entire world so the entire world could have the opportunity to become right with God.
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2 Corinthians 5:20-21
We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
1 John 2:22
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.NIV
Cross Words #1
Luke 23:33-34
When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”
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In the agony of the cross the first word from the mouth of our Lord was “Father”. Certainly our difficulties cannot compare with the torture of the cross but we too need to learn, in our pain, to make “Father” the first word on our lips, the first one we turn to. He is there with us, just as He was with Jesus on the cross, even when things appear out of control and hopeless.
Jesus’ second word is another lesson for us – “forgive”. He did not wait until things were better but, in the midst of the rejection, humiliation, unjust treatment and pain, He forgave. He didn’t just teach us to forgive, he modeled it in the most gruesome of circumstances. He showed us to forgive when they don’t deserve it, even when they are not sorry and even if they do not ask for it.
The cross demonstrates forgiveness is not easy. It was not easy for Jesus and that is why He said the road is narrow and few find it – it is painfully hard. Forgiveness is not fair. In the cross, injustice and grace collide head on and grace triumphs. Rejoice in that. Fairness and justice sends you and me to hell. “Grace takes the blame, covers the shame and removes the stain”.*
* Brian Zahnd – Unconditional?
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Mark 11:25
And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
We lost Jesus!
Luke 2:43
When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it;
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It is interesting that they did not lose Jesus in the market place or at Joseph’s workplace. They lost him in the temple while fulfilling religious duties. It is so easy to lose the Lord because we are busily engaged in church and religious activity. We think He is still among us, like they thought he was in the caravan, but in our activity, even good activities, we have left Him behind.
They were wise enough to go back to Jerusalem to search. When we find ourselves in a spiritually dry spell it is wise to go back to where we last knew He was with us. Is there something He told us to do that we have not done? Is there something He said stop doing that we are still involved in? Examine the area we last knew He was with us and keep searching and waiting until we once again sense His presence.
Many around you, the rest of the caravan, will continue anxiously moving on with life. Sometimes you have to separate from the crowd. But if you will make finding Him your priority you will find His presence again quietly doing the Father’s work.
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Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV)
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Psalm 46:10-11 (NIV)
“Be still, and know that I am God; ?.. The Lord Almighty is with us;…