Temptation

When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came....Luke 4:13

After being baptized by John the Baptist, Jesus was led out into the wilderness for what we can imagine would be the most difficult test of his humanity next to the cross.

Temptation.

Scripture says that Jesus was tempted in every way that is common to humanity, but he never gave into sin, and we see that demonstrated in the wilderness temptation. Jesus and Satan stand toe to toe for a final exam before Jesus begins His ministry, and Satan, unable to tempt Jesus to sin, slithers away to plan his next attack.

I've heard many preachers teach this portion of scripture, expounding on Jesus' use of the spiritual weapons of warfare, particularly the sword of the Spirit. And as I read it through this week, I thought, it's not difficult to see how the weapons of our warfare work. However, putting them into practice in my own life is, sometimes, another story all together.


Sometimes, I have trouble recognizing the voice of the deceiver.

When his voice sounds like my own voice, in my own head or like the voice of a friend. Come on, everyone else does this. It's not really even a sin. Why do you deny yourself? Why do you hold yourself to such high standards?

When I think about it afterwards, I know it was him. But in the moment, when I needed to pull out my spiritual sword and put it to good use, I was fooled. I thought it was my own voice. I thought it was the voice of a friend.

And I failed to fight.

I was tossed by the wind swirling around me like a wave of the sea....lacking wisdom.....and faith (James 1:5-6). Faith that helps me see truth of the words around me. Faith that helps me discern the spiritual nature of the voices I hear in my life.

Scripture says that when Jesus ventured into the wilderness He was full of the Spirit (Luke 4:1). And when He left, He was full of the Spirit (Luke 4:14).

In the wilderness temptation, He was able to use the Spirit as a Sword because He was also full of faith. The faith that I need in my life. Faith that is able to separate truth from lies. Faith that is able to single out the voice of the deceiver from the myriad of voices in everyday life.

Faith that asks for wisdom to recognize the voice of the deceiver....and receives it (James 1:5-8).

Lord, teach me to recognize the voice of the deceiver even when his voice sounds as though it's coming from myself or from someone else. So that I will know when the time comes to fight back with Your truth.


Sometimes, I have trouble recognizing temptation for what it is.

The first thing Satan tempted Jesus with was to turn stone into bread and eat.

Nowhere in the 10 Commandments does it say, you shall not turn stones into bread and eat. I checked. I didn't find any mention of bread, stones, or eating for that matter (Deuteronomy 5).

Which in my mind begs the question, if Jesus had turned the stone into bread and eaten, would it really have been a sin?

I wonder if turning the stone into bread and eating would have been, not so much a sin, but the beginning of sin in His life. The first hint of sin. The first time He chose to feed His fleshly desire.

The first step of compromise on a road that led towards sin.

Satan doesn't tempt a person to commit murder, until they've walked down a road of anger and bitterness. He doesn't tempt a person toward drunkenness, until they've decided it's okay to have a drink. He doesn't tempt a married person to have an affair, until they've developed a questionable relationship.

The most subtle of temptations can become defining moments in our lives.

If we don't recognize that the path we're walking is not a path of faith we can fall right into sin before we ever realize we've been tempted.

We all have weaknesses. Certain sins that we are more susceptible to than others. Certain areas in our lives where compromises cannot be made because they will most certainly lead to sin. Certain desires that must be denied lest they grow into sin (James 1:14-15).

The temptation to compromise is a tiny step....maybe not even really a sin. But it leads down a path. A path that can be avoided if we walk by faith instead of wandering after things we desire. Things that may not necessarily be sins, but that aren't really good for us either.

Lord open my eyes to the temptations in my life that are not so much sins, but steps that will lead me down a path towards sin. Help me to recognize compromises that should never be made in my own life. Teach me to walk by faith.


Sometimes, I am deceived by the deceiver.

Satan also tempted Jesus to test God. To throw himself off of the highest point of the temple, so that the angels would be forced to rescue Him.

In this temptation, Satan used scripture against Jesus. He didn't twist it either. He quoted it verbatim. He used the words of Psalm 91, to try to convince Jesus that it would be acceptable to test God.

Jesus was able to combat Satan's knowledge of scripture with His own. Quoting Deuteronomy 6:16 You must not test the Lord your God.

Oh, how difficult it can be to recognize temptation if we are not diligent in our knowledge and understanding of scripture.

The deceiver can take words straight from scripture to tempt us to live lives that claim Christianity, but have no part in Christ. To live lives that claim faith, but have no part in faith.

And he will.

Lord open my eyes to the confusion that the deceiver uses to tempt me. Help me to not be led astray by false use of the truth found in scripture. Teach me your truth, and help me to practice that truth in my life.


Sometimes I have trouble overcoming temptation even though I know full well that I'm being tempted.

The final temptation of Satan was the only one that blatantly violated one of the 10 Commandments.

Satan tempted Jesus to bow down before him and worship him in return for power and possessions -- anything and everything His human nature could possibly desire.

This is the only time Satan offered Jesus something in return for His sin.

Jesus had to choose between earthly rewards and heavenly rewards. He had to choose between things He could see and feel and touch, and faith that God's plan for His life would lead to better things. Things that He couldn't see and feel and touch in that moment.

Sin that promises earthly reward is often recognizable, yet, still difficult to overcome because our ability to overcome it often is dependent on our faith, or lack thereof.

Faith that God's plan is better even when the road ahead seems more difficult.

Faith that God's reward will be better even though we can't see it.

Faith that, if we refuse to bow to sin the temptation will pass and God will minister to us in a personal way as the angels did for Jesus.

Faith that if we refuse to bow to the deceiver, and bow instead to God, Satan will flee from us (James 4:7) just as he fled from Jesus -- leaving him until the next opportunity came...

Lord help me to hold tight to the gift of faith that You have given me.

Faith that recognizes the voice of the deceiver in my life. Faith that recognizes the compromising traps of the deceiver. Faith that distinguishes truth from deciet. And faith that overcomes the temptations of the deceiver.

(Journey: Mark 1:12-13; Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-15; John 1:19-34)