Monday, March 17

The Bible declares that Jesus the Son of God was sent into the world to lead the battle to save God’s prized creation from evil. One of Jesus’ initial acts as an adult was to meet head to head, face to face with the evil one, Satan Himself. Jesus was about to do battle with the same Satan who had found a fatal vulnerability in Adam and Eve, and the same Satan who had deceived and defeated God’s prized creation. The Gospel of Luke tells us that Jesus full of the Holy Spirit was lead into the wilderness for this encounter.

The battle begins and Satan, just as in his first encounter with Adam and Eve, decided that the best way to attack was through temptations. When I look at these temptations what jumps out is that none of them were tempting Jesus to do evil, but rather to do something good, the wrong way: to satisfy his hunger after forty days of fasting by taking a shortcut, to confront risk while eliminating the danger, and to enjoy power and fame without having to go to the cross. The devil’s goal was to deceive Jesus into reaping the benefits without ever planting the seeds, to get Jesus to wear a crown but not a cross.

In every area of our lives we face the same temptation, the temptation to take shortcuts, the temptation to do the right thing the wrong way. It’s the temptation to prosper ignoring God’s laws for finances. It’s the temptation to enter into an intimate relationship while ignoring God’s laws for marriage. It’s the temptation to think, “I could work myself into a righteous standing with God”, without prioritizing my relationship with Him. It’s the temptation to believe that in taking a shortcut there is more to gain than to lose.

Nothing could be further from the truth. What would have happened if Jesus had worn the crown but not the cross? When Jesus was tempted, all of humanity hung in the balance. What hangs in the balance of your temptations?

Bible Reading
Luke 4:1-13 Key Verses 1,2

Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.

Heavenly Father, in every area of my life exists the temptation to take a shortcut: at my job, in my finances, with my loved ones, in all my relationships and even in my relationship with You. Help me to understand that in taking shortcuts in my life there is more to lose than to gain.