Luke 4:1-13
1Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. 3The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread." 4Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone.'"
5Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6And the devil said to him, "To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours." 8Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'"
9Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,' 11and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'" 12Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" 13When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.
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3 comments:
I guess the thing that really stands out to me about this passage is that Jesus is first filled with the Holy Spirit and then thrown into the wilderness to be tested by the devil.
Sometimes it feels like just when I am on the right track something throws me way off. I think it makes it more difficult to tell if we are following the will of God and just being thrown off track or if we have turned the wrong way all on our own.
Bleck! I wish God had an on line website like jeeves ask a question and get answers. www.Godanswers.com. I suppose that is the being quiet in prayer part. What do you all think?
I love the website you created! It would be cool but probably become tainted I'm afraid, unlike quiet prayer also remains private. Anyway, I think you right and and it is hard to know good will or misguided will. Maybe just asking ourselves, "Is this a test?" Like we hear on TV or radio for the emergency broadcast system. Boy, wouldn't that make it a bit clearer?
While I certainly agree that having a website or search engine to ask our questions of and to more easily get the answers, would indeed seem easier, experience has taught me that not even that always gets me the answers I'm looking for. It's as if the search engine doesn't seem to fully understand my question or maybe I'm just not plugging in the right keywords.
Fortunately God always understands even if He doesn't answer as directly as I might like all the time.
The other thing that I have been learning is - practice, practice, practice. Keep asking, keep seeking, keep waiting. That last one is key for me. WAY too often I have had a tendency to hurry up. I need an answer or direction NOW. It is not explicitly stated in this passage from Luke, but I believe that Jesus "tested the spirit" that was speaking to him. I imagine each thing that the devil said to tempt and mislead Jesus probably had this sense of urgency accompanying it, an underlying, "Come on, hurry up, DO IT NOW!"
Again, personal experience has taught me that the Holy Spirit never rushes me like that. God is patient. He is not on anyone's timetable. Time is a nonissue for Him. So, if I'm not sure, I wait - at least that's what I'm trying to do!
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