Thursday, January 5, 2012

Temptations of Jesus - 1

Matthew's gospel tells of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness while Jesus was fasting.  The first temptation was for Jesus to turn a stone into bread.  You are the Son of God, why do you need to fast?  You can simply turn rocks into food and everything will be comfortable.  When I am fasting - I hear this temptation: "you can eat that and not tell anyone.  No one will ever know if you cheat."  Satan is always offering an easy way out of doing the hard things that God wants us to do.
Jesus temptation was for Satan to remind him he was really too important to be suffering.  You are really too good for this type of humbling activity.  Take the easy way out!
In our feel good about ourselves, I'm OK, culture - fasting and humbling ourselves at the feet of Jesus may not be natural or easy, but it is essential!

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