Scripture says, "And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left." (Luke 23:33)
Calvary's Hill. Two thieves-gaunt and pale. With the cynicism of most of the crowd, one calls out, "So you're the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself, and us too, while you're at it!"
The other in defense says, "Don't you even fear God when you are dying? We deserve to die, but this man hasn't done one thing wrong."
Lodged in the thief's statement are what anyone needs to recognize in order to come to Jesus. Jesus is not on that cross for his sins. He is there for ours! And the thief on the cross makes the same request any Christian makes, "Remember me when you come into your Kingdom!"
From On Calvary's Hill
Luke 14:25-35
The Cost of Being a Disciple
25 A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, 26 “If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. 27 And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.
28 “But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? 29 Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. 30 They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’
31 “Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down with his counselors to discuss whether his army of 10,000 could defeat the 20,000 soldiers marching against him? 32 And if he can’t, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace while the enemy is still far away. 33 So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.
34 “Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? 35 Flavorless salt is good neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. It is thrown away. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Read: Matthew 4:1-10
The Temptation of Jesus
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.
3 During that time the devil[a] came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”
4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say,
‘People do not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’[b]”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, 6 and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say,
‘He will order his angels to protect you.
And they will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’[c]”
7 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’[d]”
8 Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.”
10 “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say,
‘You must worship the Lord your God
and serve only him.’[e]”
Footnotes:
4:3 Greek the tempter.
4:4 Deut 8:3.
4:6 Ps 91:11-12.
4:7 Deut 6:16.
4:10 Deut 6:13.
INSIGHT: One of the most compelling elements of the temptations of Jesus is found in Matthew 4:1, where we read that it was the Spirit who led Jesus into the wilderness to be tested. This surprising action of the Spirit immediately follows the baptism of Jesus where the Spirit descended upon Him, indicating the Father’s endorsement of the Son (Matt. 3:16-17).
Dangerous Shortcuts
By Keila Ochoa
[Jesus said,] “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” —Matthew 4:4
During recent elections in my country, one struggling mom I know exchanged her vote for a bag of diapers. We had discussed the benefits of each candidate, so her choice disappointed me. “But what about your convictions?” I asked. She remained silent. Six months after her candidate won, taxes went even higher. Everything is now more expensive than before . . . even diapers!
In countries around the world, political corruption is not new. Spiritual corruption is not new either. Satan tried to lure Jesus into “selling” His convictions (Matt. 4:1-10). The tempter came to Him when He was tired and hungry. He offered Him immediate satisfaction, fresh bread in seconds, a miraculous delivery, the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
But Jesus knew better. He knew that shortcuts were dangerous enemies. They may offer a road free from suffering, but in the end the pain they carry is much worse than anything we can imagine. “It is written,” Jesus said three times during His temptation (vv.4,7,10). He held firm to what He knew was true from God and His Word.
When we are tempted, God can help us too. We can depend on Him and the truth of His Word to help us avoid dangerous shortcuts.
Help me not to take shortcuts to satisfaction, Lord. Help me to run to You and Your Word for the strength to fight the enemy. I’m confident that You will be there to help me.
God’s road is not easy, but it leads to eternal satisfaction.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Will I Bring Myself Up to This Level?
…perfecting holiness in the fear of God. —2 Corinthians 7:1
“Therefore, having these promises….” I claim God’s promises for my life and look to their fulfillment, and rightly so, but that shows only the human perspective on them. God’s perspective is that through His promises I will come to recognize His claim of ownership on me. For example, do I realize that my “body is the temple of the Holy Spirit,” or am I condoning some habit in my body which clearly could not withstand the light of God on it? (1 Corinthians 6:19). God formed His Son in me through sanctification, setting me apart from sin and making me holy in His sight (see Galatians 4:19). But I must begin to transform my natural life into spiritual life by obedience to Him. God instructs us even in the smallest details of life. And when He brings you conviction of sin, do not “confer with flesh and blood,” but cleanse yourself from it at once (Galatians 1:16). Keep yourself cleansed in your daily walk.
I must cleanse myself from all filthiness in my flesh and my spirit until both are in harmony with the nature of God. Is the mind of my spirit in perfect agreement with the life of the Son of God in me, or am I mentally rebellious and defiant? Am I allowing the mind of Christ to be formed in me? (see Philippians 2:5). Christ never spoke of His right to Himself, but always maintained an inner vigilance to submit His spirit continually to His Father. I also have the responsibility to keep my spirit in agreement with His Spirit. And when I do, Jesus gradually lifts me up to the level where He lived— a level of perfect submission to His Father’s will— where I pay no attention to anything else. Am I perfecting this kind of holiness in the fear of God? Is God having His way with me, and are people beginning to see God in my life more and more?
Be serious in your commitment to God and gladly leave everything else alone. Literally put God first in your life.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
How to Beat Temptation Before Temptation Beats You - #7353
When you think of a name that goes with magic, you'll probably think of Houdini. Harry Houdini was the master of illusions, of incredible escapes, which makes it almost ironic how he died. He defied all kinds of dangers in his life. Like the time they tied him in a straight jacket, hung him upside down from the eves of a tall building and he got out. Then there was the time he escaped from an air-tight tank filled with water.
One of his tricks involved inviting people to come up and hit him as hard as they could in the stomach. He never winced. The story goes that one day there were several people in his dressing room asking him questions. He was lying down because he had a broken ankle. After reportedly receiving permission from Houdini, a young man in the room repeatedly landed his hardest punches in Houdini's stomach, except this time Houdini wasn't ready for it. He hadn't tightened up his stomach muscles. Supposedly that blow to the stomach caused his appendix to rupture and it killed him. Getting punched there wasn't the most dangerous thing he'd ever faced; he just wasn't ready.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Beat Temptation Before Temptation Beats You."
Which leads us to our word for today from the Word of God which comes from Luke 4, and I'll begin reading in verse 1, "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert where for forty days He was tempted by the Devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them He was hungry. The Devil said to Him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.' Jesus answered, ‘It is written man does not live on bread alone.'"
No one ever said the Devil plays fair. Here is Jesus' weakest spot – hunger, and of course Satan goes right for that. Satan thought there was one way He could get Jesus to do what he said, and that was to hit Him at the point of his hunger. Maybe that's how the Devil comes after you. Think about some of these questions: If I were the Devil, what weakness would I go after to bring me down? Is it your big ego? Do you always have to get the credit? Or would he go after your insecurity, your feelings of inadequacy, your desire to be loved, your need to control, your sexual weakness, your materialism, your loneliness, your low self-image, that need for affection, that tendency to worry.
It's important to know where your most vulnerable spots are, because your enemy knows. So how do you handle it? How do you get ready for the punch? First of all each morning, having identified that weak spot, knowing where he will go after you, you consciously surrender that spot to Jesus; that weakness to the Lord. Make it His area of your life that day.
Secondly, deal with any of yesterday's failures. Bring yesterday's failures under the cover of 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Get rid of yesterday's failures, so they don't set you up for today.
Then the third thing is to do what I do when I get on an airplane. Identify your exits. I always check and see where the exits are. You've got to see where your exit is from that temptation and say, "How can I avoid being in a position where I could have my weakness exploited by my enemy?" Make sure that you candidly and completely bring that to Jesus.
And finally, learn scripture that relates to that area of weakness so you can do what Jesus did that day in the wilderness. Answer that temptation with a bold response from the Word of God. Don't get careless because you've beaten that weakness a few times recently. First Corinthians 10:12 warns us, "If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!"
Houdini didn't die because of the hit. He died because he wasn't ready. Don't let Satan knock you out with his punch because you're not ready. When you make the area that has been the Devil's playground into Jesus' holy ground, you are ready for any hit.