Hey, It Is May!

I’m been away from here for awhile, my longest absence since launching this site in November 2007. End of the month projects as well as two new website launches (including this one) have kept me busy, with additional projects pending. Still, I don’t ever want Word Journey to go to waste, so I’ll be mindful of my time and use it wisely. Lord willing!

The Temptation of Jesus Christ

This past Sunday, our pastor preached from the Book of Luke, using Luke 4:14-30 as his text. Several good points were made by Rodney Finch throughout his message, but one that stood out for me is — “Why did the Father allow the Son to be tempted?”

To be sure, temptation is not falling into sin. Some Christians fail to grasp that distinction causing all sorts of harm for themselves. I remember hearing a pastor saying, “temptations are like birds flying over your head — just don’t let them settle down to build a nest upon your head!” A good point — just let those tempting little birds keep on flying by. Pay them no mind!

Pastor Rodney offered five reasons why God allowed Jesus to be tempted, therefore I’ll share with you what I learned:

• Jesus’ victory over temptation demonstrated that He was the sinless savior. Some people think it was possible for Jesus to sin, but it wasn’t. As God cannot tell a lie, neither could Jesus tell a lie or commit any other sin.

• Jesus’ victory over temptation exposes satan’s tactics. We’re to be mindful of the devices of our enemy; Jesus demonstrated just how cunning satan can be.

• Jesus’ victory over temptation was a preview of His victory on the cross. By resisting temptation, Jesus demonstrated that He would gain ultimate victory of sin and death by going to the cross for mankind.

• Jesus’ victory over temptation prepared Him. In other words, it prepared Him to be our sympathetic high priest, fully understanding what we are going through and always interceding on our behalf. How comforting!

• Jesus’ victory over temptation was our example on how to resist temptation. Not only did Jesus expose satan’s tactics, He showed us how to resist. Reminding ourselves of scriptural promises can certainly help. Reminding satan what his future lot is can also be good.

Getting In A Tizzy Over A Movie

Years ago, I remember many Christians getting worked up over a stupid movie titled, “The Last Temptation of Christ.” That movie, which was historically and biblically inaccurate received far more publicity than it should have all because some believers were upset by it. True, the movie was baseless in that Jesus was not tempted to the point to even consider sin (I never saw the movie), but it stirred up more angst among believers than it should have.

Satan will come up with ways to divide and conquer the church but those temptations, even in the form of a rotten movie, should be resisted. And, in the case of that movie I believe that it should be ignored.

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