Daily Worship

Be careful about the signs and wonders!

Albert Bogle March 15, 2017 0 1

Luke 4:9-11

For the third test the Devil took him to Jerusalem and put him on top of the Temple. He said, “If you are God’s Son, jump. It’s written, isn’t it, that ‘he has placed you in the care of angels to protect you; they will catch you; you won’t so much as stub your toe on a stone’?”

 

John. 6: 27

The Bread of Life

27 “Don’t waste your energy striving for perishable food like that. Work for the food that sticks with you, food that nourishes your lasting life, food the Son of Man provides. He and what he does are guaranteed by God the Father to last.”

I think we are all tempted at some point in our life to pray that God would intervene and do something spectacular, especially when we are weary and worn out with the hum drum of life.

The third temptation invites Jesus to think how cool it would be if he used his power and authority to convince those who doubted his identity to do something spectacular. Like some superhuman throwing himself off the temple roof and being rescued by angels. Like God’s supermen of scripture holding him in a sky dive grip just in case he would fall.  

This is the exact discussion that Jesus has with the crowd who came in search of him after he fed the five thousand. The crowd ask Jesus for a sign to prove to them who he is. ( John 6. 26-28 )

Jesus decides this kind of activity was more about him trying to test God rather than God testing him.  He reminds us that it is not our place to put God to the test. We are called to look to Jesus as the sustainer of our lives. He is the true bread of life, God’s manna from heaven for us today. He alone is the reason for us to believe.  Is that in itself not  spectacular enough?

 

 

Lord Jesus,

You were hungry and tired,

Yet you kept going

You refused to be diverted

You drew upon

The love and confirmation of Your Father

You chose to believe the dove 

You chose to believed your were the “Beloved Son”

You crushed the serpent

Your heel may have been bruise

But your integrity was in tact

 

Lord

When we are weary

Help us to keep going

Save us from the temptation

To over react

To make the grand gestures

To act on impulse

To do a spectacular thing

For the wrong reasons

 

Lord when temptations come 

May it be enough for us to resist the evil one

Knowing we too have been named among the beloved of God