Day 1
Saturday, March 6
The Way Through Temptation
Temptation is part of everyday life. We are constantly bombarded with ads to tempt us to buy something or do something that will enhance our lives, solve all of our problems, or make us feel better. Because of this, we can easily fall into the trap of always looking for the next great opportunity that will do it for us or make us feel more important. When we find ourselves caught in this cycle, we can often feel like there is no way out...that there is no possible way to keep from succumbing to the temptations we consistently face.
But there is a way! We can look at the example of Jesus that we see in The Gospel of Luke (chapter 4). Because Jesus was fully God, we can forget that, just before He began His ministry on earth, He went into the wilderness... and because He was also fully human, He was tempted by Satan. This exchange gives us the perfect formula for how we too can combat temptation when it comes our way—and that is through obedience.
Those temptations Jesus faced are the same ones the enemy uses to tempt us today. He appeals to our base desires and entices us to get the right things in the wrong way by compromising God’s plans. He tempts us to show off and show out, trying to establish an identity for ourselves when our real identity is in God alone. And he will try to distract us to get our eyes off of God and to “worship” something else. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? So what is the solution?
In each scenario, Jesus uses the same weapon to combat the temptation: obedience to the Word of God. In each situation, Jesus quotes scripture to negate the temptation... and in each situation, those truths allowed Him to stand strong in the face of the temptation. The best part is that you and I have that same opportunity. When we are tempted, God provides us a way out (1 Cor. 10:13), and that way out is obedience to His Word.
Read it! Study it! Learn it! Then obey it. That is the best and most effective way to make our way through temptation.
-Curt Snyder
Bible Reading for the Day:
Think and Act:
1. In what ways are you most often tempted (ways that would take your eyes off of God and could cause you to sin)?
2. Make a list of those temptations, and then go into the Bible and find scripture that will help you fend off the temptation when it comes. Write those next to the temptation and put them somewhere accessible so that the next time you are tempted, you can use them to walk the way through.