Thoughts for the Day

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil....The devil said to him, 'If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.' Jesus answered him, 'It is written, "One does not live by bread alone." '

Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, 'To you I will give their glory and all this authority....If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.', Jesus answered him, 'It is written, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him." '

Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, 'If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, "He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you"... Jesus answered him, 'It is said, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test." '

Thoughts

I wonder what things tempt you? It could be anything. Mine are things like cream cakes and bars of chocolate. The point is these temptations are different temptations for each of us. Mine may seem quite silly temptations to you, because they don't interest you, but you see mine are real temptations as I take insulin each day and shouldn't go near such sweet things.

The temptations Jesus faced were special to him. He knew he had the power to do all of these things, from turning rocks into bread, to challenging his Father to save him from death. In the period before he began his formal ministry in Galilee he needed to decide how he was going to work, and this time in the wilderness gave him space to decide such things.

The other obvious point about temptations is that they are very difficult to overcome. Jesus spent a lot of time in prayer, and we might need to do the same to overcome our own temptations.

Lord Jesus,
You faced temptations in the desert
and overcame them.
Help us to see clearly what things tempt us,
and how much we are held in sway by them.
Give us the strength to overcome temptation
so that we grow stronger spiritually day by day.
Amen.