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May God speak into your life, relevantly and specifically, giving clarity and strength as never before, as you continue to meditate upon His promise – The Lord will build Zion; and He will demonstrate His glory. [Psalm 102:16] Being in a right relationship with God, as your Father is the key to it, for it is then that you can be rightly related to everything else in life. And understanding the message and freedom of the Cross to receive and apply it in your life is the path to it. For, on the Cross –
a. Christ became sin, so that you can become righteous, and need not be a sinner.
b. He became a curse, so that you can become the blessed of the Lord.
c. He became poor, so that you can be rich in His unlimitedness, that removes your lack and inability, empowering you to resist the devil and submit to the good purposes of God.
d. He became flesh and blood to be your helping hand of deliverance. [Hebrews 2:15,16]
It is not a help that is mythical or magical, but a process of learning, as you accept the Lord’s invitation. [Matthew 11:28] And with understanding and faith as you respond to receive from Him, your hand will never be empty. You are lifting up your hands to the One whose hands were stretched out on the Cross, nailed, that none should perish, but that all may have eternal life.
The merciful and faithful High Priest:
He had to be made like His brothers in every respect, so that He may become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For He Himself has suffered while being tempted, He is able to help those being tempted. [Hebrews 2:17,18] Christ, as our High Priest, having entered the throne room of God after ascending to heaven, has opened to us a high and glorious privilege. He stands before God, as the Mediator for our sins, on behalf of humanity, and is also between God and us, revealing His perspective and counsel over our lives. It is why He took on human flesh; for by doing so He can understand each and every challenge that now besets us, in a fallen world. Job in the midst of his troubles, longed for someone who could comfort him with a true understanding of all that was going on in his life in and around him, and also plead his case before God, representing him rightly, to bring relief that could only come from the Almighty. [Job 6:20,21] But then, after the victorious Cross in the glory of the new covenant, there is a Person, who can help you.
One God and one Mediator:
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. [1 Timothy 2:5,6] He can help you when you face a temptation, for He is your compassionate High Priest, who has the fullest comprehension concerning every fiber of your being, to know you even more than you know your own self, not to mention the people in your life!. Depending on people can sometimes fail, even as they misunderstand you.But you have a faithful High Priest who will never fail you. It was what happened as Hannah’s pain was not comprehended rightly by Eli, the priest. The grace of God though brought about a miraculous change in him that saw Hannah being blessed with inner joy,and her face was no longer sad. [1 Samuel 1:16-18] But the Lord is not only a merciful and faithful High Priest, He is also reliable, and will never ever understand you wrongly. He can read you well, always! Even before you were formed in your mother’s womb, He knew you. [Jeremiah 1:5] And there are areas in your life that only He can reach out and touch, to help you. Temptation that comes your way is one such domain, where He can help you overcome and emerge victorious in His strength.
Temptation and Test:
Both temptation and test, are part of the curriculum of the journey of life, but, with a very vital difference. God gives you a test, and His intention in giving it is that you may win, to go higher in life. It was what happened in the life of Abraham, when he was asked by God to sacrifice his son, Isaac, on mount Moriah. [Genesis 22:1,2] And it was a prophecy of Mount Calvary, where God’s own Son would die for the sins of the whole world. Temptation though, is never from God, and by discernment of the Spirit, you can distinguish between the two. It is the evil one who tempts you, and his express intention in doing so is to make you fail. Adam and Eve succumbed to it in the garden of Eden. [Genesis 3:1] And the ramifications of it still remain in the fallen nature of man. You cannot have a life that is free of trials, that includes both testing and temptations. But you are blessed when you persevere in it with patience.
Blessed in a trial !:
Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial, for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised for those who love Him. [James 1:12] Perseverance becomes necessary, for in this swiftly operating times that you and I live in, there is always the tendency to want to see God’s word to you unfold instantly, to experience the fruit of it. But He may desire that you cease from your striving, be still and know that He is God. And patience is what will keep you from throwing in the towel too quickly, when it comes to the purposes of God. Therefore, you are blessed if you have perseverance and patience, for it is what will make you overcome temptation that comes in your path, and come through the testing of your faith by God victoriously.
The root of temptation:
God never puts something in your path, that will cause you to fail. A person is lured into temptation, baited by his own lusts. [James 1:13,14] It is why the word of God cautions you not to lay the blame of succumbing to temptation upon the God whose thoughts concerning you arr only good, and not evil. For, at the root of it all lies the sin principle that inhabits every human being, and if we say we have no sin, we are only deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. [1 John 1:8] But, Jesus Christ being the propitiation for the sins of the whole world is the liberating truth that can set you free. [1 John 2:2] Even as a christian, living in a world that is under the control of the devil, makes you vulnerable to his crafty attacks. But you now have the freedom not to sin. The psalmist gives a godly code of conduct therefore, one that involves meditating upon the word of God, day and night. [Psalm 1] He who watches over you, speaks to you through His word, a soft whisper, or a gentle nudge even, as you walk closely with Him, that you may avoid the folly of sin and temptation. But sometimes, you can hear from Him with understanding, and still proceed to go against His good counsel, for the pull of sin can be strong. It is why you need to depend upon His strength to overcome the tempter’s attacks. Christianity is not about trying, but trusting in the One who has overcome it all. He will give you strength that you may do all that you need to do, through Christ who strengthens you.
Overcoming temptation:
Temptation is a deception of the devil, that makes you think that by giving in to it, you are gaining control, while all the while, you are actually losing control. And therein lies the deception. ‘Your eyes will be opened to know good and evil’, was how the devil deceived Eve. But, you have an only wise God, who opens the eyes of your heart that you may walk in His ways, in the riches of His calling upon your life. Temptation is the deception of the devil, that entices you, to love the world, and what is in the world, promising you instant gratification. No temptation has seized you, except that which is common to man. And Christ became man, to become a merciful and faithful High Priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. And therefore, since He Himself has suffered when being tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted. [Hebrews 2:17,18] For, the Lord dealt with them all by overcoming, and not yielding to it. And it is why through Christ who strengthens you, you can overcome too.
How the Lord overcame:
Temptations can at the surface level seem to be uniquely different, but underneath it all would be one of these three reasons – the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. The bible is exhaustive, yet also conclusive, regarding it, and can be crisply summarized in the Lord’s encounter with the tempter in the desert. [Matthew 4:1-11]
Power:
It could be a legitimate need, just as Christ was hungry, after fasting for forty days, and He had the power to turn stones into bread. But to satisfy his need, in His own way and not His Father’s counsel, was the devil’s temptation, one that the Lord overcame saying, ‘It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God’. [vs 4] In the word is written how you can overcome every temptation that you face.
Popularity:
The devil tried to reduce the Savior to a mere stuntman, in tempting Him to prove that He was the Son of God, by throwing Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple. [vs 5-7] To not go beyond what is written in God’s word was how the Lord overcame, and so can you. May your promotion come from God, as you submit to Him, that He may lift you up in due time.
Worship:
The Lord refused to acknowledge anyone but God to be His source and the One He would bow down to, even as it was written in the word. It is how you can overcome the temptation of mammon becoming your object of worship, only to ultimately end in death. You stand in your circumstance when you understand the truth of God’s word. He Himself was tempted and suffered, to help those who are being tempted. The Lord helps you by becoming your wisdom and strength and by trusting in Him you will stand by the grace of the Almighty God. Therefore, may we pray O Lord, we need you. We do not want to rely on our own strength. You are our one defence, our righteousness, our merciful and faithful High Priest. We come to you, that you may help us, be our helping hand, to take us from where we are, to where we need to be. In Your Name, Christ Jesus Amen.
