Friday, December 19, 2008

Make a Choice

This time of year you are faced with more choices than any other time of year. What Christmas events will I attend, who in my family will I visit, what do I buy for presents for each member of my family, friends, co-workers? I need to choose will I travel. Will I spend a lot, will we need to be careful with spending this year. What Christmas cards will I send out? Who will I send them too? How will I keep myself from being too busy? How will I avoid stress? What will I do without power? How will I create focus for really enjoying the blessings that should be part of the holiday celebration?

We are faced with many choices. Some of these choices are very crucial and very hard to make. Since the beginning of mankind when Adam and Eve were asked to make a choice. There are incredible similarities to the choice that Adam and Eve were asked to make and the one Jesus is asked to make in the temptation we will be examining here in Luke.

Adam and Eve Tempted:

Gen 3: 1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"
2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' "
4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

The choice given to Adam and Eve goes beyond the fruit. The serpent makes it clear the choice is to listen to God or to listen to me. The serpent than makes a promise if you eat the fruit, you will not die and your eyes will be opened. And then he makes an incredible statement you will be like God. You will be independent of God. You will know good and evil. You will be able to make your own choices. This is a call to rebellion. This is the serpents story as of old.

Jesus Tempted:

Luke 4:5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7So if you worship me, it will all be yours."
8Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'"

It might not be obvious from the devil's statement what is being offered. What choice is the devil asking Jesus to make? We can see the choice in Jesus response. We can only worship either God or the devil. The devil is making a promise of authority and splendor. This promise is being given while Jesus is enduring the trials of the desert, hunger, loneliness and weariness. The devil is saying give up, leave service to God behind and I will give you all this. You will be free to live and worship me.

Ultimately this is the choice the devil always offers. Forget Christmas don't be bogged down by the Christian tradition. Live it up. Be your own person. Live for yourself. What has God done for you? Is He even relevant to these times? You can be like God yourself.

I hope you can see through the false hope that the Devil promises here. Remember that the devil did not say to Jesus don't worship God, he only said to worship him. He makes it sound like a choice to worship the devil or not worship the devil. But Jesus gets to the heart of the matter. We are to worship God and Him alone.

I don't have to really convince you. You know that walking away from God leaves an empty life, a hollow feeling, a desperation, a seeking of fulfillment, a searching. I really don't need to convince you that the devil's promises are empty. You wouldn't have read this far if that is the case. You would not have visited a site called Searching for the Savior.



There is a real hope for you in the promise of a savior. The reason we celebrate Christmas. To understand the gospel message see my first blog entry Simple Answers. In the mean time I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas.




Pastor Keith








Saturday, December 6, 2008

Is God Really There?

The foundations of our world are shaken.  It seems like we go from one shocking piece of news to another.  What is on everyone's minds these days?  Its not the Celtics 11 straight wins, its the economy.  Its not spoken of in alarming tones.  But if you spend any time with someone the question will come up "What do you think about the bailout of the auto industry?  Should we do it?" .  I am not going to enter an opinion here, but I think this question touches on a very subtle issue on everyone's mind.  If we don't bailout the auto industry will it really collapse?  Will this really effect multiple industries our whole economy?  If we do bail them out will it really help? What is next?  Are things really bad, are we entering a depression, what about my job, what about my friends, family and neighbors. 

Some of you reading this blog have already been effected by layoffs and are living your own personal economic crisis.  I hear a lot of comments about this isn't a depression, not like the one we had 80 years ago.  I think we will be all right.  These comments are made in response to the alarmist reporting in the media.  The list of concerns goes on with health care, a new president, the war in Iraq, the news of senseless killing and crime.  Where is America going?  Where is the world going?  Along with this is the personal challenges of our own lives with family strife, divorce, work situations, health, etc...

With many of these things bombarding us it is hard to find that quite focus where we spend time seeking the presence and assurance of God's love for us.  We find ourselves weak and confused.  We need a pick me up emotional spiritual experience to help us move forward.  We need a miracle to prove that God is really there. 

I am going to skip over the second temptation and discuss during my next post.  So we will jump down a couple of versus to the third temptation.  Where the devil is hoping that Jesus is at that point where He is weak and desperate for God's presence and assurance.

Luke 4:9 Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:
      ‘ He shall give His angels charge over you,
      To keep you,’
 11 and,
      ‘ In their hands they shall bear you up,
      Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”
12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’”


At first glance this would seem like a silly temptation.  Why does the devil want Jesus to jump?  He doesn't just tell Jesus to jump, but quotes scripture in essence saying God will not let you come to harm.  We will have a genuine miracle here as the angels bear you up.  The devil is hoping that in the weakened state that Jesus is as a man (hungry, tired, in the desert with wild beasts, all alone) that He would be at the point of wanting to prove God's presence with a miracle. 

Again we have insight into the purpose of the Devil's motives by Jesus' response.  "You shall not tempt the Lord your God".   How is it tempting God to rely on His promises in His Word??  In His response Jesus is acknowledging that in His current circumstances doing what the Devil has asked would be only for the purposes of tempting God for a miracle.  A way to get a spiritual boost out of God by what He does, not who He is.  At the same time Satan starts with the same phrase he used in the other temptations "If You are the Son of God...".  Claim you divine nature, leave this foolishness behind, you don't have to live your life as a mere man.

But Jesus answer is basically I will live my life as a man, I will face the same temptations that they face and I will not tempt God.  But instead I will trust in Him no matter what.  He has led me into the desert by the Holy Spirit.  He wants me here to face these temptations as a man in order to be worthy of the sacrifice that I must make on the cross.

Are you able to face the challenges around you?  Do you find your self looking for God's assurance through miracles?  We have received miracles in the past, but they don't last in making our relationship real with God.  He is there, He really does love us, He is always faithful.  As you are seeking Him, He is seeking your trust.