Click these links to read today's scriptures from www.biblegateway.com:
New Testament: Matthew 4:1-11
Psalm: Psalm 4:1-3
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March
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- March 31: Genesis 20:1-21:21, Proverbs 3:27-32
- March 30: Matthew 7:7-14, Psalm 9:1-8
- March 29: Genesis 19:27-38, Proverbs 3:21-26
- March 28: Matthew 6:25-7:6, Psalm 8:2-9
- March 27: Genesis 18:16-19:26, Proverbs 3:19-20
- March 26: Matthew 6:14-24, Psalm 8:1
- March 25: Genesis 17:15-18:15, Proverbs 3:16-18
- March 24: Matthew 6:1-13, Psalm 7:10-17
- March 23: Genesis 16:1-17:14, Proverbs 3:13-15
- March 22: Matthew 5:38-48, Psalm 7:1-9
- March 21: Genesis 14:17-15:21, Proverbs 3:11-12
- March 20: Matthew 5:27-37, Psalm 6:6-10
- March 19: Genesis 13:5-14:6, Proverbs 3:9-10
- March 18: Matthew 5:13-26, Psalm 6:1-5
- March 17: Genesis 11:27-13:4, Proverbs 3:7-8
- March 16: Matthew 5:1-12, Psalm 5:7-12
- March 15: Genesis 11:1-26, Proverbs 3:1-6
- March 18: Matthew 5:13-26, Psalm 6:1-5
- March 14: Matthew 4:23-25, Psalm 5:1-6
- March 13: Genesis 9:20-10:32, Proverbs 2:16-22
- March 12: Matthew 4:12-22, Psalm 4:4-8
- March 11: Genesis 8:1-9:19, Proverbs 2:6-15
- March 10: Matthew 4:1-11, Psalm 4:1-3
- March 9: Genesis 7:1-24, Proverbs 2:1-5
- March 8: Matthew 3:7-17, Psalm 3:6-8
- March 7: Genesis 6:1-22, Proverbs 1:29-33
- March 6: Matthew 3:1-6, Psalm 3:1-5
- March 5: Genesis 5:1-32, Proverbs 1:24-28
- March 4: Matthew 2:1-12, Psalm 2:7-12
- March 3: Genesis 4:1-26, Proverbs 1:20-23
- March 2: Matthew 2:1-12, Psalm 2:1-6
- March 1: Genesis 3:1-24, Proverbs 1:10-19
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Posts
Yesterday we read about Noah and his family floating through 40 days of driving rain. Today we read about Jesus being tempted in the desert for 40 days. Why is it so hard for me to keep a 40 day commitment for lent? It is so hard to wait 40 days for anything!
ReplyDelete40 Days must be significant to God because we keep seeing it pop up over and over again in scripture. Maybe it's God's favorite number... or maybe it's a good amount of time to start a habit.
Chances are that if I change something about my life for 40 days straight, it's going to continue when the 40 days are over.
What if I exercised for 40 days in a row. Wow! I sure wouldn't want to stop when the 40 days were over.
What if I made a commitment to eat healthy for 40 days... I probably wouldn't really care if I had that big slice of cake on day 41.
What if I gave up TV for 40 days. My mind would probably be focused on much better subjects.
What if I spent 40 days reading the scripture as much as I wanted to?
Praying like I've never prayed before?
How could your world change in 40 days?
Jesus had to face temptation and defeat it, for our sakes. We are not as strong as Jesus, and we are better suited to run from temptation than to try to stand up to it and defeat it. Matthew 4:1-2, “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.”
ReplyDeleteWe can learn a few things about temptation through what Jesus went through here.
1. Temptation is more powerful when we are alone (we distance ourselves from the God and the people who truly care - our parents and other adults and peers who will hold us accountable)
2. Temptation is more powerful when we are phyiscally weak (Hungry, tired, etc.)
3. Temptation is powerless against God's word. Jesus beat down every one of Satan's attempts with truth from the God's word.
When we learn to avoid the things that give temptations their power and stay in God's word, temptations will not have power in our lives.
The verses for today from Psalm 4, call us to that kind of life. A life free from lies and seeking anything other than Him. A life that brings Him glory.
Psalm 4:2, “How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?”
Let our answer be, "No longer! We want to live in Your truth, O God, and we want our lives to glorify only You!"