The Importance of Lent and the Temptations of Jesus in a Christian’s Life! Pt. 2.

19 Feb 2026 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Matthew 4:10.         Get thee hence, Satan (away with you): for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Ah mih people, like the good Lord has given us another day of life on this wonderful planet Earth! And though we’ve spoiled it, so that life now is oftentimes tough, we’re still thankful to be here, alive and kicking, rather than unalive below ground. (smile) And thankfully too, there’s no more dangerous precipitation like we had yesterday; just a cold, somewhat cloudy day. And we can live with that.

There’s also one other thing we cannot complain about this year, that’s SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), when we suffer symptoms like low energy, sleep problems, appetite changes, and loss of interest because of a lack of sunshine. For this year we’ve gotten quite a lot of sunshine with the cold weather, so we can’t complain. (smile)

Now let’s get to our topic for today, the continuation of  the importance of Jesus’ temptations. So, yesterday we saw where immediately after He was baptized by John the Baptist, He was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness, fasting for forty days and nights, then the devil came and tempted Him. All of it to build His faith, mental and emotional strength for the rather difficult journey He was about to embark on in His preaching ministry.

We saw too that when Jesus was terribly hungry after fasting, the devil tempted Him in that supposedly weak area, by saying if He was the Son of God, He could make bread from the stones around Him. But Jesus rebuked him with that famous statement: ‘It is written. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.’ (Matt. 4:4)

But that did not deter the tempter. The Bible tells us: ‘Then the devil taketh him (Jesus) up into the holy city, and sitteth him on a pinnacle of the temple. And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, he shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt (test) the Lord thy God.’ (Matt. 4:5-7)

Wow friends! The devil quoting scripture! Anyway, the scholars offer these explanation re those verses. ‘The second temptation took place in the holy city (Jerusalem) on the pinnacle of the temple, which towered above the Kidron Valley. Evidently Jesus was transported there by Satan’s power, and this time the devil quoted Scripture  (out of context) in order to get Him to sin and ultimately shake His faith in the Word. Satan used Psalm 91:11-12 urging Jesus to cast thyself down. Again Jesus replied with Scripture (Deut. 6:16)  that he was not to tempt God by such a presumptuous action. The very passage of scripture quoted by Satan actually goes on to promise God’s ultimate victory over him!’

So my brethren, we see that Satan also knows the Bible and can use it in devious ways to his advantage. That’s why we must know our scripture too, so when he tries to bamboozle us with it, we can quote like Jesus: ‘It is written.’ And here’s the scripture the scholars talk about that refers to victory over Satan in Ps. 91. ‘Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder (cobra): the young lion and the dragon (serpent) shalt thou trample under feet.’ (Ps. 91:13. The serpent there refers to Satan.

And the verse that Jesus quotes in reply to Satan is that spoken by Moses to the Israelites: ‘Ye shall not tempt (test) the Lord your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.’ (Deut. 6:16) That’s when they were in the wilderness with no water and they complained against Moses and God, and God had Moses strike the rock and produce water. (Ex. 17:1-7)

Then we come to the last of the great temptations. The Bible says: ‘Again, the devil taketh him (Jesus) into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan (away with you): for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.’ (Matt. 4:8-11)

But the boldfaceness of Satan! Imagine it nuh! He telling His Creator to bow down and worship Him, when it should be the other way around! But that should not surprise us, because it’s also the way some of us behave towards God, expecting Him to do as we desire instead of us doing His will.

And the scholars offer these explanations: ‘The third temptation takes place on an exceeding high mountain. The mountain is clearly real in the text, though its exact location is unidentified. Despite the grandeur of this temptation, nothing in the passage itself indicates that these temptations were only in the mind of Christ. Clearly, they are depicted as real experiences that actually occurred in the human life of the Messiah. That Satan, the usurper, would attempt to give the kingdoms of the world to Jesus, the Messiah, the rightful King, is the height of absurdity!

For Christ to fall down and worship Satan would have been to acknowledge the Devil’s lordship over Him. In His direct rebuke, Get thee hence, Satan, Jesus clearly asserts His lordship over the old serpent whose head he will soon crush. Matthew’s statement that Satan leaveth him shows that his order of the temptations is the chronological one. (cf. Luke 4:1-13).’ 

And that reference to Luke’s gospel, simply shows he has the last two temptations in a different order. And for our information, the quote Jesus uses in that last temptation could come any number of verses, such as, Deut. 6:13; 10:20; Ex. 20:1-5. Now, with all of that wonderful information under our belt, let’s go home declaring and thus activating our Thursday Blessings, so generously bestowed on us by the Lord to enable us to do His earthly work.

As one strong and sincere voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! 

I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’ 

And having made that declaration, we’re now duty bound to go out and use those undeserved blessings to help others, just as generously as the Lord bestowed them on us, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!

…Satan is a wily one…but he’s no match for us…when Christ dwells within us…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit   29 December 2021 John 8:12.

29 Dec 2021 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

John 8:12.      I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Well it’s another dark, cloudy, damp winter’s day…just like the past few have been. No wonder so many people are depressed and sad, for that’s what miserable weather can do to you if you don’t have Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. But when you have Yeshua, as your Guiding Light, even the worse weather won’t get you down. SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) probably one of the enemy’s new tools, won’t disturb your calm soul. (smile) 

And some of you might be wondering what’s SAD? ‘It is a type of depression that’s related to changes in seasons — SAD begins and ends at about the same time every year. If you’re like most people with SAD, your symptoms start in the fall and continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody. Some of the common symptoms include having low energy, losing interest in activities you once enjoyed, having problems with sleep and feeling sluggish or agitated.’ 

It’s also been associated with the lack of sunlight during the winter months, and one of the treatments is having bright artificial light engulfing you. But when the LIGHT of the world dwells within you, in the form of the Holy Spirit, then you ought not to suffer from those seasonal bouts of depression, because Jesus constantly shines His light in your life and provides enough motivation for you to get on with His earthly tasks. The world tries to drive us crazy with all its busyness and complicated living, but Jesus keeps us calm and unshackled from the annoying and debilitating ways of the world. 

Remember His fabulous claim: ‘I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.’ (John 8:12). Now that was no spurious or boastful claim, but the awesome truth! For when Jesus comes into your life, you become a new person. As Bruh Paul wrote to the Corinthians: ‘Therefore if any man be on Christ, he is a new creature (creation); old things are passed away; behold, all things become new.’ (2 Cor. 5:17) 

And that’s just the way it is my brethren! You can’t come sincerely to Jesus and not have serious changes in your life, because accepting Jesus, automatically means making some changes, giving up some of the ungodly ways of the world, though not necessarily all at once, but over time. Remember Jesus is not a hard task master, for as He says: ‘My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt. 11:30) 

So He doesn’t expect you to change all at once, and will probably deal with you, one problem at a time, but deal with you He will. (smile) But in a LOVING and fatherly manner, unless you get stubborn and irascible. Then He can, and won’t be afraid to call in the heavy rollers to deal with your intransigence. 

Yuh know friends, when we live for, or claim to live for Jesus, there’s one overriding factor that’s necessary in all our doings, and that’s OBEDIENCE! Like with any organization, you can’t be a true member and not pay obedience to its leader, and its aims and goals. The same holds true for being a part of Christ’s body, His church. Obedience is the Number One Rule! 

And it’s not only something that Jesus asks of us, but something He also practiced. He’s not a leader, like the hypocrite Pharisees and them, who don’t practice what they preach. And the Good Book supports that truth by telling us: ‘And (Jesus) being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’ (Phil. 2:8) 

Yes friends, Jesus didn’t want to go to the cross, like nobody really wants to, but because the Father asked, and that was the only way to justly save our sinful souls, He acquiesced to the Father’s wish. And that’s what we need to do as serious and sincere followers of Christ; acquiesce to His every wish, even when it seems difficult or impossible, because He never asks us to do something unless He gives us the wherewithal to do it. That’s the extent of His faithfulness. 

Wow! And the good thing about doing Jesus’ will is that there are also rewards attached to them. Just like we read in the Good Book about Jesus’ rewards for being obedient to the Father. ‘Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of (those) things in heaven, and (those) things in earth, and (those) things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil. 2:9-11) 

Ah mih people, likewise our obedience to Christ’s wishes will bring rewards, both here on earth and eternally. So, it’s ever so important that we obey if we want to be a solid rock of His church. And I believe the words of this old, reworked pop song, personify exactly what we’ve been talking about, and what it means to become a member of Jesus’ team. 

It says: ‘Since I met you Jesus, my whole life has changed… And everybody tells me that I’m not the same. Since I met you Jesus, I’m a happy man…I’m going to do my best to please you, In every way I can. I don’t need nobody to tell my troubles to…No, No, No. All I need is Jesus, He makes my life brand new. Oh, since I met you Jesus, all I want is you. Yes, since I met you Jesus, all I want is you.’ Now that’s what meeting Jesus is all about my people! 

And for those of us who have already met Him and are happy in His employ, and are doing our best to please Him in every way we can, then let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. So, as one sincere, powerful and confident voice: 

‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

And yuh better believe my fellow saints, that if we endure until the end, that the promised future will be even more glorious than we can ever ask of imagine! Wow! Praise His holy Name! Much LOVE!

…the best way to live this life…obey God and leave all the consequences to Him… (Uncle Charles – Dr. Charles Stanley) 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8