Are you regularly praying to overcome submitting to temptation?

 4 May 26

Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Devotions on F.I.R.E. Year One


Readings:

1 Kings 8

1 Kings 9

Luke 23:39-56


For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5).


Are you regularly praying to overcome submitting to temptation?


Jesus tells Peter, James, and John, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation” (Luke 22:40). Our Lord understands temptation experientially. Satan hurled hellish enticements at Him (Luke 4:1-13). He never bows to the wishes of Satan and temporal pleasures. The writer of Hebrews shares, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus prays and then submits to partaking of the cup, which means He will endure suffering and the wrath of God (since the sin of the world will be placed upon Him). Today our Mediator and High Priest according to Hebrews 7:25 “always lives to make intercession for them [us]”.


Employment Point: Follow Jesus’ example and pray lest you submit to temptation.

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Reflections

“May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us nor forsake us. May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in obedience to him and keep the commands, decrees and laws he gave our ancestors. And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day’s need, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other. And may your hearts be fully committed to the Lord our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time.””1 Kings‬ ‭8‬:‭57‬-‭61‬ ‭NIV‬‬

  • This is a beautiful prayer by king Solomon to the Lord as he also prayed blessings to the people. These words are also core to our own spiritual life: to turn our hearts to Him, to walk in obedience and keep the commands as we lean on Him, one God, forevermore.


““But if you or your descendants turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples.”1 Kings‬ ‭9‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

  • This was spoken by the Lord to King Solomon in his dream. The Lord has always been consistent and has been saying this from the start. If our hearts are set right with the Lord, He will let us know what needs to be done. We don’t need to second guess. 
  • This is the same for us all. We have to keep our focus on the Lord alone, we cannot turn away from Him and disobey His commands or serve other gods. That will be something truly displeasing to the Lord and something that will incur His wrath.


“Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭23‬:‭50‬-‭52‬ ‭NIV‬‬

  • not much seemed to have been said about this guy. But I think he is one who deserves praise and it is no wonder his deeds were recorded in the bible.
  • At a time when nobody was around Jesus and even his 12 disciples scatter and were only standing and watching in a distance, Joseph went up and ask Pilate for his body. When everyone were afraid to be even be associated with Jesus, this Joseph guy has courage and stood by the Lord. I think this is something we can learn from. To be able to stand firm without fear, not that we know who we are but we know who He is.

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Vicarious Intercession

BY OSWALD CHAMBERS

May 04


Since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, . . . let us draw near to God with a sincere heart. — Hebrews 10:19, 22


Our ability to approach God is entirely due to what our Lord did on the cross: he identified himself with sin, and then sacrificed himself to atone for that sin. Beware of the idea that interceding for others in prayer means bringing our personal sympathies into the presence of God and demanding he do what we ask. To draw near to God “with a sincere heart” is to approach God with all humility, remembering that it is only “by the blood of Jesus” that we can enter the holy of holies.


Spiritual stubbornness is the greatest barrier to interceding for others in the way we should. If we are spiritually stubborn, we sympathize with something in ourselves or in others which doesn’t need sympathy; rather, it needs to be atoned for by the blood of Christ. Generally, this is something that seems right and virtuous, something we can’t imagine needs to be handed over to God for atonement.


If we get stuck in this mindset, we no longer identify ourselves with God’s interest in others. We fall in love with our own ideas and constantly put them forward, becoming sullen and sulky if we don’t get our way. Soon, prayer for others has become nothing more than the glorification of our natural sympathies. We have to realize that Jesus’s identification with sin, and our identification with him, requires a radical alteration of all our sympathies. Vicarious intercession means that we deliberately substitute our natural sympathy with others for God’s interest in them.


1 Kings 16-18; Luke 22:47-71


WISDOM FROM OSWALD

When you are joyful, be joyful; when you are sad, be sad. If God has given you a sweet cup, don’t make it bitter; and if He has given you a bitter cup, don’t try and make it sweet; take things as they come. 

———————-

Reflections

So to be right with God, then we can be right with men. Oswald has to remind us that we are known as children of God not because of our works, it is only by salvation, through faith, which is entirely a gift which nobody can earn nor boast. The temple curtain was split into two the moment Jesus breathed His last. His sacrifice opens the path for our direct access to God when we previously are not able to.


Oswald is indirectly also telling us to know our places. Who is the Father? He is the God most high, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. If we come face to face with our prime minister, we will know how we should behave, what more the Almighty Lord? 


But Oswald is cautioning us not to get carried away by our “position” as a child of God. This is given by a blood sacrifice, so precious that it cannot be bought by silver and gold. This special access is like we are given the phone number of our Prime Minister and are being called as friends. We are even told that we can free call or text him should we require any assistance. Like wow.. Have you thought of how great this access means to us?


However, we too, ought to know what this access means. To be known as a friend means we too should treat Him as a friend. It requires our time our efforts and our giving, especially our love. When we are really asking him for something, especially on behalf of others, do we not need to also discern if it is appropriate to ask or if it is in line with his thoughts? 


Oswald is emphasising that we have to understand the weight of being called a friend. We cannot exploit this relationship because it will be too costly for us. We also cannot exploit our position as a child just because we call Him Abba Father. In fact, when we talk to our Father, we need to have the reverence, the humility and the wisdom and discernment to know what we ought to say or what not to say. We cannot be wilfully ask for something just because we can. We need to think from His perspective and do what is most appropriate.


Let’s pray:


O Abba Father, thank You so much for giving us this private access to You. Thank You for this special privilege that we will not take for granted. Help us to treasure this and be grateful and also thankful for the free gift that was given to us by the blood sacrifice of Your dear son Jesus Christ. Help us to make right our relationship with You O LORD, so that we too, may also be made right with men. In Jesus’s most precious name we ask and pray. Amen 🙏🏻 

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