Dave's Diary

Daily Readings: Luke 4 and Psalm 20

⁸ Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.”’

Seldom will temptation come to us as overtly from the devil as it did for Jesus in the wilderness. In any event, I’ve certainly never experienced it that way. Far more common is the subtle and insidious temptation to take the easy way out, to prioritise our own desires, to curry favour with particular people, or to prioritise the pursuit of power, material wealth or worldly success. We seldom recognise them as such, but these priorities are rival gods that seek to rule our lives. In our fallen world, these everyday temptations come upon us to draw our hearts and our attention away from the Lord and His will. They are no less devilish and demonic than Jesus’ wilderness temptation, but their subtlety makes them just as dangerous.

Just as it was for Jesus, it is vitally important for us constantly to refocus our hearts on the centrality of worshiping and pleasing God. If we are not clear that this is the most vitally important aim of our lives, we will be complete spiritual pushovers. On the other hand, if living and acting in such a way as to honour and please God matters more to us than any other priority in the world, we will stand firm in every situation.

There in the wilderness, before Jesus’ public ministry began, the Holy Spirit led Jesus into a season of spiritual preparation which was essential to the future success of His mission. Just as He strengthened Jesus to overcome temptation and to settle His priorities, the Holy Spirit will empower us to do the same every day too. Our part is to remain constantly spiritually alert to the voice of the Spirit and to the deeper reality of the choices we must surely face.

Life Application: Allow the Holy Spirit to lead you in examining your heart and life today in the light of these questions: What is most important to me? What moves me to make the decisions I make? What are the rival “gods” in my life? Then make the conscious choice to dethrone these rivals and to respond the way Jesus did: I will worship the Lord my God and serve HIM only!