April 7 Day 28
Matthew 4:1-11
“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.”
REFLECTION
During out journey through Lent we have sought to view the daily readings through a lens of Christian commitment. Compromise is the enemy of commitment. As disciples of Jesus we are called to not only know his teachings but to emulate the Lord’s example. In his wilderness temptation, Jesus was not threatened by Satan…but tempted to compromise his faith. Just as Adam and Eve were tempted corrupt their perfect trust in their Creator by eating the forbidden fruit.
The most dangerous compromise for Christians is not incorrect doctrine, bad forms of congregational worship, or failure to follow all of God’s commandments – the real danger is not producing fruit in keeping with repentance. When our lives are barren of spiritual fruit it reveals our compromised faith. The Adversary has no power over the committed disciple; it is only when our hearts are divided and we seek to serve more than one master than that Satan can effectively tempt us.
PRAYER: Lord, do not let us be led into temptation. Deliver us from the Enemy and strengthen our faith in you by the power of your Holy Spirit, so that we are not susceptible to the temptations and lies of this dark world. Good Shepherd, guide us safely from the wilderness and into your kingdom to the glory of God. AMEN
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