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Jesus in the Wilderness
Compromise is so easy, isn’t it? Especially as one gets older, things do not often appear so black and white as they once did. We give in a little here, a little there, and hold firm from our new position. Then, over time, we give in a little here, a little there, and hold firm from our newest position. Then, over time, from this latest position, we give a little here, a little there, and then hold firm. Before long, we find ourselves in a place that we once never would have dreamed we would be in. That is what compromise is all about.
And though sometimes we need to loosen up a bit and be willing to give here and there, oftentimes we do so on the very things that we should not budge on at all!
Read Matthew 4:1–11. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by Satan, what were the three avenues of temptation through which Satan approached Him? How did Jesus refute those temptations, and what can we take away from this account for ourselves?
Satan found Jesus an impregnable wall. No matter what he tried to do, he failed to get Jesus to compromise on anything. Jesus was as impregnable as the Great Wall of China had been for centuries. Only better. And that was because the Great Wall was once breached. What happened? Someone bribed the gatekeeper! All that work, all that masonry, all that stone became almost useless when one single guard stopped doing what he was supposed to.
Yes, compromise is easy. Too easy. Satan will work through our appetite, through our presumption and pride, and through our desire for worldly things, through any avenue he can in order to lead us into sin, to get us to violate our integrity, and to push us away from Jesus. We not only need to be aware of his devices, we need to know how to claim God’s promises and not be seduced into doing what we know is wrong. Only through a constant and firm reliance on the power of God, and a willingness to die to self, can we overcome.
In what areas of your life have you compromised what you know is right? How did you feel the first time you did it? Does it bother you less now than at first? Or does it not even bother you at all anymore?
| SUNDAY | May 30 |
Compromise is so easy, isn’t it? Especially as one gets older, things do not often appear so black and white as they once did. We give in a little here, a little there, and hold firm from our new position. Then, over time, we give in a little here, a little there, and hold firm from our newest position. Then, over time, from this latest position, we give a little here, a little there, and then hold firm. Before long, we find ourselves in a place that we once never would have dreamed we would be in. That is what compromise is all about.
And though sometimes we need to loosen up a bit and be willing to give here and there, oftentimes we do so on the very things that we should not budge on at all!
Read Matthew 4:1–11. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by Satan, what were the three avenues of temptation through which Satan approached Him? How did Jesus refute those temptations, and what can we take away from this account for ourselves?
Satan found Jesus an impregnable wall. No matter what he tried to do, he failed to get Jesus to compromise on anything. Jesus was as impregnable as the Great Wall of China had been for centuries. Only better. And that was because the Great Wall was once breached. What happened? Someone bribed the gatekeeper! All that work, all that masonry, all that stone became almost useless when one single guard stopped doing what he was supposed to.
Yes, compromise is easy. Too easy. Satan will work through our appetite, through our presumption and pride, and through our desire for worldly things, through any avenue he can in order to lead us into sin, to get us to violate our integrity, and to push us away from Jesus. We not only need to be aware of his devices, we need to know how to claim God’s promises and not be seduced into doing what we know is wrong. Only through a constant and firm reliance on the power of God, and a willingness to die to self, can we overcome.
In what areas of your life have you compromised what you know is right? How did you feel the first time you did it? Does it bother you less now than at first? Or does it not even bother you at all anymore?
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