jumpingjersey

Life · Ministry · Faith

Tag: temptation

Tempted to Use Political Power

March 15, 2018 /

castle kingdom

As Christians, there is one group of people found in the Bible we like to pick on more than any other. They are the quintessential picture of blind ignorance leading to destruction. Or at least that is how we preachers like to talk about them. Despite their glaring failures, many of the Pharisees and other religious leaders had a noble purpose for their fanatical insistence upon keeping all of the rules and a few extras too. They desired the nation to turn back to God. There were seeking the holiness of God’s people and the restoration of the nation to better times. But their impassioned commitment to righteousness would cause them to be tempted make a most unholy alliance.

In Matthew 4, Jesus is taken by Satan high up on a mountain and shown “all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor” (vs. 8). The vision of the kingdoms came with an offer. If Jesus would simply bow down to Satan and worship him, then all these kingdoms and their splendor could be his. Of course, for Jesus to accept this offer would be to try and achieve God’s purposes and plans for the world through a means other than God intended.

For us today, this second testing of Jesus strikes at the heart of any attempt we might make to use the power of the kingdoms of this world to achieve the ends of the Kingdom of God. The kingdoms of this world, yes even our great country, are inherently selfish and focused on their own self-preservation through the accumulation of power, prestige, and splendor.

The Pharisees, in their zeal for God, would attempt to harness the power of Rome to purge the nation of Jesus and his followers. It would be a confederation doomed from the very beginning. But before, we are too hard on them, we must ask ourselves, how often have we failed to learn the lesson of Jesus’ testing and the Pharisees’ failure? How often have we looked to kingdoms of this world to be our savior rather than God alone? Maybe we are not so different after all.

Blessings,
Stephen

In the spring, when kings go off to war

April 19, 2016 /

canons on the battlefield

Dear Friends,

One of the most loaded verses in the Bible is also one easily missed. Found at the very beginning of 2 Samuel 11, we read, “In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.”

What follows is the disastrous story of David, King of Israel, stealing another man’s wife. A man who was off fighting David’s battles. The woman, Bathsheba, becomes pregnant and David contrives to hide his sin ultimately killing her husband, Uriah, and other innocent men, all in an effort to hide a “moment of pleasure.”

In the story of David’s sin we find three questions, that, depending on how we answer them, can serve as a test to help us avoid the opportunity to sin. They are:

Am I where I should be?

David was the warrior king of Israel. The place he should have been was on the battlefield with the army. Had he been there, instead of on a rooftop at the palace, the possibility of his being tempted to sin would not have existed.

Am I with who I should be with?

David should have been, needed to be, with his men. With Joab his commander. With his army. These were his support community. These were the men who had the ability to tell the king, “No!” In the palace were only the servants who had to follow the king’s orders.

Am I doing what I should be doing?

As has already been said, David was a warrior king. His place was alongside Joab planning battlefield strategy. Instead, he was stuck in the palace in Jerusalem. Even if he was attending to the affairs of the growing city of Jerusalem it was not his role. He was the king, the management of the city should have been left to another. Had he been doing what he should have been doing likely his soul would not have been so restless he would seek to appease it with a one-night-stand.

When we sin we can come up with all kinds of excuses and justifications. The temptation was too great. I deserve a little pleasure. My spouse is not meeting my needs. If God had not wanted it to happen, he would not have opened the door.

But in the dark recesses our souls, if we are willing to be honest with ourselves, we know the reason for our sin and temptation is because of the answer to one or more of the questions above. We are not in the place we should be. We are not with the people we should be with. We are not doing what we should be doing. And because of this we are open and exposed to temptation. Failure is lurking at our doorstep.

Stephen

© 2024 jumpingjersey

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑