One thing that Jesus was NOT - was flashy. When He cured someone, it was with a touch. When He spoke, the crowds came to Him. And when He resisted the Devil - it was through the simple mechanisms of fasting, prayer, and Scripture. These are things each of us can do daily or weekly, which fits completely with Jesus's advice to not put on a public display. Your life - your resistance to temptation - will be all the display you need.
In the Gospels, the best known examples of Jesus facing and resisting temptation are the 3 tests in the desert at the very beginning of His ministry. Just after His baptism by John, Jesus was led into the desert by the Holy Spirit, where He fasted for 40 days. At the end of that time, the Devil came and tempted Him 3 times. The first was the request to turn stones into bread. For the second test, the Devil took Jesus to the top of the Temple and bade Him leap off, and be protected by the angels. The third test was the presentation to Jesus of all the world's empires, in exchange for Jesus worshipping the Devil. What is notable about all three examples - and the most applicable to your life - is that Jesus had the strength to resist these powerful and almost overwhelming temptations by His fasting and praying for 40 days, and by quoting Scripture.
Another example is Jesus's prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus never asked to be let out of His mission. He simply asked if there were an alternative. Jesus always recognized that God's will must be done. Jesus berated the apostles who accompanied Him for falling asleep, explaining that the time could be better spent in prayer, the better to strengthen themselves against temptation.
Jesus faced several temptations during His trial before Pilate and Herod, including the mocking by the soldiers and the physical and emotional torture He faced by the whipping, crowning with thorns, and humiliating slaps from the guards. Jesus resisted the temptation to either quit His ministry or retaliate (remember, He had told Peter in the Garden at his arrest that He could summon legions of angels to His side). Jesus resisted the temptation by remaining true to His mission.
The final temptation of Jesus was when He was hanging on the cross, dying from blood loss and suffocation. The crowd and the thief to his side mocked Him, calling for Him to come down from the cross. Again, Jesus resisted the temptation by focusing on His mission, even granting eternal life to the thief who praised Him.
Jesus throughout the Gospels emphasized connecting with God, but nowhere was that more obvious than these incidents where He was tempted. He repeatedly explained that prayer and fasting were paramount in strengthening yourself to resist temptation, and quoted Scripture to answer the Devil.
A copy of "The Six Temptations Of Jesus Christ" can be purchased at: http://www.knowledge-download.com/Six_Temptations
Erik Carter is an experienced computer programmer and attorney. He has written SIX TEMPTATIONS OF JESUS CHRIST (http://www.knowledge-download.com/six_temptations) and AGGRESSIVE PLEADINGS FOR THE NON-CUSTODIAL FATHER (http://www.knowledge-download.com/six_temptations).
tidy up service Glenview ..New Age Spirituality is all about getting back your power.... Read More
Some may ask what is the true will of God... Read More
Eden, the garden of ecstasy is no longer available to... Read More
Angels are making their presence felt everywhere. Once I started... Read More
Is it not true that only after gaining Enlightenment (Self-Realization)... Read More
People rarely live up to a hundred years of age... Read More
I finally went to the dentist today. I had been... Read More
What is the opportunity here? What is the benefit of... Read More
Matthew 3:7-10 John Rebukes the Pharisees and Sadducees7 But when... Read More
In a recent case study which I also summarized in... Read More
1. The name Michael means, "Who is like God". In... Read More
We as human beings consider ourselves the most intelligent species... Read More
Stress is amazingly persistent, even seductive. We get used to... Read More
Healing is a special gift that any human being can... Read More
The following article is an exploration of the Spring holiday... Read More
Today is the day that I'm getting back into exercise.... Read More
Back in 1992, Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise co-starred in... Read More
What purpose does keeping a journal serve?Do you write down... Read More
Hiking is gaining popularity within the African-American community. We're beginning... Read More
Picture this state of existence in your mind by closing... Read More
Matthew 1:1-17The Genealogy of Jesus Christ1 The book of the... Read More
AN ARISTOCRATIC UPBRINGING:There are many people who write about sex... Read More
Believe it or not most astral Attacks are not caused... Read More
How did an artist accidently learn healing visualizations and improve... Read More
Did you ever get a feeling or gain notion of... Read More
full-service cleaning Mundelein ..Human beings are blessed with a unique gift: the gift... Read More
1. Identify a woman who is "like minded," who has... Read More
Paul's encouragement to the Philippians is also our encouragement. Consider... Read More
Everything was going wrong.The weight of the world had decided... Read More
We are living in highly challenged times. Our mass consciousness... Read More
Sometimes, in traveling a path, we discover a short-cut, and... Read More
Although spring is just around the corner, there have been... Read More
Ever notice how people dread discussing... Read More
You are a spiritual being. You recognize something in you... Read More
Lately I have become aware of a new truth that... Read More
What power do we hold individually in the midst of... Read More
God said, "Thou shalt not?" and we continue to tell... Read More
Most forms of psychotherapy I know either tries to help... Read More
We've all heard the saying, "You have to forgive, but... Read More
The fundamental aim of spiritual study is to get facts... Read More
What could be a scary thought for some? How bout'... Read More
I can see the cops coming! They're a good thousand... Read More
"Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because... Read More
In the early 90's I had a spontaneous Kundalini Awakening... Read More
We as human beings travelled in small bands for hundreds... Read More
When I was a child, I thought as a child,... Read More
I honestly am not sure why this hit me so... Read More
While I do hope to avoid arguing the merits or... Read More
Many consider anger a normal human emotion and continue to... Read More
What better example than Jesus' life to explain about having... Read More
Spirituality |