Further review- wrote these last year
Matthew 4:1-11 (NIV)
1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."
4Jesus answered, "It is written: ’Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’[a]"
5Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6"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.’[b]"
7Jesus answered him, "It is also written: ’Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’[c]"
8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9"All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."
10Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ’Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’[d]"
11Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
Our situation:
We no longer fully understand what it is that "we need" and what it is that "we want." The culture of capitalism trains men and women to create a stir in the pocket books of unsuspecting clients. Commercials are designed around exploiting temptations, hitting the lonely with promises of "fitting in" if they buy this or that. Men are put on trial day in and day out as they turn the page of their favorite sports magazine to see the latest energy booster that promises the sculpted look of a gladiator or an ad that has less to do with the product and more about the young lady wearing dental floss and a smile… all the while saying, "if you buy this, you can have this." Cowboys on horseback riding into the sunset, adventurers in the purest form invite us out of our dull office seats, and yet we never see the holes in their lungs that they hide behind their grisly chiseled chests. Buy a twelve pack of this, a twenty-four pack of that, and be ready to drink the night away with all your friends, and yet they never show the next ill morning or the car that’s wrapped about the telephone pole.
Life takes Visa, and yet does God?
We are told in a million ways everyday that we deserve the things we want; no longer do we truly understand what we need, because we have become clever with dressing up wants as necessities. We need what we want, and we feel that our needs are guaranteed. We fill our days to the brim, worrying about yesterday and contemplating about tomorrow, we move, we stir, and we rarely ever think to breathe. Again it’s that whole automatic guaranteed mentality. Individuals spend thousands on specialized mattress’ that are supposed to allow them to be able to finally sleep, when all they need to do is eliminate some of the busyness in their day. Our ancestors had little or no trouble with sleep, has the act changed that much or has our lifestyle? Simplicity is no longer an attractive option, it’s what we’re told to avoid at all costs as we’re wired from head to toe with the latest in technological sound and communication. Ironically, we complain about how we can’t hear God, as we cover our ears with headphone sets, focus our eyes on screens of pixilated light, and fill our minds with dreams of winning lottery tickets and a trophy family life, living in golden palaces with three car garages.
Are you addicted to having more? Can we get to the point where enough is truly enough, and be happy with what we have. For most of us call ourselves Christian, and propose that all "we need" is God, and yet here comes the credit card bill again. What is it that has stopped you from being with your spouse? Spending time with your family? Living out your purpose? Loving what you do?
What has stopped you from having a relationship with God?
What plays God in your life? What gets you angry? For most certainly your passion is placed where you most often get upset. The world is sick, and when we become part of it, we also become just as sick. Are you tired of riding on the bandwagon, being reeled in by the latest product that deceives you into believing that with enough cash you can now have purpose? So I ask again, Life takes Visa, and yet does God? Not a chance.
Life Application
I’ve seen people wait out in the bitter cold, appearing as if they live on the streets, staying over night for the next big "gotta have it" video game to come out. While some people live out on the streets because they have no choice, some people choose to do the same for just a night, in hopes of obtaining just another "thing." An old man who has put his entire life into his job, one day is told he is no longer good enough, and the very idea of his sole purpose being taken away from him, has him clinging from the window pane of his apartment, completely unaware of his true soul purpose. Consumers have put themselves, their health, and their families in jeopardy in obtaining earthly riches. Behind all the glitz, and glamour, the makeup and special effects lies a very real, very authentic, and yet broken, fractured, in need of hope world. Should we not as Christians lead the way? Are we not responsible for practicing what we preach? Should we not live out our faiths? For if we don’t, there is always another ad campaign, and a bottom line to be fed.
We need to say thank you more, and not just out of being courteous, but because we have no other choice but to say "thank you." You and I, we have done nothing to deserve our lives, to deserve the air we breathe, to live where we do, to have the blood pumping through our veins, and the ability to compose thought, and put our hands together in prayer. Can we start by saying thank you in the morning as our eyes open to another day? "Thank you God" that my body has a place to rest, that my feet hit the ground again, and that I can enjoy another morning stretch. To utter, "Thank you" God for giving me so much, when I have done absolutely nothing to deserve all of which you have gave me, and continue to give me. "Thank you" for the breath that I just took, and the next one to follow, "Thank you" for loving me, when I didn’t even know you, and in reality did not love even my self.
Should we not engage the culture as if today truly matters? Fearless and confident that we are not wrong, that we fully believe in what we’re "selling" and that we’re actually living it. To live in the world, but to avoid at all costs becoming integrated with it. Should we challenge the idea that an individual could find purpose in their career? Or perhaps an individual may find purpose in their schooling that they have received, or in their acquiring of a white-picket fence house and the perfect kids. Can we stop acquiring trophies, and living out our lives with such an external focus? We must decide now if we’re going to live for simplicity, or if we’re going to live for riches, or just as bad the opposite – creating a system of legalistic submission that breeds contempt and bitterness. We must choose the kingdom of God, in doing so… we find simplicity as freedom, and not as bondage. No longer will we be in debt to the world, but free to live the lives that God has originally set out for us to live. Visa and all the temptations in the world may attempt to take our lives, but God rescues us in the desert heat.
"Thank you God."
My View
We live in a world of bumper sticker marketing, beeps, squeals, radio waves, road rage, 24 hour news, TV ratings, self adoring websites, and the individualistic rule of America. Visa tells us to "live life now" moving us with images of riches and desires that seemingly come with no strings attached. No longer is it okay to sit down with the family for dinner, we must have drive thru’s, and whereas one drive thru was once sufficient, we now see two. ATM’s, fast cash, self checkout, I-Pods, and a million other ways to completely zone out and stay within ourselves and move forward without even the need to come in contact with another person, let alone a soul. We our fed realities on top of reality to the point where we question everything we see, hear and touch. This feeling of being lost is due to the overwhelming amount of false reality we’re fed, and the fear of contemplation comes from the all too real, all too powerful reality of Jesus. For centuries men have sought to have others speak to God, because they knew that when God spoke, change must occur. Relationship with the creator God, was real, was authentic, and was practical. It made sense to retreat to a quiet place to talk to the creator, it was completely natural and well worth the individual’s time.
Do we even know quiet? Do we really want the depths of Jesus? Do we really desire transformation from God, to speak with the God that walked with Adam and Eve, and sailed alongside Noah and his family? God isn’t to be found under a rock hiding or with the most powerful telescope reaching out to the farthest reaches of space; God is within a whisper, amongst a shout, between a narrow breeze and a torrential downpour. One does not need a degree to seek council with the Lord, but only the right mind, heart and devotion. They must simply just "want to," although this is not as simple as fore mentioned, we’re entrenched in layers and layers of lies that we’ve been sold since we opened our eyes from birth. Thank God for grace, and for transformation, reconciliation, restoration and divine communication. It’s not that meditation is difficult, it’s universally applicable to our lives, yet we naturally assume it to be unnatural. The great deceiver loves the hurry, because it leaves us breathless, and always consumed with cursing yesterday and dreaming of tomorrow, forsaking today and being intentional with God. There is no need for an Ivy League school of Spiritual giants, who pound their chests with bravado and varsity jacket sleeves adorned with self spiritual achievements.
This mentality only leads to man attempting to save man, and finding only brokenness and defiling sin.
Meditation does not lead us to leave the world, but to bring the aura of kingdom perfection into our broken reality, we are not called to leave our lives, but to penetrate our lives with renewed truth, and deliverance. The Jews of the Old Testament talked with God with such clarity, as if they woke up in the morning, walked outside and God moved the clouds over to say hello, and they said hello back. Jesus believed their to be importance in meditation, in coming to the father and holding council between the creator and his creation.
Living Application
Life is broken, the creation groans, we seek connection with a perfect father as flawed children. We seek to speak to the omnipresent God on our terms, within our time, at our pace and with our wills aggressively leading the way. We must first understand that God through Jesus brought restoration to brokenness, and that we must restore the connection between God and us. It must be natural to pray, just as it must be natural to meditate. This is the food of faith, and needs to be an appetite for the soul as breathing is to the body. We must lose our will, tear up our map and seek the compass of the Lord. Stuck in traffic? Meditate. Hurt? Meditate. Filled with joy? Meditate. Lost? Meditate. Filled with love? Meditate. Tired? Meditate. Lazy? Anxiety filled? Hungry? Filled with pride? Just woke up, and your feet have hit the floor? Engrossed with the lusts of the world? Meditate, meditate, meditate, and know that the Lord is your God.
Become natural to meditation, as we were built for divine communication.
Personally I find great strength in meditation when seeking the vastness of my imagination; this is where I encounter God as I envision Adam and Eve holding council with God in his created perfection – asking about the creation of the stars, the ocean depths, the cosmos, and how God prefers his eggs (scrambled or sunny side up). I’m alongside David as he’s tempted with sexual sin and the trials of war; I encounter Solomon as he becomes lost in the wisdom of man, and I feel the kick of a God-man in the womb of a woman. I find great power in my thoughts, but find them to be weak when not wrapped in life, when I’m not of the branch; when I’m beside the vine, I am chaff to the wind. I also love to give of myself, to hold my fears, lusts, desires, and torrent will to God, and watch what was so strong to me become so brittle and feeble in the hands of the Lord. I then ask God for transformation, for renewal, for his will and not my own, and to even ask for that annoying little voice that coyly tells me different to calm and quiet. We must be willing to sacrifice our time, in order to learn that we’re not sacrificing anything that we already don’t have in God. So I ask and end with a simple prayer, Lord please allow us to see beyond our selves, to lend our ear against the storms of life, to understand you better, but not completely – but just enough to know that I am man and you are God. Thank you Lord for the life we live in eternity with you, for the life you gave for us in response to our sin, in your son
Jesus Christ. Amen.
1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."
4Jesus answered, "It is written: ’Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’[a]"
5Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6"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.’[b]"
7Jesus answered him, "It is also written: ’Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’[c]"
8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9"All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."
10Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ’Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’[d]"
11Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
Our situation:
We no longer fully understand what it is that "we need" and what it is that "we want." The culture of capitalism trains men and women to create a stir in the pocket books of unsuspecting clients. Commercials are designed around exploiting temptations, hitting the lonely with promises of "fitting in" if they buy this or that. Men are put on trial day in and day out as they turn the page of their favorite sports magazine to see the latest energy booster that promises the sculpted look of a gladiator or an ad that has less to do with the product and more about the young lady wearing dental floss and a smile… all the while saying, "if you buy this, you can have this." Cowboys on horseback riding into the sunset, adventurers in the purest form invite us out of our dull office seats, and yet we never see the holes in their lungs that they hide behind their grisly chiseled chests. Buy a twelve pack of this, a twenty-four pack of that, and be ready to drink the night away with all your friends, and yet they never show the next ill morning or the car that’s wrapped about the telephone pole.
Life takes Visa, and yet does God?
We are told in a million ways everyday that we deserve the things we want; no longer do we truly understand what we need, because we have become clever with dressing up wants as necessities. We need what we want, and we feel that our needs are guaranteed. We fill our days to the brim, worrying about yesterday and contemplating about tomorrow, we move, we stir, and we rarely ever think to breathe. Again it’s that whole automatic guaranteed mentality. Individuals spend thousands on specialized mattress’ that are supposed to allow them to be able to finally sleep, when all they need to do is eliminate some of the busyness in their day. Our ancestors had little or no trouble with sleep, has the act changed that much or has our lifestyle? Simplicity is no longer an attractive option, it’s what we’re told to avoid at all costs as we’re wired from head to toe with the latest in technological sound and communication. Ironically, we complain about how we can’t hear God, as we cover our ears with headphone sets, focus our eyes on screens of pixilated light, and fill our minds with dreams of winning lottery tickets and a trophy family life, living in golden palaces with three car garages.
Are you addicted to having more? Can we get to the point where enough is truly enough, and be happy with what we have. For most of us call ourselves Christian, and propose that all "we need" is God, and yet here comes the credit card bill again. What is it that has stopped you from being with your spouse? Spending time with your family? Living out your purpose? Loving what you do?
What has stopped you from having a relationship with God?
What plays God in your life? What gets you angry? For most certainly your passion is placed where you most often get upset. The world is sick, and when we become part of it, we also become just as sick. Are you tired of riding on the bandwagon, being reeled in by the latest product that deceives you into believing that with enough cash you can now have purpose? So I ask again, Life takes Visa, and yet does God? Not a chance.
Life Application
I’ve seen people wait out in the bitter cold, appearing as if they live on the streets, staying over night for the next big "gotta have it" video game to come out. While some people live out on the streets because they have no choice, some people choose to do the same for just a night, in hopes of obtaining just another "thing." An old man who has put his entire life into his job, one day is told he is no longer good enough, and the very idea of his sole purpose being taken away from him, has him clinging from the window pane of his apartment, completely unaware of his true soul purpose. Consumers have put themselves, their health, and their families in jeopardy in obtaining earthly riches. Behind all the glitz, and glamour, the makeup and special effects lies a very real, very authentic, and yet broken, fractured, in need of hope world. Should we not as Christians lead the way? Are we not responsible for practicing what we preach? Should we not live out our faiths? For if we don’t, there is always another ad campaign, and a bottom line to be fed.
We need to say thank you more, and not just out of being courteous, but because we have no other choice but to say "thank you." You and I, we have done nothing to deserve our lives, to deserve the air we breathe, to live where we do, to have the blood pumping through our veins, and the ability to compose thought, and put our hands together in prayer. Can we start by saying thank you in the morning as our eyes open to another day? "Thank you God" that my body has a place to rest, that my feet hit the ground again, and that I can enjoy another morning stretch. To utter, "Thank you" God for giving me so much, when I have done absolutely nothing to deserve all of which you have gave me, and continue to give me. "Thank you" for the breath that I just took, and the next one to follow, "Thank you" for loving me, when I didn’t even know you, and in reality did not love even my self.
Should we not engage the culture as if today truly matters? Fearless and confident that we are not wrong, that we fully believe in what we’re "selling" and that we’re actually living it. To live in the world, but to avoid at all costs becoming integrated with it. Should we challenge the idea that an individual could find purpose in their career? Or perhaps an individual may find purpose in their schooling that they have received, or in their acquiring of a white-picket fence house and the perfect kids. Can we stop acquiring trophies, and living out our lives with such an external focus? We must decide now if we’re going to live for simplicity, or if we’re going to live for riches, or just as bad the opposite – creating a system of legalistic submission that breeds contempt and bitterness. We must choose the kingdom of God, in doing so… we find simplicity as freedom, and not as bondage. No longer will we be in debt to the world, but free to live the lives that God has originally set out for us to live. Visa and all the temptations in the world may attempt to take our lives, but God rescues us in the desert heat.
"Thank you God."
My View
We live in a world of bumper sticker marketing, beeps, squeals, radio waves, road rage, 24 hour news, TV ratings, self adoring websites, and the individualistic rule of America. Visa tells us to "live life now" moving us with images of riches and desires that seemingly come with no strings attached. No longer is it okay to sit down with the family for dinner, we must have drive thru’s, and whereas one drive thru was once sufficient, we now see two. ATM’s, fast cash, self checkout, I-Pods, and a million other ways to completely zone out and stay within ourselves and move forward without even the need to come in contact with another person, let alone a soul. We our fed realities on top of reality to the point where we question everything we see, hear and touch. This feeling of being lost is due to the overwhelming amount of false reality we’re fed, and the fear of contemplation comes from the all too real, all too powerful reality of Jesus. For centuries men have sought to have others speak to God, because they knew that when God spoke, change must occur. Relationship with the creator God, was real, was authentic, and was practical. It made sense to retreat to a quiet place to talk to the creator, it was completely natural and well worth the individual’s time.
Do we even know quiet? Do we really want the depths of Jesus? Do we really desire transformation from God, to speak with the God that walked with Adam and Eve, and sailed alongside Noah and his family? God isn’t to be found under a rock hiding or with the most powerful telescope reaching out to the farthest reaches of space; God is within a whisper, amongst a shout, between a narrow breeze and a torrential downpour. One does not need a degree to seek council with the Lord, but only the right mind, heart and devotion. They must simply just "want to," although this is not as simple as fore mentioned, we’re entrenched in layers and layers of lies that we’ve been sold since we opened our eyes from birth. Thank God for grace, and for transformation, reconciliation, restoration and divine communication. It’s not that meditation is difficult, it’s universally applicable to our lives, yet we naturally assume it to be unnatural. The great deceiver loves the hurry, because it leaves us breathless, and always consumed with cursing yesterday and dreaming of tomorrow, forsaking today and being intentional with God. There is no need for an Ivy League school of Spiritual giants, who pound their chests with bravado and varsity jacket sleeves adorned with self spiritual achievements.
This mentality only leads to man attempting to save man, and finding only brokenness and defiling sin.
Meditation does not lead us to leave the world, but to bring the aura of kingdom perfection into our broken reality, we are not called to leave our lives, but to penetrate our lives with renewed truth, and deliverance. The Jews of the Old Testament talked with God with such clarity, as if they woke up in the morning, walked outside and God moved the clouds over to say hello, and they said hello back. Jesus believed their to be importance in meditation, in coming to the father and holding council between the creator and his creation.
Living Application
Life is broken, the creation groans, we seek connection with a perfect father as flawed children. We seek to speak to the omnipresent God on our terms, within our time, at our pace and with our wills aggressively leading the way. We must first understand that God through Jesus brought restoration to brokenness, and that we must restore the connection between God and us. It must be natural to pray, just as it must be natural to meditate. This is the food of faith, and needs to be an appetite for the soul as breathing is to the body. We must lose our will, tear up our map and seek the compass of the Lord. Stuck in traffic? Meditate. Hurt? Meditate. Filled with joy? Meditate. Lost? Meditate. Filled with love? Meditate. Tired? Meditate. Lazy? Anxiety filled? Hungry? Filled with pride? Just woke up, and your feet have hit the floor? Engrossed with the lusts of the world? Meditate, meditate, meditate, and know that the Lord is your God.
Become natural to meditation, as we were built for divine communication.
Personally I find great strength in meditation when seeking the vastness of my imagination; this is where I encounter God as I envision Adam and Eve holding council with God in his created perfection – asking about the creation of the stars, the ocean depths, the cosmos, and how God prefers his eggs (scrambled or sunny side up). I’m alongside David as he’s tempted with sexual sin and the trials of war; I encounter Solomon as he becomes lost in the wisdom of man, and I feel the kick of a God-man in the womb of a woman. I find great power in my thoughts, but find them to be weak when not wrapped in life, when I’m not of the branch; when I’m beside the vine, I am chaff to the wind. I also love to give of myself, to hold my fears, lusts, desires, and torrent will to God, and watch what was so strong to me become so brittle and feeble in the hands of the Lord. I then ask God for transformation, for renewal, for his will and not my own, and to even ask for that annoying little voice that coyly tells me different to calm and quiet. We must be willing to sacrifice our time, in order to learn that we’re not sacrificing anything that we already don’t have in God. So I ask and end with a simple prayer, Lord please allow us to see beyond our selves, to lend our ear against the storms of life, to understand you better, but not completely – but just enough to know that I am man and you are God. Thank you Lord for the life we live in eternity with you, for the life you gave for us in response to our sin, in your son
Jesus Christ. Amen.
posted by Lance Pearce | 9:25 PM
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