on temptation and our response. matthew 4.

i came back with thoughts at the end of this post, so if you've already read it, you could skip to that. ;)
                          ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jesus went in the wilderness and was tempted by the devil. luke records this too and in both accounts, i'm looking for explanation. in luke it says He was "led around by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days being tempted by the devil" (4:2). every time i've ever heard anyone talk or preach about this, they've said it was so He could understand what we endure. what mankind endures when tempted. i don't know. i'm rethinking this. i'm not sure. james 1:13 says "let no one say when he is tempted, 'i am being tempted by God'; for God cannot be tempted  by evil and He Himself does not tempt anyone. but each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust."

it seems to me that the devil plays on our "own lust." and Jesus didn't/doesn't have any.

james says "God cannot be tempted by evil." and Jesus is God.

when we read the bible, we can't make stuff up about what we think it means or why it happened.

so why did He go in the wilderness? and as luke writes, why was He led there by the Holy Spirit and why was He "being tempted by the devil"? the devil tempted, but He wasn't tempted. what was the point? why was He there? i'm not sure we'll know for sure (all the reasons) til we get to heaven and we can ask specifics like this.

but i do know that there is a teaching point here. and...
maybe it was for this!...for the record of it in matthew and luke. that Jesus spoke the Word of God in response to the devil. in all three of the recorded conversations (who knows how many crazy questions the devil asked). and it silenced him. end of conversation. end of temptation.

i want to be encouraged in my heart and in my days (and for me, mornings) to eat His Word. to breathe it and to know it. because it's my defense and my response to temptation. i don't respond to the inner conflicts and temptations that i endure with His Word in every incidence...but what a perfect reminder this morning to......
                        -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

after i wrote this, scott and i talked. he always helps me think through what i think. and he knows a bit more about the bible. theology that he's learned sticks with him. he's so smart and never forgets whats he's already studied and kind of filed away concerning what he believes about the bible. soooo we talked about this idea. about why Christ was "tempted." He was tempted but wasn't tempted. but maybe there is a measure of God in flesh experiencing the seemingly constant barrage of satan that man endures in this life. soooo i wanted to come back and say that...i didn't want to take away the comfort that you feel that He understands. in isaiah 40, it says "His understanding no one can fathom." He knows us and is compassionate toward us. let me leave you with this from psalms 103:8-15 (which speaks of His affection. His lovingkindness toward us. and His response to us when we do fall to temptation. and it speaks of His understanding. He gets that we are like dust. grass. He knows our temporary frame. He knows our weakness, and His lovingkindness is toward those who fear Him...who look to Him as sovereign...as the One who has never fallen to temptation but loves us, though we have.)

the Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. for He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. as for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. 

                       -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

and one other thought really quick. i'm kind of laughing at myself, because in the blog, it sounds like i'm having a lightbulb moment and that i'm the only one who's ever thought about the responding to temptation with scripture idea. *blush* just wanted to clarify that my intent was definitely to emphasize that reason for Christ's time in the wilderness and the record of it for us and what we can learn (but didn't mean for it to sound like it was a new idea...lol just a good one.)  ;)

so as i edit this post today, it's real to me that Jesus understands me and knows not only what i will endure in this life...every day of my life, but then, how brief it is for me. and He expresses Himself toward me with these comforts and the promise that He will remove my transgression as i look to Him. (because of His understanding and sovereignty, He is my rescue from sin and from satan and from my failures. His forgiveness covers me.) sooooo grateful for the psalm 103 passage and His lovingkindness. what a wonderful wonderful word. toward me. (and toward you, dear friend. <3)

that had to be itchy

i'm in matthew 3. lol. a garment of camel's hair. don't think i've ever even pet a camel but for some reason i imagine its hair being pretty coarse. this was john the baptist's attire in the desert. wet camel's hair...getting in and out of the river like that. and a leather belt. and a diet of locusts and wild honey. wonder if he had the astronaut-like suit to that beekeepers wear?...lol

i wonder what john's personality was like? was he like sam cho? (my admired precious wonderful korean friend who inspires me to pursue Jesus with everrrry breath)...

i wonder how many of those who came to john for baptism sat down with him at the water's edge and wept? was he a good counselor or just a preacher? can you be a good preacher and not be a good listener...understanding the deep need for repentance and the healing and the tears that follow?

i wonder why the pharisees and sadducees came and how they responded to his rebuke? were they really there for repentance? were they broken from their heartless service? any of them? one of them?

and then...


i wonder about Jesus coming to john.

seems like the clouds would have frozen in time when the dove flew through. everything silenced. the birds. the locusts still...when the voice from heaven was heard.

this morning as i read, i'm longing for a little closer look. just wanna step into the pages of the middle east when Jesus walked it. i'm pretty stoked about this spring and reading through the story four times through the gospels. thank you for reading with me!!! <3

moved like joseph. (matthew 2).

--personal thoughts--
i hope you are well today. just opened my computer as i emerge from a three hour prayer and planning session with the Lord. mmmmm....needed that!!!  sooo thankful for His interest and help as i think on bringing my schedule and my home and other important things in order. i have to admit feelings of being overwhelmed as if life is spinning out of control and have not been managing it all very well. filled with gratitude this saturday morning to know that He is interested and All-sufficient in my inadequacy. *sigh*

--new testament!!--
reading in matthew 2 this morning, i am still so blown away by the star and today thinking about how it moved across the sky and "stood over the place where the Child was." (v. 9)  what cool guys the wise men were to leave their homes and travel far and...fall to the ground as they worshiped the Child. men who studied the vastness of the universe. astronomers making the trip of their lifetimes to see what God was illuminating with an intentionally moving star. they remind me of storm chasers. but with such a crazy wonderful purpose. they. got. it. they had studied the prophecies about the Child and they knew why this star was moving and then standing still. can't wait to meet them in heaven. wonder if they really wore those tall crown-looking hats and bright robes? ;)

and then...joseph's obedience. when God said to flee to egypt because the life of the Child was in danger, he bolted. in the night. there was no hesitation or pause. he folded up the pack-n-play and gathered up the diapers and toys and ran...with his love, mary... and Jesus.... and they were safe.

i want to be moved like that. i want to trust like that. and i know it seems easier in some ways because, yeah, an angel appeared to him in a dream. but still...i admire his trust and movement without questioning or pausing. and yes, joseph and mary were blessed with very clear visual audible instruction, but we have the Holy Spirit. His Spirit...colossians 1:27-Christ in you, the hope of glory. and i know that He moves us and that we can trust Him.

closest i could come to star of bethlehem
(lighting up hope's forehead. our bethlehem hope. lol)

He moves us out of places of unrest and harm to safety. soooo thankful for the faithfulness of the God of joseph. and He brings order out of the chaos in my life. soooo thankful for the faithfulness of my God who breathed the stars and moved the star of david over bethlehem and lets me see falling stars and meets with me in the morning when i'm desperate and overwhelmed and forgives me when i'm anxious and selfish and lazy and heals my brokenness and makes me aware of it in the first place and gives me saturday mornings and sunrises and newness. He. is. good.

the star in matthew 2:2

i've seen a few falling stars. a handful in my 39 years that i can remember. what a mind-blowing thing if you really stop. to think. that just happened. thousands of miles-wide ball of gases and vapors and rock and ? and it just blew up and traveled across space in such a way that these minuscule eyes could see.

astronomy fascinates and blows my mind. and...there was a star in the heavens to tell wise people who were looking that the time was at hand. He was coming. He was here. 

God breathed it and hung it in such a way that those looking could find and follow it.

sooo cool to think about.

matthew 1. hope.

"'she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.'" matt. 1:21. an angel was speaking to joseph about this child conceived in mary, his betrothed. and matthew records that it was fulfillment of old testament prophecy (verses 22-23).

in this first chapter of matthew also, of course, we read the genealogy from abraham to joseph. and we read in verse 23 that the Messiah would also be called Immanuel, meaning "God with us."

i never get tired of hearing about Jesus. and i seem to talk about and teach about why He came more than anything else. when i have opportunities to talk to classroom fulls, who Jesus was and why He came always seems to end up in the conversation.

God with us...to "save His people from their sins." let that resound in your head today.
He. is. our. hope.

old testament library and...Jesus.

i've always explained the bible to my kids as a library. it is a collection of books in different categories. and i may have written about this before...forgive me if i'm repeating myself. sooo the old testament is generally divided into five sections. genesis through deuteronomy are books of the law (the pentateuch). joshua through esther are books of history. job psalms proverbs ecclesiastes and song of solomon are books of poetry. isaiah through daniel are major prophets, and hosea through malachi are books of minor prophets. since i missed my end of the year deadline to complete blogging through the old testament, i wanted to just quickly talk about each of these sections and how themes point to Christ. (*still celebrating advent and His coming.*) side note: it's easy to remember the categories by numbers...5. 12. 5. 5. 12. (five books of law. twelve books of history. five poetry books. five major prophets. twelve minor prophets.)...coming back to this several days later with the video...so sorry i ran out of time!

sooo here is a video blog to sum up. :) (so sorry for ipad sitting on a pillow on my knees noise. :) )

thank you again soooo much for your patience. will be starting in matthew tomorrow...  love to you.

*happy new year!*

considering my thoughts from yesterday's post about extended Christmas...i want to write about Christmas grace tonight.

happy new year! *sigh* it's 2014. i was dozing on the couch and awoke at like 12:09. the kids asked to go to bed bfr midnight. tsion (our 12yr old) said can we not stay up til midnight and say we did? hmmm. glad to be raising peeps that value their sleep. it is good for them. ;)

well, i am sitting here on the edge of newness thinking man, i fell off the bike again. didn't get the old testament done before 2014. i'm not ready to start the new testament tomorrow (well, today). but grace overwhelms. overtakes those thoughts. i'm okay with sitting down to write again with words of let's try this again. i'm not ready to leave the old testament. i don't want to move on until we at least think on the purpose of the rest of the historical records, the books of poetry and prophets.  so i thought of this a few days ago that maybe i could take advantage of these last few days of my break/these days til january 6 (the last of the 12 days of Christmas) to complete this. 

thank. you. for reading along and for your patience. and thank the Lord for His continued grace and for extended Christmas reflecting and thoughts of advent as we read.

bless you this year, friends. looking forward to spending this year in His Word!!!!