Having been a Christian since I was a child, it is easy for me to "get in a rut" spiritually. One of the things that helps prevent that from happening is to do different things in my devotional life. Sometimes I walk while I pray, sometimes I sing, sometimes I just sit and focus on what God is doing in my life and what He has to say to me. One of changes that I have made recently is that in preparation for Sunday's sermon I read my text each day of the week. This helps me not to rush through Bible reading and to really focus on the text, even the parts I may have overlooked in the past. As I have been reading this Sunday's text, Matthew 4 the temptation of Christ, I have noticed some interesting things.
1. It's not a sin to be tempted.
2. Jesus passed with flying colors, so that we can have hope that if we abide in Him we can as well.
3. All of the temptations have the same root cause: shortcuts to getting what Jesus wanted.
I think that most of the temptations that we "fall into" are caused when we take shortcuts: spiritual shortcuts, relational shortcuts, work shortcuts, etc...
So pray for me and you this coming week that we won't take any shortcuts!
Also here's an interesting take on the Temptation of Christ.
http://bigorangetruck.wordpress.com/2008/02/19/super-bowl-in-the-wilderness/
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