Pastor Gary's OYB Devotion Archive for March 20

LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION

From: March 20, 2024

“And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13 ESV).

The devil departed from tempting Jesus after three failed attempts. It might be noted that these are the same three temptations to which Adam succumbed. Yet, Jesus overcame them all.

The temptation of Adam and Eve began with Satan’s question, “Did God really say?” (Gen.3:1). And so, he introduced the doubt of God’s Word into their minds, making them susceptible to his wiles. So Eve was deceived, deciding that the forbidden fruit “was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise” (Gen.3:6).

The apostle John described these three temptations as targeting “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). Satan tempted Jesus and Adam with the same three tests: 1) The flesh (Adam: fruit; Jesus: bread), 2) the eyes (Adam: pleasant; Jesus: glory), 3) the pride (Adam: wisdom like God’s; Jesus: prove you’re the Son of God). While Adam doubted God’s Word, Jesus answered all three of Satan’s tests with quotations from God’s Word.

Satan still uses the same bag of tricks today, but we can learn from Christ’s example and depend on His power to overcome temptation as He did. As the psalmist said, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against Thee” (Psalm 119:11). In Christ, we are overcomers by His Word.

PRAYER: Dear Father, we pray as the Lord Jesus taught us today. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For we want to always live as obedient servants. And when we are tempted, give us a way out and remind us of Your Word that we might overcome the devil. In Jesus’ name, amen.

ARE YOU FEELING SATISFIED TODAY?

From: March 20, 2023

“I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer. You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy” (Psalm 63:4-5 NLT).

David wrote of his strong desire to be satisfied and joyful in the Lord. He sought to bear the fruit of one who knew the unfailing love (v.3) of the Lord. The word “satisfied” speaks of contentment. David lifted his soul up to the Lord, determined to find a deep abiding contentment like one feels after eating a sumptuous meal. Experiencing complete satisfaction in the Lord’s provision, David was determined to direct his mouth to offer joyful songs of praise. He knew that when his soul was satisfied in the Lord, his mouth would follow in joyful praise.

Satisfaction and joy… do you bear this fruit of the Spirit today? Or are you filled with unmet desire for something you don’t have? Are you struggling with an appetite for more? When the soul is dissatisfied, when it lacks contentment, the mouth does not offer praise, but complaint. And joy is absent.

Look to the Lord. Ask Him to examine your soul’s desire. Confess where you have shown contempt for His provision. Find your complete contentment in His unfailing love. And joy will find its way to your lips in praise!

PRAYER: Dear Father, even when the world seems turned upside down, we lift our eyes to heaven and You satisfy our souls. When we are dizzy with daily change, we look to You, our unchanging Rock, and find a foundation on which to stand. When storms assail us, we call out to You, the anchor for our souls. We love You, O LORD! We shout with joy knowing that all things are well as we rest in You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” (Luke 4:21 NLT).

From: March 20, 2022

FAMILIARITY IS NOT FAITH

In the town of Nazareth, where Jesus had grown up, he returned from his forty days in the wilderness to begin his public ministry. He attended the local synagogue and chose the passage from the Isaiah scroll that spoke of the anointed one or Messiah who would come. Having read this passage, he lifted his eyes from the Scripture and instead of offering a rabbi’s usual commentary, he claimed to be the “fulfillment” of Isaiah’s prophecy. He claimed to be the Christ.

This created quite a stir in the small synagogue. His hometown people rejected his claim saying, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” Their familiarity with Jesus actually caused them to reject him.

Is this happening in America, where most are familiar with the story of Jesus, but not many believe in him as Lord and Savior? Even for those who grew up attending church, have they equated knowledge of Jesus with saving faith? Just knowing about Jesus is not enough. Familiarity is not faith.

PRAYER: Dear Father, we not only know about Jesus, but we have believed in Him as Lord and Savior. We have trusted in His payment on the cross for our sins and His resurrection for our justification. And we have the Spirit of Christ abiding within us, affirming our new status as children of God. We praise You, Father, for the gift of Your Son and of Your Spirit. In Jesus’ name, amen.

‘He began by saying to them, “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled.”’ (Luke 4:21 HCSB).

From: March 20, 2021

FAMILIARITY IS NOT FAITH

In the town of Nazareth, where Jesus had grown up, he returned from his forty days in the wilderness to begin his public ministry. He attended the local synagogue and chose the passage from the Isaiah scroll that spoke of the Anointed One who would come. The word “anointed” is where the Hebrews get the word “Messiah,” and where the Greeks get the word “Christos.” Having read this passage, he lifted his eyes from the Scripture and instead of offering the usual commentary, he claimed to be the “fulfillment” of Isaiah’s prophecy. He claimed to be the Christ. This created quite a stir in the small synagogue. His hometown people rejected his claim saying, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” Their familiarity with Jesus actually caused them to doubt him.

Is this happening in America, where most are familiar with the story of Jesus, but not many believe in him as Lord and Savior? Even for those who grew up attending church, have they equated knowledge of Jesus with saving faith? For familiarity is not faith.

PRAYER: Dear Father, we not only know about Jesus, but we have believed in Him as Lord and Savior. We have trusted in His payment on the cross for our sins and His resurrection for our justification. And we have the Spirit of Christ abiding within us, affirming our new status as children of God. We praise You, Father, for the gift of Your Son and of Your Spirit. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips” (Psalm 63:5 NKJV).

From: March 20, 2020

WHAT’S YOUR LEVEL OF SATISFACTION TODAY?

David wrote of his strong desire to be “satisfied” and “joyful” in the Lord. He sought to bear the fruit of one who knew the “lovingkindness” (v.3) of the Lord. The word “satisfied” speaks of contentment. David lifted his soul up to the Lord, determined to find a deep abiding contentment like one feels after eating a sumptuous meal. Experiencing complete satisfaction in the Lord’s provision, David was determined to direct his mouth to offer “joyful” praise. He knew that when his soul was satisfied in the Lord, his mouth would follow in joyful praise.

Satisfaction and joy… do you bear this fruit of the Spirit today? Or are you filled with unmet desire for something you don’t have? Are you struggling with an appetite for more? When the soul is dissatisfied, when it lacks contentment, the mouth does not offer praise, but complaint. And joy is absent.

Look to the Lord. Ask Him to examine your soul’s desire. Confess where you have shown contempt for His manna provision. Find your complete contentment in His lovingkindness. And joy will find its way to your lips in praise!

PRAYER: Dear Father, even when the world seems turned upside down, we lift our eyes to heaven and You satisfy our souls. When we are dizzy with daily change, we look to You, our unchanging Rock, and find a foundation on which to stand. When storms assail us, we call out to You, the anchor for our souls. We love You, O LORD! We shout with joy knowing that all things are well as we rest in You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil for forty days” (Luke 4:1-2 NLT).

From: March 20, 2018

LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION

Jesus taught His disciples to pray that the Lord would not lead them into temptation, but deliver them from evil (Matt. 6:13). Yet, the Spirit “led” Christ into the wilderness “where He was tempted.” How can this seeming contradiction be explained? Perhaps by understanding the two ways the word “temptation” might be understood in Scripture. First, from the human point of view, a trip through the wilderness is a temptation to sin, to lose faith. But from the second point of view, which is the Lord’s, the wilderness experience is a test— a test of one’s faith. Remember, the Lord does not tempt, nor is He tempted, but He does bless those who “patiently endure” temptation (James 1:12-15). So, we might understand the Lord’s Prayer like this, “Lead us not into temptation, but if You do, please help us endure it and overcome it by delivering us from evil.”

“My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips” (Psalm 63:5 NKJV).

From: March 20, 2017

David wrote of his strong desire to be “satisfied” and “joyful” in the Lord. He sought to bear the fruit of one who knew the “lovingkindness” (Psa. 63:3) of the Lord. The word “satisfied” speaks of contentment. David lifted his soul up to the Lord, determined to find a deep abiding contentment like one feels after eating a sumptuous meal. Experiencing complete satisfaction in the Lord’s provision, David was determined to direct his mouth to offer “joyful” praise. He knew that when his soul was satisfied in the Lord, his mouth would follow in joyful praise.

Satisfaction and joy… do you bear this fruit of the Spirit today? Or are you filled with unmet desire for something you don’t have? Are you struggling with an appetite for more? When the soul is dissatisfied, when it lacks contentment, the mouth does not offer praise. And joy is absent.

Look to the Lord. Ask Him to examine your soul’s desire. Confess where you have shown contempt for His manna provision. Find your complete contentment in His lovingkindness. And joy will find its way to your lips in praise!

‘And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing”‘ (Luke 4:21 ESV)

From: March 20, 2016

In the town of Nazareth, where Jesus had grown up, he returned from his 40 days in the wilderness to begin his public ministry. He attended the local synagogue and chose the passage from the Isaiah scroll that spoke of the Anointed One who would come. The word “anointed” is where the Hebrews get the word “Messiah,” and where the Greeks get the word “Christos.” Having read this passage, he lifted his eyes from the Scripture and instead of offering the usual commentary, he claimed to be the “fulfillment” of Isaiah’s prophecy. He claimed to be the Christ. This created quite a stir in the small synagogue. His hometown people rejected his claim saying, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” Their familiarity with Jesus actually caused them to doubt him. Is this happening in America, where everyone is familiar with Jesus the man, but not many believe in him as Lord?

“Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13 NKJV)

From: March 20, 2015

The devil departed from tempting Jesus after three failed attempts. These are the same three temptations to which Adam succumbed. Yet, Jesus overcame them all. The temptation of Adam and Eve began with Satan’s question, “Did God really say?” (Gen.3:1). And so, he introduced the doubt of God’s Word into their minds, making them susceptible to his wiles. So Eve was deceived, deciding that the forbidden fruit “was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise” (Gen.3:6). The apostle John described these three temptations as targeting “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). Satan tempted Jesus and Adam with the same three tests: 1) The flesh (Adam: fruit; Jesus: bread), 2) the eyes (Adam: pleasant; Jesus: glory), 3) the pride (Adam: wisdom like God’s; Jesus: prove you’re the Son of God). While Adam doubted God’s Word, Jesus answered all three of Satan’s tests with quotations from God’s Word. Satan still uses the same bag of tricks today, but we can learn from Christ’s example and depend on His power to overcome temptation as He did. As the psalmist said, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against Thee” (Psalm 119:11). In Christ, we are overcomers.

“He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. Then he began to speak to them. ‘The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!’” (Luke 4:20-21 NLT)

From: March 20, 2014

After Jesus was baptized and tempted in the wilderness for 40 days, He began His public ministry by visiting His hometown, Nazareth. There He was invited to read in the synagogue and the Isaiah scroll was handed to Him. Unrolling the scroll He found the place where Isaiah spoke of the Year of the Lord’s favor and reading it aloud, He concluded by saying it was fulfilled in that “very day.” It was clear to His hometown hearers that Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah, the One that fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy. So, they began to say, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” And they didn’t believe Him. Jesus commented that a prophet hath no honor in His hometown and left that place. Does Jesus have a place of honor in your home?