Today's Devotions

Showcase: Assorted Treats

  • New Year's Resolution and Jonathan Edwards by Christina Fox +

    You know it's a new year when every commercial on TV is an ad for either gym memberships or diet Read More
  • Forgiving Yourself by Sylvia Gunter +

    You've blown it. You have really messed up this time. You have agreed with God that what you did was Read More
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200px OswaldChambersWe do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin -Hebrews 4:15

Until we are born again, the only kind of temptation we understand is the kind mentioned in James 1:14, "Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed."

But through regeneration we are lifted into another realm where there are other temptations to face, namely, the kind of temptations our Lord faced. The temptations of Jesus had no appeal to us as unbelievers because they were not at home in our human nature. Our Lord's temptations and ours are in different realms until we are born again and become His brothers. The temptations of Jesus are not those of a mere man, but the temptations of God as Man. Through regeneration, the Son of God is formed in us (see Galatians 4:19), and in our physical life He has the same setting that He had on earth. Satan does not tempt us just to make us do wrong things- he tempts us to make us lose what God has put into us through regeneration, namely, the possibility of being of value to God. He does not come to us on the premise of tempting us to sin, but on the premise of shifting our point of view, and only the Spirit of God can detect this as a temptation of the devil.

Temptation means a test of the possessions held within the inner, spiritual part of our being by a power outside us and foreign to us. This makes the temptation of our Lord explainable. After Jesus' baptism, having accepted His mission of being the One "who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29) He "was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness" (Matthew 4:1) and into the testing devices of the devil. Yet He did not become weary or exhausted. He went through the temptation "without sin," and He retained all the possessions of His spiritual nature completely intact.

 

Reflections to Consider

  • Warfare Spirituality

    The Trinity function as farmers of our souls, actively caring for God’s creation: an ongoing, radical reclamation of His creation. Read More
  • You are free

    The Jesus who calmed a sea of deadly, stormy waves, whose arrival sent thousands of demons cringing and cowering to Read More
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Publications

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Music

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Audio & Video

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Favorites

  • Best of EM Bounds on Prayer +

    This is a compilation of some of the writings by E.M. Bounds. I've read a fair amount of books on Read More
  • Prayer - Does it Make Any Difference, Philip Yancey +

    Contemporary classic that probes the meaning of prayer for 21st century believers, and provides extended, personal anecdotes from a wide Read More
  • Prayer, Ole Hallesby and Clarence J. Carlsen +

    This is a little known work which has a significant impact on those who read it. Read More
  • From Unceasing Thinking to Unceasing Prayer +

    Our minds are always active. We analyze, reflect, daydream, or dream. There is not a moment during the day or Read More
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Hidden Blessings

  • Introduction to The Death of Death..by JI Packer +

    INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ___ to John Owen's The Death Of Death in the Death of Christ ___ By J.I. Packer _________ Read More
  • An Interview with Os Guiness on the 25th Anniversary of Francis Schaeffer's Death-Justin Taylor, 2009 +

    Next week (May 15) will be the 25th anniversary of the death of Francis Schaeffer, who died in his home Read More
  • Fate Worse than Death? Julie Moore +

    Jephthah's unfortunatedaughterMy journey through the Bible, which, I'll admit, sometimes feels like a slog, uncovers some pretty crazy things. Read More
  • DEATH HAS BEEN SWALLOWED UP BY DEATH by Gavin Ortlund +

    Editors' note: This series explores key doctrines of the Christian faith and their practical ramifications for everyday life. Earlier in Read More
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