Presence

“I stand at the door and knock,” says the Lord. (Revelation 3:20). What a wonderful privilege that the Lord of all creation desires to come to me. I welcome His presence.

Freedom

By God’s grace I was born to live in freedom,
free to enjoy the pleasures He created for me.
Dear Lord, grant that I may live as You intended,
with complete confidence in Your loving care.

Consciousness

Dear Jesus, may I always be aware of Your presence,
Your power and Your Love,
all the days of my life.

The Word of God

¹Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. ²He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was famished. ³The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” ⁴But he answered, “It is written,

‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

⁵Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”

⁷Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”

⁸Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, ⁹and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” ¹⁰Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,

‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’ ”

¹¹Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

Inspiration

A brief lesson on the wiles of the enemy is given to us today, and it may assist us in combating some of Satan’s snares if and when the evil one tries to undermine us. Note how the devil chooses a tricky time when Jesus is alone, without companions or support and probably in a weakened state through lack of food and nourishment. It’s not unlikely that Satan will try to gain the upper hand with us, too. Can we remember places or occasions when we were tempted to allow the worst parts of ourselves to come to the surface?  

Conversation

Conversation requires talking and listening.
As I talk to Jesus may I also learn to be still and listen.
I picture the gentleness in His eyes
and the smile full of love as He gazes on me.
I can be totally honest with Jesus as I tell Him of my worries and my cares.
I will open up my heart to Him as I tell Him of my fears and my doubts.
I will ask Him to help me to place myself fully in His care,
to abandon myself to Him,
knowing that He always wants what is best for me.

Conclusion

I thank God for these few moments we have spent alone together and for any insights I may have been given concerning the text.

Amen