Putting God to the Test
Our Monday morning times in God's Word with the men are always a blessing for me. This morning was no different. We had 15 men and a tragedy! The heating element in the coffee pot did not work, because one of the wires burned, so there was no coffee for a few minutes, until we fired up a couple of smaller pots. Once we got some caffeine, we were able to commence on our study of Luke 4.
Our main topic of study today was the final temptation of Jesus during His 40 days of trials after His baptism. The Devil took Him to the highest point of the Temple in Jerusalem, and told Jesus to jump off. He even used Psalm 91:11-12 to try to tempt Him to do this sensational act. Jesus was not convinced, because He knew the Bible, too. He knew that He was not to put God to the test.(Deuteronomy 6:16) Therefore, Jesus did not fall into sin by testing God and following Satan.
We all need to learn this lesson. We can't take the Bible and force God to do what we want. That is putting God to the test. It is manipulating God, and He is not subject to anyone or anything. He is Lord. He does what He knows is best. We are never to claim a promise to put God on the spot to do our will. We claim a promise, when God shows us it is His will to do a work in our lives. He comes to us and shows us that He wants us to trust Him. Then, when we put our faith in His promise, He keeps that promise. It may be a simple thing or a miracle, but it is great because it is God's will. That is what we need to seek to do each day. Then, once God works, we give Him all of the credit for what He has done.
Remember, it is not about us. It is about Him. Satan will tempt us to make it about us. That is sin. We are not to try to steal God's glory. We are to trust Him and give Him the glory for everything. That is what Jesus did. We must do no less.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 10-12 and Acts 19:1-20.
Our main topic of study today was the final temptation of Jesus during His 40 days of trials after His baptism. The Devil took Him to the highest point of the Temple in Jerusalem, and told Jesus to jump off. He even used Psalm 91:11-12 to try to tempt Him to do this sensational act. Jesus was not convinced, because He knew the Bible, too. He knew that He was not to put God to the test.(Deuteronomy 6:16) Therefore, Jesus did not fall into sin by testing God and following Satan.
We all need to learn this lesson. We can't take the Bible and force God to do what we want. That is putting God to the test. It is manipulating God, and He is not subject to anyone or anything. He is Lord. He does what He knows is best. We are never to claim a promise to put God on the spot to do our will. We claim a promise, when God shows us it is His will to do a work in our lives. He comes to us and shows us that He wants us to trust Him. Then, when we put our faith in His promise, He keeps that promise. It may be a simple thing or a miracle, but it is great because it is God's will. That is what we need to seek to do each day. Then, once God works, we give Him all of the credit for what He has done.
Remember, it is not about us. It is about Him. Satan will tempt us to make it about us. That is sin. We are not to try to steal God's glory. We are to trust Him and give Him the glory for everything. That is what Jesus did. We must do no less.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 10-12 and Acts 19:1-20.