conquering the tempter

i decided to start reading Matthew tonight. in all honesty, i have really slacked off on my devotional reading, and i have been feeling it. and tonight i found myself stopped on a passage i have dwelt on before, yet with no real spiritual gain. just more of a "huh, thats really interesting". but tonight i believe i got more out of it than just that.

the temptation of Jesus has always fascinated me. the idea that the King of kings, the Lord of lords would be tempted kind of blows me away. i have to wonder what satan was really thinking. did he really think he might succeed? its in Matthew 4, you should check it out. i mean honestly, the third temptation i often want to laugh. satan, tempting the Creator with His creation. funny.

but two things hit me tonight. something i think we should all ponder. the first, has to do with when we are tempted. i know for me i am most easily tempted when i am tired. i believe it is when we are at our weakest point that we are most easily conquered. did you notice how satan doesnt try his tricks until Jesus had been wandering around for 40 days? it is not until He is hungry and weak that satan launches his attack. how true is this for us? more than that, look at the boldness of satan in his attack. iv often seen, and honestly at times fight it within myself, this attitude of invincibility. we get this idea that it wont happen to us. but let us remember that we are not dealing with an enemy who is incompetent. he is sly, and he is bold. if satan is bold enough to tempt the Creator of the universe, should we not also expect him to tempt us?

Jesus though, was victorious. i mean, we are talking about God in the flesh, He created satan before he fell. i think Jesus models for us here a way to handle temptation. often i believe we try to deal with it on our own. at least i do. we get this idea that we just need to be stronger, we just need to fight a little harder. but all i have found down that path is more pain and more guilt. there is no victory. Jesus knows this, and so He responds with God's Word. He quotes Scripture to satan, refuting his temptations and offers one at a time. Jesus, when weak and tired, conquered temptation not by His own power, but by that of the Word of God. can you comprehend that? Jesus, who has all the power ever, chooses to not use it. instead, He fires back with the Word of God, penned by the prophets of the LORD!!! what an example for us!

satan tries every day to tempt God's children. often times i think he wins. i know in my life, he has gained more footholds than i want him to have, and it is always due to my poor response. temptation will always be present in this world. it is something we must learn to deal with effectively if we desire to walk in the footsteps of Christ. and like many other things, He provides for us an example we should take notice of, and put into practice.

of minimal importance

i decided to not go to church this morning. and you know what? i feel great about it. dont get me wrong, i love church. i love being able to see people and worship corporately. but i just did not want that this morning. i wanted to worship, but alone. that is something i dont get much of anymore. i live in the city, i have a roommate, im always busy it seems. it is like the idea of worshiping God alone, just me and Him, has taken a back seat in importance. it is of minimal importance in today's church it seems. if you just decide to skip church and worship at home instead, you might be equated as a pagan. i know a guy who one sunday went fishing instead of church. he went by himself. i dont blame him. i love to fish, and i love being in God's creation. and what an opportunity to witness to others outside the church!

see, i think we have this mindset that church, that worship, only takes place inside the walls of the building that is on a plot of land. it is funny you know, cause Israel put God in a box like that once too. and you know what happened???? He sent them into exile to teach them a valuable lesson.....God cannot be confined! worship, likewise, cannot be confined.

God is just as pleased with me worshiping this morning in my room as He is with me worshiping in another building.

perhaps we as the body of Christ need to rethink this whole "never miss a sunday" mentality. perhaps we need to reevaluate the importance of worshiping God in secret, alone, just Him and you. in today's world where business and socializing to the extreme is praised, perhaps we should back up and take a break. now, im not advocating this for every sunday, or even every other sunday. but i think we should rethink this mentality i mentioned before.

God is not impressed that you make it to church every sunday. just like going to church doesnt make you a christian, i would be very careful to say going to church every sunday makes you a BETTER christian. God wants the heart more than the body. it is easy to show up in the pew, but leave your heart elsewhere.

i challenge you to rethink this mentality of "never miss a sunday". perhaps you are like me, and you need a break. perhaps you are like me, and this idea of individual worship is not of minimal importance in the end, but is instead of great importance.

if it is, i further challenge you to take a real sabbath. ask someone to hold you to it, and the next week ask what you learned in your time of worship. dont take it as a vacation per say, but a time of individual worship, to reconnect with God. if that is through fishing, go fish. if it is through climbing a mountain, go for it. if it is just sitting in a chair with some coffee and your Bible, get comfy.

above all else though, seek God. seek Him with your heart, mind and body. for this is true worship, honoring God in all ways.

all the cards on the table

*****before i begin this blog, i want to make one thing clear. I AM NOT RACIST. i am simply stating what i see, as i see it. this is NOT a hate blog, or anything of the type against black people or white people. it is simply my observations of election results in light of some things that have been said by several people across the nation. i am also NOT saying one candidate is better than the other in this blog.*****

i have been thinking about something since election night last week. and since then there has been a lot of things happen that point towards the conclusion i have arrived at. the race card has been pulled out many times this election, mainly from the black population and the Obama party, and thrust at the white population and the McCain party. and quite frankly, i am really sick of it. i am sick of it mainly because i see a lot of evidence pointing towards the opposite. and i think it is time people face the truth.

what started this after hearing the race card pulled out, was a poll shown on www.msnbc.com election night, that showed some 96% of all black voters voted for Obama. this made me scratch my head. you see, all leading up to the election it had been believed that all the white people would vote for McCain, and that would be racist. and yet, polls show that many white people actually voted for Obama, right along with the extremely high percentage of black people.

the next piece was an audio clip done by the Howard Stern Show (of which i do not support, but we cannot overlook evidence). one of their reporters went out to Harlem and asked black people who they voted for. upon them saying Obama, the reporter than asked them what they thought of Obama's policies, but in reality was attributing McCain's policies to Obama. every person they asked agreed with the policies stated and attributed to Obama, including VP candidate Sarah Palin (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCipmnYCKB0). unfortunately they found a black man who voted for McCain, and they pulled the same thing with him and got identical results. i point this out (both sides) to say this, many people voted without a clue as to what the candidate stood for. you cannot honestly sit here and tell me that 96% of black voters voted for Obama simply because of where he stood on the issues. i dont buy it. it seems clear to me that race had a large part in this.

unfortunately, no one in the media has the guts to address this. so i will probably be labeled a racist with anyone else who points this out. and this brings me to the last straw for me. yesterday the Chicago Tribune had an article that was for black men who wanted to follow in Obama's footsteps. now, lets be honest. if a white person wrote something like this in relation to McCain, it would be labeled racist. but is this really all that different? honestly, racism flies on both sides of the table. i have to be honest and say, i see a lot of racism on the side of black people with this election. i do not say that out of hatred, but frustration. is it on the white side? YEAH! i admit that. you cannot tell me that all the people in the south voted for McCain simply because of where he stands on issues. i dont buy that either!

the point is, racism is evident on both sides, yet it is always the white people who get accused of it. and i am disgusted by that. it is time people face the truth, and we all start to change for the better. blacks and whites. i come from a family who on one side is racist, unfortunately. i have grown up around it my entire life. and it is by the grace of God that i have been able to not follow that path of hatred based on a few genetic differences. but people, lets not be blind. this election, race had a lot to do with it despite what we heard before hand. it makes me wonder, what would it have been like if McCain was black, and Obama white?

*****now, to those who think i am being mean: i love you. again, i am no way stating that one candidate is better than the other. i am a firm believer in Romans 13, and will support the leadership position given to Obama and be respectful of him. to those whom this makes upset, or those who think i am picking on black people, stop right there. if things would be completely opposite, i would have written the same thing against the white population. truth is not based on color or situations. truth is truth regardless.******