Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to"); document.writeln("temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!1
"); document.writeln("As Christians, we are constantly tempted by the things of"); document.writeln("this world and it is not always easy to resist. When Jesus was being tempted by"); document.writeln("Satan in the wilderness, he was tempted continually. The three specific temptations"); document.writeln("the Bible mentions are hunger, materialism and power, and testing God. Jesus"); document.writeln("was tempted for forty days, and what the devil was enticing him with would have"); document.writeln("probably satisfied his flesh but not his spirit, leading to spiritual"); document.writeln("destruction. While Jesus was fully God, he was also fully human and had free"); document.writeln("will, allowing him to do anything he desired. However, his hunger for the Father"); document.writeln("was greater than any worldly desire.
"); document.writeln("Every time Satan tempted Jesus, Jesus fought back using Scripture,"); document.writeln("which is what we need to do as well. God allows us to be tempted, but he"); document.writeln("promises never to leave us. Satan often tries to attack us when we are"); document.writeln("confident in our faith and are feeling like we are on top of the world. Luke"); document.writeln("4:1 says that Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit when he was led to the wilderness"); document.writeln("and in Luke 4:14, after all the enticements, it says that Jesus returned to"); document.writeln("Galilee filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. Those verses show us that the Lord"); document.writeln("was with him the whole forty days, giving him strength from the beginning to"); document.writeln("the end. When we are tempted, we can either give in or use it as an opportunity"); document.writeln("to grow our faith and trust in God. Jesus understands our weaknesses because he"); document.writeln("faced all the same testing we do, allowing us to come boldly to the throne of"); document.writeln("God where we will receive His mercy and grace (Hebrews 4:15-16).
"); document.writeln("Suggested prayer: Thank you, Lord, for giving me the"); document.writeln("strength to overcome the challenges of this world. Thank you for promising to"); document.writeln("always be with me through the highs and lows. When I fall into temptation,"); document.writeln("please forgive me and restore me. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.
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1. "); document.writeln("Matthew 26:41 (NLT).
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The Encounter for today was written by: Gianna B.
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This and other devotionals by Richard (Dick) Innes can be read online.
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