Temptations!

For Wednesday, April 15, 2026:

Luke 4:1b-2a NLT: “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil for forty days.”

This was a major event in Jesus’ life. He must have talked about it, retold the story many times. He had not yet called the 12, and yet they write about it.

It’s the classic battle between good and evil. Satan’s goal is to derail anything God is for. Truth and honesty are prime targets. Lust and greed are high on Satan’s list. He offers authority and influence, worthless because Jesus already has those traits. In the end, Jesus refuses each of Satan’s offers, countering with scripture: “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.”

Satan should have just given up. Was God’s Son ever going to oppose his Father? I think not! And yet Satan has to try. It’s in his job description! Jesus refuses Satan’s offers, and that fits his job description. Our job as Christians is to do what Jesus did. Be nice, be kind, love our neighbors, and most of all love the Lord and all that he stands for!

Many temptations will confront us in this life, and our job is to reject Satan and side with Jesus. He was heaven-sent to deal with mankind’s sin issues. He carried away our sins, leaving believers unblemished, spotless in God’s eyes, and eligible for residence in God’s eternal heavenly Kingdom!

Keep your eyes on the prize!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Belief in Jesus!

For Saturday, May 6, 2023:

John 12:9-11 NKJV: “Now a great many of the Jews knew that Jesus was there; and they came, not for his sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him, many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.”

The good thing Jesus did – raising Lazarus from the dead – was a threat to the religious status quo. Bringing a dead man back to life is too significant a miracle to be ignored. In three verses, John sums up the problem. Note that it wasn’t about God or prophesy or a fine point of theology. It’s about power, influence and ultimately money. If crowds of people were leaving the Synagogues to follow Jesus, their tithes were moving too!

The religious leader’s answer to this problem was a double murder, Jesus and now Lazarus. Their solution flew in the face of God’s commandments. Simply put, they were wrong.

We know now that Jesus dying, paying the price for the sins of the world, was all a part of God’s rescue plan to save mankind. How ironic that the Pharisee’s plot to murder the Son of God would put our salvation in motion! God is truly good!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship