Self-Control
How Did Jesus Deal With Temptation? Some Observations
by on Oct 5th, 2010 at 11:40 pm
Now that we have seen the types of temptations that Jesus faced in The Wilderness and viewed His response to each of Satan’s offers, here are some observations of things we can learn from His combat with the evil one (Luke 4:1-13).
#1 - Jesus Was Tempted According to His Desires
Jesus did not eat for 40 days and would have undoubtedly craved food. He was/is worthy of being worshiped by the whole world and would have found the offer of obedience of the world by Satan to be compelling. Finally, Jesus came to the world to make our salvation possible, and being recognized as Messiah by His beloved people, Israel, would have been a thrilling scenario.
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How Did Jesus Deal With Temptation? Final Observations
by on Oct 12th, 2010 at 11:35 pm
It’s time to bring this series to a close with some final observations.
#3 - Jesus Understands Temptation Better Than We Do
We can never be accurate in going to God in prayer and telling Him that He can’t really understand what we are experiencing in the thick of our temptations and struggles. The reality is that Jesus faced temptation to a degree that we could never understand or fully imagine. He did this and still didn’t cave to the pressure.
Hebrews 4:14-16 explains that Jesus’ faithfulness in the midst of temptation qualifies Him (among other things) as an understanding and suitable advocate before the Heavenly Father on our behalf. When we face moments of intense temptation or endure our own seasons of vulnerability, He is ready and willing to intervene on our behalf, which results in receiving the grace we need to face our weakness.
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Leadership Library Spotlight
by on Nov 4th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
Book: Wired for Intimacy: How Pornography Hijacks the Male Brain
Author: William M. Struthers
“One underlying problem for many men is not pornography, but a wrong understanding of how they are made. They think of themselves as a soul trapped inside a body, enslaved to it.” p. 115
“Sexual intimacy is not like every other biological function. It has significant consequences at every level of our existence: neurological, psychological, social and spiritual. And given that each one of us is a bio-psycho-socio-spiritual entity, it is no surprise that our sexual nature and how we express that nature has such wide-reaching implications.” p. 167
Pornography is one of the least-liked and most relevant topics for Christian men. We love to pretend that we haven’t seen it. We like to project the idea that we don’t like it. We wish that we could be unaffected by it. Well, I’m a married man who is pursuing purity for the sake of my God, my family, and my ministry and I can say that I have seen it before, I liked what I saw, and I have to admit that it has the power to crush me. Therefore, it’s best to view this topic through the prism of reality and not through the eye-holes of a façade.
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Leadership Library Spotlight
by on Dec 3rd, 2010 at 3:00 am
Book: The Leadership Ellipse: Shaping How We Lead by Who We Are
Author: Robert A. Fryling
The famous, and young, Scottish pastor, Robert Murray M’Cheyne once wrote to a fellow pastor, “What my people need most is my personal holiness.” He understood the critical role the leader’s inner life played in the health and progress of an organization.
Leaders live between constant tensions of organizational growth and personal development. Leading organizations can be taxing to the soul, and a neglect of the inner man can be fatal for the leader and the organization. So, with this reality in mind, how can a leader strengthen the inner man when he is not necessarily given the luxury of extended sabbaticals for such care? How is a leader to be spiritually fed when he is required to continually feed so many others?
Robert A. Fryling, publisher of InterVarsity Press and senior vice president of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship understands the demands that accompany leading organizations while trying to keep his own soul anchored to Christ. He has personally experienced the internal dryness that comes from the demands of leadership. He has also learned how to avoid the arid environment of personal neglect. His book, The Leadership Ellipse: Shaping How We Lead by Who We Are, provides us with insights to his own education in this aspect of life and leadership.
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Leadership Library Spotlight
by on Dec 9th, 2010 at 1:15 pm
Book: Closing the Window: Steps to Living Porn Free
Author: Tim Chester
“Our sexuality is supposed to be like Niagara Falls. The rocks constrain the water, forcing it into a powerful surging rush. Porn makes sexuality like the Mississippi Delta. The water there is not constrained by anything. It’s spread out wide and thin and muddy. The Bible gives us safeguards, not to protect us from sex but to protect sex from us, not to stop us being spoiled by sex but to stop sex being spoiled by us!” p. 122
“Using porn is a bad way of preparing not to use it when you’re married!” p. 25
“We become Christians through faith and repentance. We continue and grow by ongoing faith and repentance. And this means that we counter porn through faith and repentance. Battling porn with faith means embracing the truth about God in place of the false promises of porn. Battling porn with repentance means turning from self to worship God.” p. 63
Before I start this review, I want to thank InterVarsity Press for generously providing this resource to this ministry. They believe in biblical manhood and allowed me access to this resource so that you can be encouraged, trained, and aided in the guarding of purity.