The Second Temptation

Scripture

Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you.

~1 Corinthians 1:26, NLT

Quote

Father help me seek You in the common and ordinary and not to yearn for the sensational.

~Charles Cowman

In the second temptation, the devil tempts Jesus to do something sensational, jump from the pinnacle of the temple [75 feet] and to use His divine air brakes. Of course Jesus had the power to do such a thing; the devil never tempts us to do things unless they are within our power to do them. The devil has never tempted me to jump from a tall building or to turn stone into bread. Of course, Jesus did not yield to the temptation. We humans are prone to be impressed by the sensational. In a sense, the revival on Mount Carmel was sensational and so was the day of pentecost and I find myself longing for these type of things every time I go into the pulpit but could it be that we are missing something by our constant longing for the sensational. In the middle of his life {mid-life crisis} Moses found himself working for someone else. It was not a high-tech job. Moses was not sitting in an office behind an oak desk. He was not wearing a harts-schaffner-marx. He was shepherding a flock of dirty, stinky sheep and not even the sheep belonged to him. It was in the grit and grim of ordinary life that God revealed Himself to Moses. I do admit that the revelation itself was sensational.

The point I make is this: we have this lust for success, to achieve the extraordinary, thinking all the while that we will be rewarded for our achievement. We get so focused on success and achievement that we miss the basic and the common. Instead of asking God repeatedly for the sensational, perhaps we should be longing for sweet communion with Him. The prayer closet can become just as exciting as the pulpit, perhaps more so. I know we long for spiritual highs and glorious transfigurations but remember, Jesus only allowed three disciples to witness the mountain top experience. There is no doubt that God took Billy Graham, Adrian Rogers and Charles Spurgeon to the mountain top but I have learned to be content in the valley. There is work to be done in the valley. The valley is where the hurting people are and it is where the LORD needs us most. I am content just to be one of the twelve and to have daily communion with my LORD and Savior.

EXTRA

PTL for some success: we got the bathroom floor down and the commode set and operational. No leaks so far. We like the laboratory and the carpet. But, we can see some light at the end of the tunnel. We will not get anything done today: we have a COLS in Athens and Ty is in a basketball tournament. Looking forward to tomorrow and our sermon on Noah. This was my sugar stick back in the day but I have not preached it in years. Have a great day and weekend.

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