Power In The Message

During this morning's quiet time, I found myself reading the book of Luke. I started with Luke 4 and read through Chapter 6 and a few things popped out I hadn't really comprehended before.

Isn't it awesome when God shows you something new? I get charged up!!

Anyway, Chapter 4 talks of how Jesus went into the wilderness for 40 days to be tempted by the Devil. Of course, we know how He rejected Satan's empty promises and claims, finally shutting him up by outright saying "Do not test the Lord your God." You know, when God gets right down to the nitty gritty of things, not even Satan himself can argue or dispute the awesome power of His name.

One of the things I noticed, and this is for any biblical scholar out there who may want to comment or email me, at the end of this temptation period, the Bible says in Verse 13 "After the Devil had finished every temptation, he departed from Him (Jesus) for a time."

That phrase "for a time" caught my eye. Isn't "a time" normally referred to as a 3 year period in the Scripture? I know that in the book of Daniel, there is mention of the length of the Tribulation (or reign of the Anti-Christ) being "a time, times and half a time" (or 7 years).

So, if Satan left Christ for "a time", if this is indeed what it's implying, would this mean that 3 years later Satan came back to tempt Jesus again? What would happen 3 years later? Could that have been when He was crucified on the cross? My thinking is that if that phrase did indeed indicate a 3 year period between Satan's attempts to tempt our Lord, the next time he tried to confront Christ was while He was actually on the cross.

In Luke 23:35, it says how the crowds and even one of the criminals being crucified with Jesus yelled insults at Him to "save Himself if this is God's Messiah, the Chosen One!" The soldiers also mocked Him by saying "If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!"

Knowing full well that He could do that if He wanted, Christ chose the opposite. He allowed Himself to be poured out as a sacrifce for our sins, His blood shed as an atonement for all mankind. Choosing to come down off the cross was well within His power but it would have been the easy way out, the way Satan wanted Him (and all of us to choose). But Jesus loved us all so much that He allowed them to crucify Him, willingly giving Himself for everyone. That was the hard part, the completion of God's plan for our salvation.

His only Son, dying on the cross, giving us all that hope and way to eternal life.

Wow...I don't know where all that came from because that wasn't what I was going to write about but what a thought from the Lord!!! That wasn't me writing that either.

That was all Him.

If you're reading this today and you don't know Jesus as your personal Lord & Savior today, He wants to meet with you and show you all He has planned for you. He wants you to know how much He loves you and desires to see you come to Him. He came to give us life and give it to us more abundantly. Whatever you are going through today, God has given us all a way to come to know Him and rest in His promises.

The Bible says in Luke 11:9 "So I say to you, keep asking and it will be given to you. Keep searching and you will find. Keep knocking and the door will be opened to you."

Jesus loves you and He's got so much to give you. Won't you come to know Him today?

I'll pick up with what I'd planned on writing more tomorrow.

Have a great day and remember that God loves you!