Volumes have been written by gifted and astute theologians on the analysis of this encounter between Jesus and Satan found in Luke 4, and quite honestly I still struggle to understand this passage. But, the Holy Spirit enlightened a small portion of it to me this past week...
Satan tempted Jesus on the three aspects of who he was, in this order: Jesus as man, Jesus as Christ, and Jesus as Son. These are Jesus' three roles, so to speak, that embody who He is (man, Christ, and Son). Not one can be denied and Jesus still remain the Divine God that He is.
Satan tempts us in many ways, but I wonder if the most harmful are the ways he tries to get us to fight against who we are, or our roles that God has placed upon us.
Every role we embody is for the glory of God!
You are student for the glory of God.
You are mother for the glory of God.
You are a wife for the glory of God.
You are neighbor for the glory of God.
You are friend for the glory of God.
You are worker for the glory of God.
If we begin to question our roles that God has given us, or begin to believe the lies that accompany those questions, we should be rebuking Satan by believing God's Word and His promises for us.
Jesus was tempted to not believe who He was...
He knew the tests/lies were from Satan...
He combated Satan with God's Word, the only Sword of Truth.
Let us rest in who God made us and the role He has sovereignly given us, and denounce the lies of our subtle Enemy with His Word.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Full of the Holy Spirit
As I continued to reflect on chapters 1-4 of Luke, a phrase caught my attention. This phrase is used to describe nearly every main character in these chapters. And, directly after this phrase is used, God is glorified and magnified by the character in a unique and inspiring way.
- It is said of Mary, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you..." (1:35)
- It is said of Elizabeth, "Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit." (1:41)
- It is said of Zechariah, "And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit." (1:67)
- It is said of Simeon, "and the Holy Spirit was upon him." (2:25)
- It is said of Jesus at the time of his baptism, "The Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, like a dove." (3:21)
- "And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit." (4:1)
- "Jesus returned in the power of the Holy Spirit to Galilee." (4:14)
The Westminster Confession of Faith asks this:
Q: What is the chief end of man?
A: The chief end of man is to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever.
If the purpose of our existence is to glorify God, and Luke 1-4 shows that the precursor to glorifying Him is to be filled with the Holy Spirit, it seems that this is a precursor for us as well. In order to glorify God with our lives, we must be full of the Holy Spirit.
The third person of the Trinity, namely the Holy Spirit, is the one who makes the Christian life possible. Our goal as Christians, in glorifying God and enjoying Him forever, is to allow the perfect life Jesus lived on earth to flow through us so He can live our lives perfectly through Him.
How? By allowing the Holy Spirit to come upon us, and being filled with Him.
I seek to yield myself to the working of the Holy Spirit, for His glory. Let us be such women, for His glory!
Saturday, January 19, 2013
The Posture of Mary
Luke 1 & 2
As I repeatedly read these two chapters, Mary's posture before God stands out at both convicting and encouraging. Two times, the Scripture states that "she treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart."
But what was she treasuring up? What was she pondering?
She was "treasuring up" nothing less than circumstances she did not understand. We read that she did not understand the message Angel Gabriel brought her, for she said, "How will this be since I am a virgin?"
How did she respond to this news that she was going to give birth to God's Son?
Luke 1:38 - "But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart."
How did those around her respond to the news that the Savior was being born?
Luke 2:18-19 - "And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them."
Look...the same pattern continues at the end of chapter 2 when Mary and Joseph find Jesus in the temple after three days and He says, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" All those around her "wondered/questioned", but she continued to "treasure and ponder".
How did she respond to Jesus' explanation of having been in the temple?
Luke 2:51b - "And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart."
How did those around her respond?
" And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them." They were wondering and questioning.
**Here is how God was convicting me. Although these circumstances in Mary's life were heavenly inspired and directly from God, they were confusing. Mary did not, however, wonder or question or remain in a state of confusion. Rather, she chose to treasure up all that she saw and heard.
What in my life has come directly from God, that I continue not to understand? Let me not wonder, not question, and not ask others for their interpretation of my circumstances.
May I rather:
As I repeatedly read these two chapters, Mary's posture before God stands out at both convicting and encouraging. Two times, the Scripture states that "she treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart."
But what was she treasuring up? What was she pondering?
She was "treasuring up" nothing less than circumstances she did not understand. We read that she did not understand the message Angel Gabriel brought her, for she said, "How will this be since I am a virgin?"
How did she respond to this news that she was going to give birth to God's Son?
Luke 1:38 - "But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart."
How did those around her respond to the news that the Savior was being born?
Luke 2:18-19 - "And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them."
Look...the same pattern continues at the end of chapter 2 when Mary and Joseph find Jesus in the temple after three days and He says, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" All those around her "wondered/questioned", but she continued to "treasure and ponder".
How did she respond to Jesus' explanation of having been in the temple?
Luke 2:51b - "And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart."
How did those around her respond?
" And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them." They were wondering and questioning.
**Here is how God was convicting me. Although these circumstances in Mary's life were heavenly inspired and directly from God, they were confusing. Mary did not, however, wonder or question or remain in a state of confusion. Rather, she chose to treasure up all that she saw and heard.
What in my life has come directly from God, that I continue not to understand? Let me not wonder, not question, and not ask others for their interpretation of my circumstances.
May I rather:
- ponder in faith, in the power of the Holy Spirit
- treasure up all things quietly
- wait for the reasons to be revealed, as the Lord sees fit
May we be women who follow Paul's command. "Rejoice in hope, be patient in affliction, be constant in prayer." (Romans 12:12)
Elizabeth and the Holy Spirit
Luke 1:1-56
As I read this passage, I was struck. There was one small sentence that had large impact.
Verse 42, "Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit." The verses that follow this short sentence are full of conviction and encouragement for me (verses 43-45).
Look at the results of a woman filled with the Holy Spirit:
As I read this passage, I was struck. There was one small sentence that had large impact.
Verse 42, "Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit." The verses that follow this short sentence are full of conviction and encouragement for me (verses 43-45).
Look at the results of a woman filled with the Holy Spirit:
- Instant understanding of what God had done/was doing. She immediately felt the child in her womb leap for joy when her cousin Mary was coming, and thus knew that Mary carried the Messiah was in her womb.
- Loud exclamation of joy
- A spirit of humility - "blessed are you among women," she cried. Elizabeth must have felt uniquely special and possibly a bit of spiritual pride that God had opened her womb. But, she put aside that feeling and rejoiced in Mary having an even greater experience than Elizabeth. Mary was carrying the Messiah and Elizabeth rejoiced greatly.
- A spirit of honesty - She told Mary all that she was feeling, her unabashed joy and excitement.
- A spirit of encouragement/ a lifting up of Mary - "blessed is she who believed," she told Mary. Elizabeth had a sense of pride toward Mary for her godly and faithful reaction to her immaculate conception.
May I open myself up to the working of the Holy Spirit in my life and have the same results as Elizabeth did:
- instant understanding of what God has done/is doing right in front of me - There are two ways I can go about my day: 1) seeing ciurcumstances/happenings with a temporal view, or 2) seeing them as God sees them through the understanding of the Holy Spirit.
- joy expressed
- A spirit of humility - allow myself to rejoice in others' gifts, talents and circumstances
- A spirit of honesty - not holding back when in conversation with others regarding what God is doing in and around me.
- A spirit of encouragement - being humble enough to encourage others - even if it means lifting them higher than me.
All for the glory of God and the praise of His glorious grace.
A Walk through the Gospel of Luke
Dear Women of Grace,
It has been the better part of a year since I have written an entry in Streams of Living Waters. Pushing aside the feelings of regret, failure, or being just plain pathetic, I have decided to move forward and act on the powerful nudging of the Holy Spirit.
As many of you know, this past fall was my first season to be home without the children under toe 24/7 in 12 years. In their absence, I was left with unexpected emotions and a strange sense of exposure, for I no longer had them to hide behind. The last time I was alone, I was 27 and ready to change the world. Now, I'm 40 and the world has changed me. In place of courage, I am left with concern of failure. In place of naïvety I am left with a sense of reality. In place of confidence, I am left with questions. The beauty is, however, that although I may no longer have the charisma or fortitude or youth-filled visions, I know my Savior more intimately now which is the only true value in this life.
So, the fall began my journey of begging God to give me new marching orders, namely His marching orders. When Brannin announced that he would be preaching through the book of Luke, and encouraged us to read through Luke each week, the Holy Spirit began a work to renew my desire to make entries into Steams of Living Waters.
I do not expect these entries to be comparable to a theological commentary, for my mind is not that astute. I do hope that these entries will encourage us as women of God to love His Word and walk near one another in the Truth.
May the Spirit be near to us as we seek know our Lord in the Gospel of Luke.
Tanya
It has been the better part of a year since I have written an entry in Streams of Living Waters. Pushing aside the feelings of regret, failure, or being just plain pathetic, I have decided to move forward and act on the powerful nudging of the Holy Spirit.
As many of you know, this past fall was my first season to be home without the children under toe 24/7 in 12 years. In their absence, I was left with unexpected emotions and a strange sense of exposure, for I no longer had them to hide behind. The last time I was alone, I was 27 and ready to change the world. Now, I'm 40 and the world has changed me. In place of courage, I am left with concern of failure. In place of naïvety I am left with a sense of reality. In place of confidence, I am left with questions. The beauty is, however, that although I may no longer have the charisma or fortitude or youth-filled visions, I know my Savior more intimately now which is the only true value in this life.
So, the fall began my journey of begging God to give me new marching orders, namely His marching orders. When Brannin announced that he would be preaching through the book of Luke, and encouraged us to read through Luke each week, the Holy Spirit began a work to renew my desire to make entries into Steams of Living Waters.
I do not expect these entries to be comparable to a theological commentary, for my mind is not that astute. I do hope that these entries will encourage us as women of God to love His Word and walk near one another in the Truth.
May the Spirit be near to us as we seek know our Lord in the Gospel of Luke.
Tanya
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