1When Jesus returned from the Jordan River, the power of the Holy Spirit was with him, and the Spirit led him into the desert. 2For forty days Jesus was tested by the devil, and during that time he went without eating. When it was all over, he was hungry. 3The devil said to Jesus, “If you are God’s Son, tell this stone to turn into bread.” 4Jesus answered, “The Scriptures say, `No one can live only on food.’ ” 5Then the devil led Jesus up to a high place and quickly showed him all the nations on earth. 6The devil said, “I will give all this power and glory to you. It has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7Just worship me, and you can have it all.” 8Jesus answered, “The Scriptures say: `Worship the Lord your God and serve only him!’ ” 9Finally, the devil took Jesus to Jerusalem and had him stand on top of the temple. The devil said, “If you are God’s Son, jump off. 10-11The Scriptures say: `God will tell his angels to take care of you. They will catch you in their arms, and you will not hurt your feet on the stones.’ ” 12Jesus answered, “The Scriptures also say, `Don’t try to test the Lord your God!’ ” 13After the devil had finished testing Jesus in every way possible, he left him for a while. Luke 4:1-13
When reading this the other day what jumped out at me was verse 3… The devil said to Jesus, “If you are God’s Son, tell this stone to turn into bread.” Now you have to read it with a twist of arrogance… If you are God’s Son….?
Now the amazing and awesome thing is YES Jesus IS God’s Son! He is God’s Son with all the authority and power that that implies – but he came to earth with a different agenda:
To love
To serve
To sacrifice
Jesus relinquished power and embraced demonstrating God’s love and grace.
Likewise we don’t live by arrogant power but by humility and love and grace. Yes with power – but it is power surrendered to God.
God THROUGH us for HIS glory.
That is why we pray
“He must increase and I must decrease”
“Your will, not my will”
“Not by might, not by power, but by the Holy Spirit”
We can have all the power in the world but if we have no love we are noise pollution.
Though we have authority, though the SAME power that rose Jesus from death resides in me – it must be power surrendered to God.
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