Daily Devotion – March 21, 2022 – Jon Anderson

Luke 4:1–13

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.'” Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'” Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'” Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'” When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Devotion

I struggle with many temptations. What are yours? Sometimes temptation attacks my trust in God. Sometimes temptation twists my needs and longings into idols that steal my love from God and neighbors.

The temptation of Christ makes me think of two petitions or requests in the Lord’s Prayer: “Save us from the time of trial.” Martin Luther explains in his Small Catechism: “We ask in this prayer that God would preserve and keep us, so that the devil, the world, and our flesh may not deceive us or mislead us into false belief, despair, and other great and shameful sins, and that, although we may be attacked by them, we may finally prevail and gain the victory.”

Prayer

Dear Lord, you faced temptations of many kinds. You know our lives. You see the temptations in our life and our life together. Some we know, and some we are not able to see. We trust that you will inspire, guide, and save us. Deliver us from evil. Amen.