15th. September. 2021. Daily Devotion.
4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[a] by the devil. 2 After fasting for forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.’
4 Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”’ 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the highest point of the temple. 6 ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘“He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”’
7 Jesus answered him, ‘It is also written: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. 9 ‘All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘if you will bow down and worship me.’10 Jesus said to him, ‘Away from me, Satan! For it is written: “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.”’11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him. Matthew 4:4-11
In his temptations Christ would not compromise with evil for anything this world has to offer. So the practical lesson of today’s Scripture is, Refuse to compromise. “Put on the helmet of salvation and grasp the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” We will be forgiven for our sins, but we must not wink at them, pretend they do not exist. We may compromise where Christ did not, but we should not fool ourselves.
Lord God, let me always be bold in righteousness, knowing one-hundred percent that you are with me. Amen.
Bless also all the other people of this earth, O Lord, that they may be filled with the joy of life, and especially know the life eternal which can come only from your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen.
Prayer of Thanks
O Thou whose bounty fills my cup with every blessing meet! I give Thee thanks for every drop, the bitter and the sweet.
I praise Thee for the desert road, and for the riverside; for all Thy goodness hath bestowed, and all Thy grace denied.
I thank Thee for both smile and frown, and for the gain and loss; I praise Thee for the future crown and for the present cross.
I thank Thee for both wings of love which stirred my worldly nest; and for the stormy clouds which drove me, trembling, to Thy breast.
I bless Thee for the glad increase, and for the waning joy; and for this strange, this settled peace which nothing can destroy. Amen. by Jane Crewdson (1860)
For the refugee crisis
Heavenly Father, you are the source of all goodness, generosity and love.
We thank you for opening the hearts of many to those who are fleeing for their lives.
Help us now to open our arms in welcome and reach out our hands in support.
That the desperate may find new hope, and lives torn apart be restored.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ your Son, our Lord, who fled persecution at His birth and at His last triumphed over death. Amen.