In The Desert the Temptations

I wrote this up in hindsight thinking that I would easily locate the desert, the wilderness that Jesus' spirit was led to, not so, the closest I could even get to it was a geographical guess.

Jesus was baptised by St John in the River Jordan and near by is a Wilderness, of course it has changed, that is the nature of nature and sadly the nature of war and poverty and loss of life.


So let us take a look at those photos and see if they strike a chord in your hearts, a place to witness or just meditate on his 40 days in the Wilderness.

Each and everyone of us has a desert in our Lives. That emptiness that fills us up with hopeless and despair, what is the point of this or that you ask yourselves. Then you see the wonders of God and you are filled with hope.

When it all gets too much we stand on a pinnacle and wonder where its all going and we think. How can I change this life? Small steps, off the pinnacle, reflect, think and most importantly pray. Oh Jesus, I trust in you, just as you trusted in your Father. Let Gods will be done not mine, do as you will not as I will.

One of the temptations we in our secular lives fall into so easily is wanting, desiring and having it all. But if we have it all, are we happy? Are we still hungry for more when is enough ever enough to satisfy our needs. Enjoy a little, let someone else chase the kingdoms.

And Lead us not into temptation.

When we hunger for more and we are tempted to take more that we have, we turn rocks to stones. How many of us, ourselves included wanted something so badly we remortgaged the house, won a promotion at all costs and landed our self in debt and misery. Jesus was tempted, he trusted in the Lord God his Father. Trust in him when you are tempted, say no to loans, second mortgages, expensive holidays abroad. Live a reasonable, frugal life your reward will come, the time of eating nuts and berries will pass to better things. I am the bread of life, anyone who eats this bread will live forever.

End it all and its all over. When we get to the lowest point in life, how easy and how very sad it is to say to just give up, not through submission but through utter despair. Jesus was tempted to throw himself from the highest point and yet he trusted in his Father. When we, you or your loves ones are in such desperation call on God. God Help me, let these feelings pass away. In sleep they pass. Mild, Moderate and Severe Depression is all part of living in a wilderness alone, secular society can make our lives so lonely, our friends shallow and our life meaningless. Fill your life with other things, seek a church, a society, call on God, don't stay alone in your wilderness forever, beyond the sand there is a new world waiting for you. God knows everything about you Lord Help Me and he will.





A Quote from biblegateway.com

Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness

4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted^[a] by the devil. ² After fasting 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.’^[b]”
⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand 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.’^[c]”

⁷ Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’^[d]”

⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 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.’^[e]”
¹¹ Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
Some beautiful art work we found on the three Temptations.

Jesus Alone

Alone and in need of his father, knowing what he has to face in his future accepting it all.

Loneliness leads to temptation.

You are hungry turn these rocks to bread.

I will give you the Kingdoms of the World

Throw yourself down and you will be saved.

The Moral of these Temptations is a simple one, Do NOT give into Temptation.
Jesus told us we cannot worship God and Money, one will have to go and he was sad when the rich man loved his money more than God.