THE WORD :: ence
own needs? Would he seek to attract a following by employing methods that did not square with God’s? And above all, would he seek to avoid the cross? Thankfully, Jesus resisted every one and as a result he left the desert a changed man. Luke underlines this by pointing out that he was ‘full of the Spirit’ when he entered the desert but he returned to Galilee ‘in the power of the Spirit’. If we want to be faithful to our calling to be a servant people, we will face many challenges too, not least the temptation to be focused on our own needs and to avoid the challenge of the cross. And we do well to heed the words of theologian Tom Smail: “If you are looking for an experience of the Holy Spirit that is going to put you on some kind of charismatic cloud where you can fl oat in untroubled glory straight into the Kingdom of God, my friend
you are looking in the wrong place altogether! Jesus doesn’t know how to give anyone an easy ride. He didn’t have one himself and he won’t give it to anyone.” Having said that, the Scriptures
assure us that we will never have to face our cold camps alone, for we have a Saviour in heaven who understands our weaknesses. He faced the same temptations that we do, and because of that we can approach his throne of grace with confi dence, knowing that “We will receive his mercy, and we will fi nd grace to help us when we need it most” (Hebrews 4: NLT). In other words, Christians have a hotline to heaven even when they are suff ering in their ‘cold camps’. And just as importantly, they can rest assured that the prize is infi nitely greater than any World Cup. (And that’s a remarkable statement for any Welshman to make!)
ınspıre
Reading Luke 4:1-21
Prayer
It is so good to know that you have lived a fully human life, Jesus. And it is so encouraging to be told that you have not only resisted temptation, but that you have also conquered death. Help us to trust you when things are tough and help us to become more like you, our Servant King.
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