Jesus Is Baptized and Tempted

Luke 3:1-22; 4:1-13; Psalm 103:1-4; Proverbs 17:28

Jesus has been temped in every way that man has been tempted. How was He able to resist? He had been harassed by satin for 40 days, he was starving and must have been so week, almost to death! It is one of the most amazing accounts of Jesus in the Bible. Sometime I can't resist temptation even on a full stomach, with plenty of rest. Sometimes it is actually the food and laziness that entices me, like a piece of cheese in a mouse trap, I am lead to certain death.

As I reflect on this, I seem acutely aware of how much I don't understand about God's word. I have more questions than answers. Maybe you can help me understand. I ask the question again.

How was he able to resist temptation?

Yes, I know he is Jesus.
Yes, I know He is the Son of God.
Yes, He is God!

But How?

The Bible say's in Luke 3:21-22:
21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."

Yes, of course, the Holy Spirit, that must be it. It goes on to say in Luke 4:1, "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit,". Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit. It was the Holy Spirit that lead Jesus to the desert in the first place. But, I still have questions. First of all;

Was this the first time Jesus received the Holy Spirit? The Scripture say's it descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove. Secondly;

If this was the first time Jesus received the Holy Spirit, How was He able to remain sinless for 30 years up to this point?

I know that God's spirit worked different before Jesus ascended to the Father. Again I need your help, so if you don't mind, help me out.

Maybe it was Scripture!!! Jesus was answering satin with verses from His electronic Bible He downloaded to His wireless smart phone! No, wireless communication wasn't that good back then, not to mention no phones. Jesus must have memorized Scripture, and apparently satin had been doing some memorization as well. I wonder, does knowing God's word in your mind and your heart to the point that you use it to resist temptation, and with the help of the Holy Spirit control your actions, have anything to with how Jesus was able to do it?

I know we are not Jesus.
I know we are not the Son of God.
I know we are not God. But,

We are sons of God.
We are Children of God.
We are made in His image.

Here's the last question,
Is it possible we as Christians could resist temptation by living the Scriptures, by being filled by the Holy Spirit in the way that Jesus did? Help me out here!

Rejoice in Jesus,
Todd Ledbetter

Jesus the King Is Born

Matthew 1:18-23; Luke 2:1-35; Psalm 102:12-15; Proverbs 17:2.

It is good to reflect on the miraculous birth of Jesus. We have heard the story so many times in a multitude of ways, ( Sunday School, Christmas programs), But to sit down and reflect on the account that the Bible gives revives my spirit. The amazing circumstances that seemed at first devastating and shameful are reviled as a miraculous blessing to all man kind. It still blows me away how when the Holy Spirit works in our lives, it is unmistakable. My prayer is for me to get out of my way and let the Holy Spirit invade my every thought and action, so that God will be Glorified. God's plans are His, and as a local preacher said in his sermon recently, "God takes responsibility for a life fully devoted to Him", (see Matt 10:16).

Praying for total surrender,
Todd Ledbetter

Faith, Obedience, Wisdom

In today's devotional from Luke 1:39-80; Psalm 102:1-3; Proverbs 17:2, It struck me how faith happens with belief and obedience. The Christ is still in the womb, yet Mary and Elizabeth's faith is strong. In obedience Zacharias receives the Holy Spirit. In the Psalm, David has reviled his understanding and God given wisdom that his days are numbered and he can not continue with out the Lord.

The Proverb sums it up nicely,

WISDOM

Wisdom is in the sight of him who has understanding,
But the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
Proverbs 17:24

Rejoice in Jesus,

Todd Ledbetter

God's Acceptance Over Human Rejection

God's acceptance over human rejection was the them of today's devotional. How timely considering the circumstances. It makes a world of difference knowing God loves me know matter what. I don't have an anger problem like the devotional speaks of but, rejection can attack in many other ways. Being connected to Christ intimately daily, exposes the beauty of a life lived through Him. Thank you Jesus, I trust in you alone.

Hear is an excerpt from the Max Lucado devotional Upwords, A Love Worth Giving

Rejections are like speed bumps on the road. They come with the journey. You’re going to get cut, dished, dropped, and kicked around. You cannot keep people from rejecting you. But you can keep rejections from enraging you. How? By letting his acceptance compensate for their rejection.

God will load your world with flowers. He hand-delivers a bouquet to your door every day. Open it! Take them! Then, when rejections come, you won’t be left short-petaled.

Rejoice in Jesus,
Todd Ledbetter

World War III

Conflict is normal in the Christian life. Frustration and conflict are not something strange to a Christian’s life. You're normal if you face conflict.

Before you became a Christian, you only had the power to do wrong. When you invited Christ into your life, however, you received a new nature—a desire and power to do what is right. But that old nature stayed on. That’s two natures that struggle over everything you think, say, and do. One old preacher said: "It’s like there are two dogs fighting inside you. The one that wins is the one you say 'sick em' to."

But the major reason for the conflict in your life is the second most powerful person in the world—Satan. He’s real and he’s out to stop everything that God wants to do with your life. Before you knew Christ, you were in Satan’s family, and he was pleased because you were on your way to hell. He didn’t bother you at all. He didn’t have to. At that point you had conflict, only you were in conflict with God himself!

When you became a Christian, Satan lost you. You were delivered from his family and born into God’s family. That put you on God’s side and guaranteed that you would be in conflict with God’s archenemy. Satan can’t have you, but he has another plan. He is dedicated to ruining your life as a Christian and embarrassing God by thwarting everything that Jesus died for. That’s why it is so important for you to become like Jesus. When you don’t, you play right into Satan’s hands!

But all of Satan’s attacks on you have one thing in common. They are all based on a lie. John 8:4 says that the Devil is a liar and the father of lies. Any offer he makes is an empty illusion! He can’t and won’t make a good and true offer!

Satan’s strategy for bringing you down usually comes in one of five attacks. There’s a flesh and blood example of each one in the New Testament. In each case, Jesus always helps people face their conflicts squarely, and he gives an answer. This summer we're going to look at these examples of Satan’s attacks.

Breaking Up

*Where Is the Love?

Look up the following passages on love. Read them and then ask how they relate to dating and breaking up.

1. Matthew 22:36-39
2. Matthew 5:43-47
3. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, 13
4. 1 John 4:7-8

Answers: 1. Love your neighbor; 2. Love your enemies; 3. Love is the greatest; 4. Love comes from God

How can you respond in a loving way in a breakup instead of with hatred.

Challenge

Breaking Up

Can you think of a couple who has broken up recently. how many of you have had the experience yourselves? It’s no fun when it happens to you.

• What are some reasons for the breakups you have observed or experienced?
• How do couples break up? What lines are used?
• Can people who used to be serious be "just friends" after a breakup? Why or why not? How?

Read Matthew 7:12. Exercise the "Golden Rule" in your dating relationships, especially when you break up.

Respect

Read John 13:35. Read 1 Corinthians 13 and other passages about love. How are these passages relate to dating. Each person is responsible, before God, for his or her actions; that is, as Christians we must obey God, and Christian love is an action, not a feeling. Respect for each other is not optional, it is a requirement, and that it is active, not passive. Write the words or phrases from the Bible that apply directly to you in their relationships with members of the opposite sex. You may have to go to certain people and ask for forgiveness; certainly your actions must change.

The Pain

1. Often we set ourselves up for painful breakups because we...
   • rush into relationships.
   • expect too much—are unrealistic or make too many demands.
   • commit ourselves too soon.
   • don’t allow the relationship to grow.
   • get involved in an unbalanced relationship—emotional release, heavy sex, etc.
2. Instead, we should...
   • proceed slowly.
   • become friends first—get to know the other person.
   • date a variety of people in a variety of situations.
   • be honest about our feelings and take it a day at a time.
   • resist using the other person to meet our needs or playing on their emotions.
3. And, most important of all, we should let Christ control this area of our lives by...
   • committing each boyfriend or girlfriend and situation to him.
   • acting in love toward our dates.
   • responding in love after any breakup.

Motives

1. Matthew 23:25-28
   • Whom is Jesus addressing? (answer: the Pharisees)
   • Who were the Pharisees? (answer: Religious leaders in Jesus' day who prided themselves on their spirituality.)
   • Why does Jesus call them "whitewashed tombs" in verse 27? (answer: They look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean.)
   • What else do you learn about the Pharisees from the surrounding verses? (answers: v. 5—Everything they do is done for men to see; v. 6—they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; v. 7—they love to be greeted in the marketplace; etc.)
   • What were the Pharisees real motives for being so religious? (answers: popularity, power, position, pride)
   • When have you acted like a "Pharisee?"
2. Matthew 6:1-18
   • Read verses 1-4. Ask: How does this teaching of Jesus relate to his blasting of the Pharisees? (answer: Jesus is condemning the practice of religion that is all show and no substance.)
   • Skim verses 5-15 and then read verses 15-18. Ask: What are some differences and similarities between these two sections? (vv. 1-4 and 16-18) (answer: Fasting, like prayer, should be done to honor God, not to impress people. It will result in a heavenly reward, instead of the earthly reward of praise.)
   • Jesus gives the Lord’s Prayer in the midst of his explanation that a person must do good for the right reasons. Ask: What is the significance of this? (answer: Prayer should be sincere effort to talk with God, not religious ritual. Jesus gives a clear example of what constitutes honest prayer.) How can the Lord’s Prayer help us do the right things for the right reasons?

Anger

Last Wed. Night was Great! I hope you got your fill of pizza, soda and Gods word. You all did a wonderful job looking up Bible verses and talking about anger. Here are some of the questions we asked and some of the responses you gave.

• What does Ephesians 4:26-27 say about anger? We will feel angry at times, but we can control ourselves so that anger doesn’t cause us to sin.
• Is anger good or bad? How can you be sure? Anger itself isn’t good or bad. Jesus felt angry toward sin. What makes anger positive or negative is how we act upon it.
• What does it mean not to allow the sun to go down on your anger? To deal with it right away.
• What does it mean that Jesus felt anger? Anger can be an appropriate response to evil or sin.
• What kind of life does anger produce? An unrighteous life.
• What is the secret of being "slow to become angry"? Talk less; listen more; wait before responding in a flash of anger.
• How do you square this passage with the fact that Jesus got angry? Jesus did not live in a state of constant anger, nor did he let anger control him. He sometimes felt angry and responded with control. He was slow to become angry, and so should we.
• According to these verses, what can anger cause us to do? It can cause us to lose control and do evil things we would not normally do.
• When have you seen anger affect someone’s life in a negative way?
• According to these verses, what are some practical ways to stop anger in our lives before it even gets started? Be patient; overlook offenses; don’t make friends with hot-tempered people.
• When have you seen these principles work in real life?
  
  I look forward to next Wednesday night March 26th @ 6:30 upstairs, when we will continue to look at anger and how to handle it God's way.
  
  In His humble service,
  Todd
  

March Madness (week 2) upstairs March 19th

John 10:14-20 says,

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. ¹⁷ The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

¹⁹ At these words the Jews were again divided. ²⁰ Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?”

²¹ But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

Jesus tells us he is the good Shepard. Jesus wants a relationship with us, yet we resist that relationship. We would rather run with the wolves, feeding off of the very sheep Jesus loves. We mingle with them, we play with them, we nip at their hooves. Then we turn and attack, devouring the love ones of Christ. You are not a wolf! I you have not made a decision for Christ, what is holding you back? You are a sheep, in wolves clothing. You are loved by God, and He sent His Son Jesus to die for your sins, because He loves you. Trust in Him, and He will open your blind eyes to reveal a path of forgiveness, and grace. You are a sheep, don't be deceived by the wolf.

Please join us Wed. March 19th @ 6:30pm upstairs for more on shedding the wolves and following the good Shepard.

Todd Ledbetter
Life Development Director
Ventura Community Church

March Madness

What is it that drives you mad? Anger, disobedience, jealousy, lust, authority? This month we will look at what drives us crazy and how we can learn from God’s word to fight the evil forces that tempt us and lead a life that is God honoring and blessed. Bring a friend and don’t miss a week of this awesome series.