PASTOR JOHN COLLINS DAILY THOUGHT:
Counting the cost, Jesus and the Cross
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| The devil did to Jesus what he did to Eve, twisted the words of God. We need to be aware of our faith and our unbelief, and we have Jesus to help us. Pastor John Collins, John Collins Ministries |
God sent His Son, Jesus to us. Jesus came as human, to
live among humans, to show people how to live righteously (doing the right thing).
The first humans were Adam and Eve. Satan had been cast from heaven
before God created Adam and Eve because Satan thought he was better than God;
he was jealous of what God created and in his continued war against God, he
continues to take as much as he can. When Jesus came as human, Satan
tempted Him as he did Eve, as he does us. Jesus, in His weakness, showed
us that it is possible to stand against Satan and all that he uses to claim us
and take us away from God. From Pastor John Collins, Evangelist and John
Collins Ministries, remember what it cost Jesus to give us hope against what
Satan throws at us. Don't take Him or your faith for granted.
From Pastor John Collins, Evangelist:
“And the devil said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread. But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”
Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”
Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” Luke 4:3-12 (NKJV).
These are the temptations that Jesus was tempted with. It is
interesting to take note of the temptations and the responses that Jesus gave.
Satan tempted with scripture. The devil did to Jesus what he had done to Eve
which is to twist things to his benefit and lure. Jesus responded with
scripture as well and that is what I would like for you to take note of. There
were three temptations and three responses.
Since Jesus had not eaten in 40 days, he was very hungry.
Satan said to turn the stones to bread, which brought the response that man
shall not live by bread alone but by every word of God. This was a temptation
for the bodies’ natural desires. Hunger, shelter, passion, love, and all of our
base desires should never be given into when it compromises our relationship
with God. We need to trust that when we put God first, He will provide what we
need, maybe not what we want but what we need.
Satan then offered Jesus authority and power over the
kingdoms of the world if Jesus would worship Satan. Jesus responded by rebuking
Satan and reminding him that only God is to he worshipped and served. We should
never desire power and status. We need to be careful of what is offered to us
and at what cost. That big promotion, the company car, the stock tip, the
client who is not so honest but will bring big bucks and you can fill in the
blanks on the possible exchange of status and your soul. We must make sure that
any advancement that we are given in life comes along side our worship of God.
We must put our faith first because when we choose to give in to the desires of
moving up in this world without God, we are choosing to place our material
wants along with our craving authority in our own right above our desire for
God and Jesus.
Satan then tells Jesus from the top of the temple to throw
Himself down and trust that the angels will catch Him. Jesus responds with the
truth that you shall not tempt God. Oh, this is a doozy. So many of us are
guilty of this. I believe that the apathy that society has for God has led to
more and more tempting of Him. People just don’t fear God anymore. People say
things out loud that are tempting God and they do things that are tempting Him
as well. We need to be aware of our words and our actions, that they do not
tempt God, especially His wrath because of unbelief or doubt. Every idle word
will be accounted for.
Take note of how you think of God and Jesus. Take seriously
your faith. Don’t take for granted your time here on earth and most
importantly, get your priorities straight. Get on your knees and pray with
sincerity. Take the time to become a disciple of Christ. Don’t assume anything
because you never want to get lazy in your faith.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed
Me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set
at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the
Lord.” Luke 4:18-19 (NKJV).
Love That Cross, Pastor John Collins
Pastor John Collins and John
Collins Ministries are determined to change the face of Christianity and
redeem the truth of the Gospel and the word of God.
You can hear Pastor
John Collins broadcast on AM and FM stations across the USA. John Collins
Ministries has a Youtube channel that posts regular podcasts of Pastor
Collins. John
Collins Ministries has a channel on Blogtalk
radio. This country needs to hear the truth of God and Jesus. This
world needs to hear and understand what the rules are in order to get to
heaven. They aren’t preached and they aren’t taught, and it’s time for
people to hear to hear that truth. Pastor
John Collins and John Collins Ministries is bringing that message with
passion and fervor. Take the time to listen. If you want to reach
Pastor John Collins, contact him for preaching, prayer, revival, guest speaking
at jcollinsministries@gmail.com. We need to get it right.
photo courtesy of Google images
