Angels

 
    Do you really believe in angels?  They exist and are mentioned in many books of the Bible. 

    This mini-Bible study is from Luke 4:1-13 The temptation of Jesus or Jesus and the devil. It is paralleled in Matthew 4:1-11. and it is mentioned in Mark1:12-13. This is immediately following the Baptism of Jesus and we as Christians have 40 days of Lent to commemorate this event in Jesus' life.

    God is definitely telling us there are angels and devils (fallen angels) in the world. In this passage Jesus suffers the pain of hunger and solitude to the limits of human endurance. Jesus could have taken over the world and cast the devil out. This is a lesson on our temptations and yes, we suffer. But God does not abandon us.  God is also telling us that He allowed the tempting of His own Son. Then how with our mind can we understand God? Remember that if you read this at different times, it can give you a different meaning.  What has changed is you – and your age, how you feel, what has lately happened to you, etc.

Luke 4:1-13
1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness
2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry.
3 The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."
4 And Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone.'"
5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time,
6 and said to him, "To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will.
7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours."
8 And Jesus answered him, "It is written, "'You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.'"
9 And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,
10 for it is written, "'He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,'
11 and "'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'"
12 And Jesus answered him, "It is said 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

    You were created greater than the angels(after baptism), so why do your fear the devil? He cannot take your soul, but you can give it to him. It is the desires of the body that lead us into temptation. But temptation itself is not a sin, just the accepting the temptation. Remember in the Lord's prayer “and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation.” The Lord knows that we at times will fail in temptation, and supplies the answer to being righteous again.  That answer is by the grace Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and our belief in Him.

    I pray to the Lord that you will obey Him and listen for His messenger to encourage you to resist temptation so that you are a true child of God.  Amen.