Wednesday—June 5 • Despising Sin
I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion. To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. Proverbs 8:12-13 I remember a conversation with a Christian leader who was having a tremendous impact in our community. I watched him for a few years, and my respect grew. I found myself saying to him, “As you continue to be faithful in the work you are doing, I would not be surprised if God used you in a much larger leadership role.” He expressed appreciation. Then I found myself half kidding him, saying, “But it also would not surprise me if I were to get a call next week saying you had left your wife and run off with another woman.” He graciously laughed, but my teasing comment did hold a warning. I am astonished at how many men
have given every indication that they were walking with the Lord, and then suddenly I heard that they had done a stupid thing that made a shipwreck of their faith. Many men do not finish well, and I see a simple reason for that—we don’t fear sin. We must understand that fearing the Lord automatically requires that we despise sin and fear its consequences. MIMBS 6 Looking at the verse from Proverbs and examining your own life, do you hate evil and despise sin? Have you become complacent to sin and lost your fear of its consequences? Daily Reading: 2 Samuel 23:24– 24:25, Acts 3:1–26, Psalm 123:1–4, Proverbs 16:21–23
Thursday—June 6 • Hope of Victory Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Matthew 4:1
Why would God’s Spirit compel Jesus to go into the wilderness with the intention of subjecting him to Satan’s temptation? To answer that question, you must consider that Jesus’ purpose was redemption. The world is a hostile place where men do what seems right in their own eyes. The end result of that is chaos and bondage. Jesus entered our world so He could free it from the stranglehold of sin. John 3:16 tells us that God loved the world so much, even in its wasted condition, that He was motivated to give His only son. That’s a fierce love on God’s part. And His purpose was so that anyone who believed in Jesus would not be devoured, but would have everlasting life.
God’s fierce love motivated every part of Jesus’ earthly ministry, including this wilderness temptation. Jesus did it for you. As we study His experience, we will find comfort in his victory. But we also will find a strategy for our own wilderness experiences, when we must face temptation. Jesus’ example gives us the hope of victory. MIMBS 6 What comfort do you find in the fact that Jesus was tempted? Daily Reading: 1 Kings 1:1–53, Acts 4:1–37, Psalm 124:1–8, Proverbs 16:24
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