Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Hello, dear ones.

The day is off and running…which is what I need to be doing too. I just don’t want to be running off—off course, that is. I wish, however, I was able to turn off the rain…as more is predicted to come today…which is sure messing up our time-line plans for installing this mural frame.

Have a great day with your own list of challenges and problem-solving.

Love, Dad/Ray

Temptation is a fact of life in this fallen world. It is like an essential negative attraction that confirms an essential positive choice. Our ancestors, Adam and Eve, set themselves, along with their offspring, on a course of negative consequence to their “falling into temptation” (Romans 5:12). Without the redemptive grace of God, we would all be in hopeless trouble.

Notice that Jesus does not say, “Pray that you will not be tempted.” And He is not prescribing a blanket prayer heavily laden with a request like, “Lord, please keep me from falling into temptation.” Rather, I think He is prescribing a principle of Christian victory that could be paraphrased this way: “Maintain prayer (close personal relationship with God) as a preventive measure against temptation.”

Allow me to extract a phrase out of verse 44: “…being in anguish, he prayed…” That too can be made into a standard to live by. Temptation has the subtle deceptive influence to draw us away from a close relationship with our Lord. Typically temptation influences us to pray less. But this standard directs us to pray more. So the practical rule could go this way: “WHEN FACING THE TEMPTATION TO ANGUISH, INCREASE PRAYER.”

Psalm 19:14 is a good example of a prayer to pray and principle to pursue: “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my Redeemer.” I would argue that you and I can hardly go very far off course in the direction of falling into temptation and evil while sincerely praying this quality of prayer. It’s an attitude of heart and mind that acknowledges, “I am entirely transparent before you, my Sovereign Maker and Lord, and I am entirely foolish to think I could hide anything from You. With all the sincerity I can muster I affirm my desire to bring every thought and idea within me into ‘obedience to Christ’ (2 Corinthians 10:5). But I can’t do it by myself—I need Your grace, discernment, and strength.”

Peter is presented in this reading as a real-life example of this principle. He had to be an emotional basket case by the time he followed the procession into the courtyard of the High Priest where Jesus was held under arrest and abused. Talk about anguish! Jesus had just rebuked him for getting out his sword with the intent of taking on the whole mob. But now?—what does he do?! I’ll guarantee he wasn’t doing much praying. So it was easy to “fall into temptation.” He fell three times—plunk, plop, splat! Then the rooster crowed. But, thank God, he didn’t stay there. He finally did the right thing and went out and wept—and prayed.