Rev Gav
Focus
Luke 4:5-8
5 Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. 7 I will give it all to you if you will worship me.”
8 Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say,
‘You must worship the Lord your God
and serve only him.’”
Reflect
Jesus was in the wilderness being tempted by the devil. In this second temptation, the devil offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and the temptation was for Jesus to give his loyalty to the devil and not to his Father God.
Worship is giving worth to something and we might even call it ‘worth-ship’. It is very tempting for us to want to give worth or cling to something other than God. Sadly, some of these things look like Jesus and they become ‘the thing’. There are even people in the church that are clinging onto things other than Jesus Christ, and they find it difficult to let go. Why? Because it is scary to let go of things that feel as if they give you security. To take the hand of Jesus you first have to let go of everything else and there are all sorts of people and things that people hold on to, for example, self-help books, wads of cash, cars, dreams, traditions, people, and institutions.
In the same way that Jesus clung to the command of God to worship only him, we are to do the same thing. The gospel asks us to let go of everything and to keep our eyes fixed on God. We are not to let the things of this world claim the focus of our hearts and minds.
Do
Today, what things might God be asking you to let go of? Say sorry to God for anything you have been worshipping other than God, and tell God that you are going to put God first over everything else in your life.
Pray
Holy God
Forgive me when I have
loved things more than you;
and when I have given my worship
to something or someone else.
I choose to put you first in my life;
over my thoughts, words and actions;
over my time, skills and talents;
over my relationships and possessions;
and over my needs, wants and dreams.
This day and for ever.
Amen.
Think
It is not just individuals that find their security in things other than God, communities can do it too. What things distract a church community and take their eyes away from God?
