Grace and peace from our Lord Jesus Christ! Welcome to „Daily Word for Spiritual Edification”! Yesterday we saw that if we as God’s ambassadors want to have power and strong foundation for our witness, then in our lives we must reflect the life, the power and the nature of Christ. If we as Christ’s ambassadors set the goal to glorify God in our lives, then God will help us in it. It says in the Bible that Jesus was the first ambassador of Christ on earth. The life of Jesus is an example for us of how to fulfil our mission as Christ’s ambassadors. The Bible tells us that Jesus was tempted in everything, but He did not sin. The Gospel of Luke shows us how devil tempted Jesus:
« Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. 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 Lordyour God.’ » (Luke, 4:1-12).
Jesus was tempted, but He did not sin. Jesus knew what temptation was. He knew what it meant to live in this world. Jesus knows how to go through pain and sufferings: «For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted» (Hebrews, 2:18).
And since Jesus has been tempted, He knows how to help us in our temptations. We must realize that the devil will tempt us daily, just as he tempted Him. The devil expects us to give up during temptations and sin. This is because he knows that if we start sinning, we as Christ’s ambassadors will lose our flavour. Any ambassador of Christ that loses his or her saltiness becomes weak and useless. However, even if you fall and sin, you can rise up again; you can become strong again if you confess your sin and repent of your ways. Praise God that He is full of forgiveness and He able to restore us and raise us up again even after a fall; He helps us to get back to fulfilling our role and function as God’s ambassadors on earth, as the salt and the light for our society. You should not forget that you are God’s ambassadors on earth. When you face a problem or a difficult situation, think of what Jesus would have done if He were in a similar situation. This will help you. Christ is the One we represent on this earth. Think of what He would say, how He would solve the problem, how He would go through the situation you are facing today. If you think about like Christ thinks and you develop or grow in the nature of God, then you will become a strong and influential ambassador of God in your sphere of influence; you will ‘salty’ and you will be bright light in this world. Our destiny as God’s children is to be the light for this world and the salt of the earth. As the light we are able to shine only when we allow God’s Word to rule our lives. It says in the Bible that it is the entrance of His word that brings light to our hearts. We will continue about it tomorrow. Be blessed! Pastor Rufus Ajiboye
