A tourist came too close to the edge of the Grand Canyon, lost his footing and tumbled over the edge, clawing and scratching to save himself.  After he went out of sight and just before he fell into space, he encountered a scrubby bush which he desperately grabbed with both hands.  Filled with terror, he called out to heaven, “Is there anyone up there?”  A calm, powerful voice came out of the sky, “Yes, there is.”  The tourist pleaded, “Can you help me?  Can you help me?”  The calm voice replied, “Yes, I probably can.  What is your problem?”  “I fell over a cliff and am dangling in space holding to a bush that’s about to let go.  Please help me!”  The voice from above said, “I’ll try.  Do you believe?”  “Yes!  Yes, I believe!”  “Do you have faith?”  “Yes, yes, I have strong faith!”  The calm voice said, “Well, in that case,  simply let go of the bush and everything will work out fine.”  There was a tense pause, then the tourist yelled, “Is there anyone else up there?”

         God’s faithfulness is without question.  And yet, not matter what lengths God goes to prove God’s faithfulness, we always find a reason to doubt.  We forget all the things that God has done in the past and question God’s willingness to provide for us today.  That typically leaves a huge question mark around God’s faithfulness about the things for tomorrow.

         The most tempting temptation we face is distrusting God as our provider and our sustainer.  Without trust in God’s faithfulness, we spend our entire lives questioning — not only God’s faithfulness — but questioning our ability to fully trust God, wasting our lives dancing between life and death instead of trusting God, even in the most dire circumstances.

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Almighty God, teach me to trust in Your faithfulness in even the most dire circumstances of life. Help me to remember the ways you’ve been there in the past as an example of how You’ve always been there.

         Who we are is important.  Not who other people say we are, but who we say we are — who we claim to be at our core.  And when people question our identity — when they question our claim as children of God, it’s not our identity alone their questioning.  They’re questioning our faith.  They’re questioning our connection to a power and source beyond our human connections.  When they question who we are as children of God, they are — in some very real ways — questioning the reality of God and our handle on reality.  And for many people unfamiliar with Scripture, using Scripture to prove our point or to assure others of our correctness is irrelevant.  No amount of argument no matter how true the facts are will convince others to believe who we are.

          The reality is that most people have made up their minds about who we are before we’ve had an opportunity to tell them or to display our identity.  Sometimes it’s because of the people we hang out with — they judged Jesus because he hung out with sinners and tax collectors.  But not everyone judged him based on his relationship to God.  Not everyone judged him because he healed the sick.  He was accused numerous times of being something and someone he wasn’t because people already had their minds made up.

          One of our most tempting temptations is to judge people prematurely or based on what someone else has told us.  And many times, our judgments are subjective and not objective.  Besides if we are who we say we are, it will be borne out by the fruit we produce.  But having integrity about who we are will not stop people from avoiding the tempting temptation to make judgments about others.  The most important thing is to know who we are and to live a life that leaves people without questions about who we claim to be.

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Loving God, encourage me to cling to my identity as your child, living my life that leaves others with questions about who I claim to be.

         The temptations that we face are not unusual.  Life is filled with temptations of every kind.  They’re designed to disrupt our relationship with God and each other.  They’re designed to steal our dignity, kill our hope, and destroy our relationship with God.  But such is the nature of temptation.  It seems to know exactly where our weaknesses are and the exact moment we are most vulnerable.  And yet our saving grace comes because we have a high priest — Jesus Christ — who has been tempted in every way we have.  When his identity as the Son of God was called into question, he didn’t deny it but leaned into who he knew he was.  When he faced hunger and was tempted by the word of God to deny his humanity and use his divine power to satisfy his human needs, he used God’s word to avoid the trap of temptation.  When the word of God was used to compel him to test his God, he was used the God’s word to refute the temptation and remain faithful to God.  When he was tempted to choose another god to serve, He chose instead to remain faithful to his God.

         We are all faced with those tempting temptations — to satisfy our human needs, to test God in our seasons of doubt, and to serve other gods laid before us to destroy our relationship with God.  Those are some of the most tempting temptations we will face.  And yet, it is the mercy or our loving God who comes to experience life the way we experience it and then offers us a grace that leads to our salvation.  Praise our God and our Christ for considering our human weaknesses and offering us forgiveness and life.

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Merciful God, I thank you for the depth of understanding that frees me from feeling alone when I’m overcome by life’s temptations. Knowing that you have experienced the same thing comforts me in your grace and compassion.