Chapter 22 - Temptations

Chapter 22 used 7 Bible passages to illuminate the subject of “Temptations”, as follows:


1 Corinthians 10:11-21
Matthew 4:1-11
James 1:2-4
Mark 14:66-72
Matthew 16:21-24
Hebrews 2:10-18
1 Peter 2:19-25

Prayer:

“To share his victory we must share in his suffering. And this includes sharing in his temptations. Temptations can serve to strengthen us as they strengthened Jesus. Inquire of him how you might benefit in such circumstances.”

Hymn:


The hymn for Chapter 22 was “Yield Not to Temptation” by Horatio R. Palmer. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)


Meditation Selections:


The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Abraham Joshua Heschel, Ernest Boyer, Jr., George Fox, M. Basil Pennington, Elizabeth O’Connor, James Stewart, Thomas Merton, Hannah Whitall Smith and Thomas à Kempis. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)



Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:


· “We do not refuse to pray; we abstain from it. We ring the hollow bell of selfishness rather than absorb the stillness that surrounds the world… the secret stillness that precedes our birth and succeeds our death. …Why do we not set apart an hour of living for devotion to God by surrendering to stillness?”

· “…the soul is matured only in battles. And when temptations started up again he did not pray that the struggle be taken from him, but only said: Lord, give me strength to get through the fight.”

· “We are programmed to see temptations as something evil: Lead us not into temptation. It comes as a bit of a surprise then when we read in St. Matthew’s Gospel: ‘Jesus was led by the Spirit out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.’ This is not quite what we would expect the Holy Spirit to do.”

· “These are moments God uses to put in the heart and the mouth the question, ‘Is there another way?’ …from learning there are two ways – one that leads to death and one to life – it does not follow that we enter by the narrow gate. The facts about the gate are starkly simple. One, it leads to life…Two, it is a hard way, and Three, few find it. …We do not ask for courage, because we do not know we have need of it. …This is where the religious lose out on the Kingdom. They assume that because they are aware of the two ways, and because they have chosen the second, they are on it. This is to fall comfortably into the sleep of the crowd again. It may well be a ‘religious’ crowd, but it is nonetheless a crowd.”

· “How did the story come to be in the Gospels at all? The Master’s fight with Satan happened out in a desert, far from the beaten track and the eyes of men. …Jesus was utterly alone… Clearly there is only one explanation: the story came direct from the lips of Christ himself. Why did Jesus tell it? …First, Jesus shared this experience with his disciples in order to help them through their own tempted hours. …second, …the titanic struggle of the desert days and nights had marked his soul forever… He could see and feel it … as if it happened only yesterday … the grace of God and the angels that had brought him through.”

· “Christian life is to be throughout a warfare. …temptations generally increase in strength tenfold after we have entered into the interior life, rather than decrease. …Strong temptations are generally a sign of great grace, rather than of little grace.”

· “…Let us, therefore, humble our souls under the hand of God in all temptations and tribulations, for the humble in spirit He will save and exalt.”

What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 22 not quoted) mean to you?



Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).

Thanks for your participation.

John