The Tempter

Went to the gym yesterday. Doing something to burn off a couple pounds, keep myself strong to fight off muscle strains/pulls and sickness. I was there about two hours. Do I do the same in my spiritual life, or do I "just don't have enough time"?

Scripture

Matthew 4:3 The temper came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread".

Observation

My mind went lots of different directions when I read this and what I first saw and heard is that "The temper will always come". Warren paraphrased. He came after Jesus, he is going to come after me. My mind quickly went to 1 Peter 5:8 where the bible says, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." You know I feel like I am a good person, how will tempted today? Yesterday, in church, the sermon was from Number 11, about a complaining spirit. Maybe today I will be tempted to complain about my "lot", compared to others and not embrace the vast blessings God has lathered me with, maybe I will be jealous about the big boat and Cadillac sitting in my neighbors driveway, maybe I will speak words of strife and discord to a stranger for cutting me off in traffic, etc; my point is that the tempter will always come in one form or another, and the question is, "Am I trained to see the tempter for what he is, am I trained to combat him in hand to hand battle, do I spend more or less time training for the spiritual battle I know is coming then I do at the gym training this physical body which is going to fall apart anyway. Which one gets priority?

Application

1 Timothy 4:7 tells me to "Train Myself". So the practical question is how. How do I train? Just as each person reacts differently to physical training and has a different routine, so it is with spiritual training. What I mean is that if all I do is sit-ups, then there are 100's of other muscles which are being ignored and will weaken. Ask the spiritual trainer what "routine" you should do today, he knows what is going to happen today, and the best way to prepare for it. I may start with "Word Warmups", then move into "Prayer Pumps" and then "Listening Lifting" and then "Praise Pushes" and then "Meditation Muscle Flex". The biggest struggle is getting there. Most people just do not want to go to the gym, and the same is with this training, but it is a must because the tempter is coming. So when I get to the spiritual gym, I need to let my trainer guide me to the machine that will provide me with the strength training for that day/moment.

Prayer

Father, Thank you for the word that gives me warning. You have not left me here without telling me what is going to happen. But not only what is going to happen, but you have given me the tools to overcome the struggles of today. You have given me Jesus, the over comer of all. You have given me your Holy Spirit so you can talk to me. You have asked me to train myself, so I submit myself to you for training. Train me in ways which will strengthen your kingdom here on earth. Train me in ways so that when the tempter comes my way, I will recognize it, know it, understand how to defend against it and give you the praise for providing me with all things.