The FEC Daily

Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ Matthew 4:7

Those of you that knew me in high school probably remember that I wasn’t the best of student back then. I would often forget to study for a test, forget my homework, and so on. Last minute cramming for tests was the norm for me. Looking back, I have to say, I had a pretty good strategy for just “getting by.” (Please know that if your child has ever been in my youth ministry, I have never recommended this strategy to your child!)

The morning of the test, I would find the smartest person I knew to catch me up on the subject. I knew my only chance at passing the tests was to learn from someone that passed with flying colors. None of us want advice from someone who fails at something constantly … we want to learn from the ones who are masters at the subject.

In this section of Matthew 4, we’re seeing a parallel between Jesus and Israel. Jesus, the son of God, was just led into the wilderness to be tempted for 40 days and 40 nights right after His baptism. Think back with me for a moment to the book of Exodus. Israel, “the firstborn son of God (Exodus 4:22-23),” was led through the Red Sea; afterwards, they experience 40 years in the wilderness.”

Here’s the point:
Two people were faced with similar tests…. 1 failed… 1 passed…

Where Israel fell short in their wilderness experience, Jesus was faithful in His!

I think we can all agree that we all have had “wilderness experiences” where we feel like we are being tempted from every direction. Whatever wilderness experience or temptation you are experiencing in your life right now, I want to remind you that we are to look to the example of Jesus on how we should weather the storm.

Just as the first temptation, (we’re on the 2nd of 3 temptations from the devil) Jesus responds and rebukes Satan using scripture. The power of God’s word always conquers the accuser. This time, however, it’s directed to Satan after he tries to misuse God’s word against Jesus.

Unfortunately, taking God’s word out of context and misusing it to fit a certain agenda is still a common practice today. However, this will never lead to victory! If we want to be “overcomers” and have victory over the temptation in our lives, we must look to the One who passed the “test” and cling to His word! Jesus knew the power of His word! He knew there was no need to “put God to the test” because he is always faithful, and His word is always true!

I want to encourage you today to begin to dive deeper into the Bible. Become a student of God’s word! There are many false teachings out there, and it is vital for you and your families to have a firm foundation of what the Bible really teaches!

-Taylor

4/30/24

Matt 4:4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”

Jesus had been fasting for forty days and nights when the devil came to tempt Him to use His power as the Son of God to turn the stones into loaves of bread. In Matt 4:4 Christ quoted from Deut 8:3 “So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna…that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.”

I cannot even begin to imagine how hungry and thirsty Jesus must have been after fasting for forty days and nights. Yet, He defeated Satan by quoting from God’s Word. I have found this is a great way to keep the devil in his place. I encourage you to follow Christ’s example and quote from the Bible when temptation comes. This is a great way to resist the devil and solicit God’s help.

One of my fondest memories growing up is of going to my grandparent’s house in Knoxville, Georgia when I was a little boy. Grandma made biscuits very early most every morning. The biscuits left over from breakfast were put on top of the stove. When our family would arrive from out of town later in the day us kids would immediately go into the kitchen…get a biscuit from the stove…poke a hole into the top of it…grab the used Maxwell House coffee can sitting on the counter filled with home-made cane syrup…pour some syrup into the hole and eat at least one syrup filled biscuit. They were so yummy to my tummy!

If you had asked me at that time, I would have told you that I could happily live on biscuits and syrup alone! Now, I am thankful to say I have learned that I live my best life when I strive to live a life that is based on every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord! I have found God’s Word to meet every need of my heart and life. I hope you have as well.  I encourage you to read the Bible, feed on it, stand on it, rest on it and believe in it. Place your full trust in God and His Word. He will not let you down.

Pastor Tim

Matthew 3:15

  “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”

Jesus wants me to baptize Him? Shouldn’t He baptize me? Will I lose credibility with my followers now that Jesus is here? These people are here to hear from me? What do I do now that Jesus is here? ….. I can only imagine the thoughts that were running through John the Baptist’s head. All of these years he had been preparing the way and now he is face to face with everything he has been preaching and hoping for. Standing with the One he just prophesied about…. The One who “is coming after me”, the One whose sandals he wasn’t even worthy to carry. And now….. Jesus wants John to baptize him? Well this is awkward…. It reminds of when someone applies for a job and is clearly over qualified.

But Jesus doesn’t allow the social norms to define Him. He twists things up a bit. …

Here we see Jesus set the table for things to come. He literally becomes flesh, experiences temptation, and even allows another human being to baptize Him, fully knowing that John is not worthy to even wear His shoes. Talk about humility and obedience…all to fulfill his purpose and to fulfill righteousness.

Obedience floods this story- from both John and Jesus. Both of them humble themselves for the sake of obedience. Both of them disregard social norms for the sake of obedience and we begin to see things like never before! Only things that come from obedience to the Lord!

I think we could all agree that the Lord calls us to go against the grain, to be obedient when it doesn’t all make sense. What does that look like in your life? What is Jesus asking you to do? Is it a a simple invite to church to a non-Christian? Is it time to extend grace and forgiveness to someone who, by the world’s standards, does not deserve grace. Maybe, just maybe, if we humble ourselves before the Lord and begin to be obedient in what He asks of us, then we will be begin to see things like never before!

-Taylor

Welcome to the FEC Daily! We’re excited to begin a new journey with you all! Our hope and prayer for this devotional blog post is to connect deeper with God’s word! We believe that God’s word is “God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16)” and can be applied in each and everyone of our lives! Wow! What a God we serve!

Starting Monday, April 29th, we will begin posting a devotional blog Monday-Friday. We will have different people posting the devotionals, but will mostly be written by our pastoral staff here at FEC.

Our plan is to begin in the book of Matthew and explore the teachings of Jesus. If your Bible is like mine, those teachings are written in red, so each day we will look at a new teaching. Ultimately, we pray that this would be an encouragement for further reading and study for you and your families!

Do us a favor and subscribe below, and you will receive the daily posts in your inbox! We’d love for you to share with a friend too! As we begin this new journey, please be patient with us at first as we work out any “kinks”!

Lastly, we’d love for you to use the comment section below. Feel free to post prayer requests, praise reports, and any further thoughts to the posts.

Again, we’re excited and looking forward to begin this with you!

In Christ,

-Taylor Carter