Man vs Mandate
Luke 4:1-13 (New Living Translation)
1) Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2) where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.
3) Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.”
4) But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’[b]”
5) Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6) “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. 7) I will give it all to you if you will worship me.”
8) Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say,
‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.'
9) Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! 10 For the Scriptures say,
‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you. 11 And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”
12 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”
13 When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.
1) Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2) where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.
3) Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.”
4) But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’[b]”
5) Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6) “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. 7) I will give it all to you if you will worship me.”
8) Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say,
‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.'
9) Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! 10 For the Scriptures say,
‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you. 11 And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”
12 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”
13 When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.
As I sat watching news coverage tonight of preinauguration celebrations and recaps of the last 8 years of the Bush administration, the news commentator made a statement, one that caused a reaction within me. He said "do we turn our backs on things just because we do not want to ruffle people's feathers or do we do what is right even when it is hard, difficult or unpopular." He said "is it "man or mandate?" Those words rung in my ears, stinging the very fibers of my being, for it made me think of how many times I personally had chose to close my mouth even when I knew something was wrong, unethical or not in God's will just to keep down conflict or keep myself from being looked at in a particular way.
Looking back I remember when I went on my first Temporary Duty Assignment, and we had to attend a briefing and in this briefing the sentiment "what goes TDY stays TDY" was said and meant. I did not quite understand the magnitude of that statement and what events besides the obvious could not be discussed when we returned from our duties away from our home duty station. I soon found out that when compromise, standards are lessened and vows are broken, it is mans law (the law of sin and death) that has preeminence over God's law. When God gives us a standard to uphold a mandate to carry out and we choice our will, our desires, and our nature over His we choose to satisfy the flesh and we grieve the spirit. We become the author or our destiny and the destiny of those we encounter. If we had chosen to carry out God's mandate for our lives and uphold the standard that God is calling for, then we are dying to the flesh, to man and living to the spirit of God, we are allowing God His rightful place as Lord, Savior and author of all we do.
As we watch a new President take office and as he is sworn in and sworn to uphold the constitution and the mandates of the job of President, think in that moment if He decided not to, what would happen in those moments, of willful disobedience and man controlled events? How would his decision making effect you and I? Likewise, in our lives what happens when we fall into willful disobedience, and we choose us over Him (God), what do our lives become, and how does it effect others. Today is a great day to choose the mandate that God has for your life, the one that carries out obedience and upholds the standard of God in our lives and the things we do. The Mandate that brings honor God and order to us.
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