Fall 1994

ARTICLE TOOLS

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When Jesus was baptized and, led of the Spirit, went into the desert to find Satan, he dragged Satan from behind his rock and put his heel on him. Satan was not stalking Jesus; Jesus was stalking Satan. Jesus wanted us to know he'd overcome the Enemy and temptation. There have been days in ministry when I needed to know that.

When I married my husband, Stuart, he was not a pastor. Only later did he abandon his first career for ministry. Now, after more than thirty-five years as a ministry spouse, I can say it's tough not to lose heart in ministry. Satan is after our hearts, our ministries, and our marriages. He is, to be blunt, after us.

Saying the hard things about ministry is like a preacher's mentioning divorce at a wedding. We want to think of positive things: "better … richer … health." But it can be beneficial for the bride and groom to hear surprising words--even negative words--that they themselves speak: "worse … poorer … sickness … death." It can be a positive thing to talk of negatives.

In that light, I'd like to talk about the three temptations we face in Christian ministry. In his ministry, Jesus faced temptation in three general areas: his legitimate needs, his spiritual gifting, and his personal worship. I've learned to face my temptations in ministry by looking at how Jesus dealt with his.

THE TEMPTATION IN LEGITIMATE NEEDS

Food is a valid need, but for forty days and nights, led by the Spirit, Jesus went hungry. Satan had a suggestion: "If you're the Son of God, command these stones to become bread."

Food is a legitimate physical need, but God hadn't provided any for Jesus in that place at that time. The question: Would Jesus accept the will of his Father that this was a period ...

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