I’ll bite.

Another “big one” is Eve. I sometimes wonder the dance of temptation leading up to the Fall of Man. Did she smell the apple? Observe its tasty shape? Dance around the tree (”What? I just dancing…”) Flirt with it? (half-kidding)

Then…. CRUNCH.

Jesus…

in the wilderness
and in the garden.

Jonah — Sent to preach to people he hated, knowing full well they’d respond. Yielded with abandon to the temptation to run the other direction, and the chase was on.

I’m thinking more along the lines of the classic “test of faith”, rather than things like Jonah, where it’s a test of obedience. Things where the crux of the story is “Do I believe God is who he says he is.” Jonah did, and responded poorly!

Jonah:

Man of Faith
Dumbass

There’s that scene where Harrison Ford has to step off a cliff in order to reach the Holy Grail…?
Good thing there was a nearly invisible bridge underneath him, or else we could have missed out on IJ4 in all of its jungle swinging glory!

In seriousness, I can think of a couple of my favorites that you’ve left out:
Joseph had a *few* trials that God led him through
Elijah fought some pretty serious depression while being a prophet
Stephen, in Acts, believed that God was God enough to lay his life down for the faith

Ah, man … remember when Indiana Jones moves used to be awesome.

I think of testing as being distinctly different from temptation. I believe the Lord has been testing my faith, my understanding, and especially my trust over the past year and two months. Do I REALLY believe He is trustworthy and has the power to heal, to hold me and my family in His embrace? Will I ever learn to TRULY allow Him to totally influence my behavior and my attitudes and thoughts? I believe the purpose of the current testing is to build my character, my reliance on Him (instead of my usual self-reliance), and to draw me closer to Him than I have ever been - to shake me out of what had been my growing complacency.

Don’t misunderstand - I don’t believe God “gave” me a brain tumor, but neither did it catch Him by surprise. He is using this circumstance to bring forth good things like only He can…

This quotation from Frances J. Roberts haunts me, and at the same time encourages me:

“O child, do not expect the trials to be lighter than in the past. Why should you think the tests would be less severe? I test all things, and there are areas of your life that…I have not touched. Do not look for respite. The days ahead may call for greater endurance and more robust faith than you have ever needed before. Welcome this, for you must surely know how precious are the lessons learned through such experiences…

Apply your heart to learn wisdom. This goal transcends every other aim, and any other good that comes out of a pressure period is an added blessing in excess. Seek Me above all else.”

I, for one, cannot connect this to my understanding of the word “temptation.”

Rod

Too serious? Probably a little preachy, huh?

Rod, not at all. I think it just left us speechless. I so appreciate your insight and wisdom. You are always welcome here!

Don’t cha hate that, when you’re the last one to comment on a thread and it just sits there? I appreciated your insight Rod into what God has been teaching you this last year. Thank you for sharing with us.

Mark 9

when asked if he believed Jesus could heal his boy a desperate father was confronted with the answer and said, yes but help my unbelief. I pray that everyday

Thanks, Sharolyn and Gretchen and Leonard. When one, like me, is an infrequent blogger, just hearing the crickets, slightly (but only slightly) makes one wonder if one has unintentionally squelched the discussion. But I guess all discussion threads must end at some point!

1) I have been there. It is a lonely feeling.

2) I am also posting so you won’t be the last post.

:)

I was reading the Sermon On The Mount this morning and thought of your post. I’m with Ryan about Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness and have a couple of thoughts (see Matthew 4:1-11NKJV). This temptation came with Satan challenging Jesus to use his power to prove he was God. Why would Satan do that? Surely he didn’t think Jesus would bite - or was Satan so full of himself that he believed his own power was beyond that of Jesus. Since Satan was originally the highest angel in heaven and was cast out for seeking to overthrow God himself and take the throne, maybe he thought “here was another chance”. I guess what I’m seeing here is that all temptation for us, regardless of how it manifests itself, is our desire to be God and run things. The other aspect I see here is the fact that we are told that Jesus, while still fully divine, was also fully human and was tempted in every way that we are. Thus, he was enticed to prove he could best Satan, yet did not give in. Satan was pretty clever when he used quotes from the old testament as part of the temptation, but I like the way Jesus fights fire with fire and quotes even better back at him.

Anyway, good luck with your song.

[...] I join in the conversation occasionally at an APU alumni site called addisonrd and here are some observations I had regarding a post by Michael Lee [...]

There is a well-known passage from “The Brothers Karamzov” called The Grand Inquisitor, in which Ivan tells Alyosha a parable that gives an alternate reading of the temptation scene. It’s incredibly powerful writing; if you want to skip the long novel, and just read that passage, you’d be fine.

I think the Inquisitor is, in this case, speaking with Dostoevsky’s own voice, betraying his troubled thoughts about God’s sovereignty, human freedom, and Christ’s mission on earth. He sees each of the temptations as an offer to Christ to compel people to follow him by some means other than suffering and death. Satan is tempting Christ to offer his followers something other than himself (food, or wonder, or vengeance), and in so doing remove their freedom to choose him by faith.

“It’s incredibly powerful writing; if you want to skip the long novel, and just read that passage, you’d be fine.”

Um, actually…no. The events that unfold over the course of 1200 pages are what give “The Grand Inquisitor” its legs. Dostoevsky’s characters are faced with the same temptations enumerated by the Inquisitor, and their choices in the face of those temptations show (rather than tell) the inevitable outcomes of choosing power, greed or revenge over servanthood, generosity and forgiveness. The story is the teaching, Mikle! ["Kids these days!" she grumbles.]

As far as examples of faith testing are concerned, both biblical Josephs are good ones. The lives of the saints offer countless examples, from the early martyrs to St. John of the Cross, to Thomas Merton and Mother Teresa in the modern era (both of whom, I’m sure, will be canonized at some point). Dostoevsky, Flannery O’Connor, Annie Dillard and C. S. Lewis are among many writers whose stories point to their own crises of faith (I’m thinking particularly of The Brothers Karamazov, “Revelation” from Everything That Rises Must Converge, Holy the Firm and A Grief Observed).

yeah, yeah, Dostoevsky good, skipping the book bad … I was just trying to say that if you weren’t planning to read the whole book, you should at the very least read that passage.

Are there Cliff Notes?
(joking, ducking Aly’s tomatoes)