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Discipline or Regret
Marsha KochiMatthew 4:4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”
When Jesus was vulnerable, when He was hungry, the devil would try to tempt Him. Jesus, filled with the Spirit, doesn't need food for the body, He has wisdom and He resists the temptations of the enemy.
Everyday, I have to make a conscious choice to die, to resist, and to not be tempted to live like the world. I have a choice to choose to walk in His ways, and not be swayed to do things that may appear to be easier. Fast forwarding always works well with lessons that I need to learn. I must always remember to look at the outcome; what would result from my actions? "Would it be a lesson that I learn from the pain of discipline or from the pain of regret"?
Father, thank you for the lessons that you are teaching me in this season. When I am weakened, having a bad day, give me strength to resist the ploys and the devices of satan. I don't want to learn from the pain of regret. Help me to always turn to You and to the Word. Help me to learn, though it may be painful, from discipline.