Oh, Those Temptations

MEDITATION: “Oh, Those Temptations”
First Sunday of Lent Matthew 4:1-11
March 1, 2009 Dr. Dennis Ginoza

Oh, those temptations.
There are temptations everywhere. It starts from
the word go. It’s that first piece of candy;
it’s that third cookie. One order of fries
please. Then it gets bigger—stealing that test paper;
…but nobody will know. Taxes, what about
about taxes? Everybody cheats on their taxes.
Steroids! I did not use steroids—false! “Well, I’m
sorry, I was just young and ignorant.“ And did you
hear? Just last Thursday, at about 6:00 p.m. we had a
bank robbery in Fallbrook. The robber got away
with $1500. There are temptations everywhere.

Temptations and habits are like two of the same. If you
get away with something once, it means you’ll
do it again. If one piece of chocolate is good, then
ten pieces should be better. If three kids decide to
beat up on another kid, what’s the big deal?
It’s a group thing.
Looks like we forgot a few things: Conscience,
what happened to conscience? Morality, what happened
to morality? And virtue, what happened to virtue.
And divine principle, what happened to Divine Principle?

Rev. Don Holesapple, a Baptist minister, tells this story. One
day a woman came to him, because she was upset at
the death of her cat. She wanted the minister to conduct
a funeral service for her cat Homer. Rev. Holesapple told
her this was a little out of his line so her referred her to
his friend, the Presbyterian pastor. That pastor referred
her to the Methodist pastor who referred her to someone
else. Finally, she called Rev. Holesapple again and told
him she was at wit’s end, because she couldn’t find a
preacher to do Homer’s service. She explained that she
had planned to give a $1,000 to the church of the minister
who performed the funeral for Homer. Rev. Holesapple
told her, “Well, why didn’t you tell me Homer was a
Baptist cat in the first place?!” Temptation is a long line
with a hook on it.



2

After Jesus was baptized in the Jordan, Matthew says, immediately
the Spirit led him into the wilderness. In preparation for
his ministry, Jesus was tempted by Satan. Jesus fasted for
40 days and 40 nights. Then Satan said to him, “If you are
the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of
bread.” Jesus said, “One does not live by bread alone.”

Then Satan led Jesus up to the pinnacle of the temple and
Said, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.” For
it is said, he will command his angels to come to your aid.
Jesus said, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.”

Then Satan took Jesus to the high mountain and showed him
all the kingdoms of the world. Satan said to Jesus, “Bow down
and worship me and all these will be yours.” Jesus said,
“Worship the Lord your God and serve only Him.”

Jesus comes to us as the Messiah, tested, molded in the Spirit
God. He shows us that there is in all of us a character
of God.. It is like a small seed waiting to develop.
If we water it, nurture it, it will be strong and healthy.
But the character in us is delicate. If you handle it
with care it will be strong and right.
If you break it, it will seek a different way;
a troubling way.

In a small village, an altar boy was helping a priest serve the
Holy Eucharist. That Sunday, the boy accidently dropped
the vessel holding the wine. The priest out of anger struck
the boy on the cheek and shouted, “Leave the altar and
don’t come back!” That boy became Tito, the Communist
leader of Yugoslavia. In a large city another altar boy was
assisting the priest. That young boy too dropped the vessel
holding the wine. That priest with kindness in his eyes
whispered to the boy and said, “Someday you’re going to
be a priest. That boy became Bishop Fulton Sheen of New
York City. In all of us there is a character of God waiting
to develop.

Bob Moawad says, “The best day of your life is the one on which you
Decide your life is your own. No apologies, no excuses. No
one to lean on, rely on, or blame. The gift is yours—it is an
amazing journey—and you alone are responsible for the
quality of it. This is the day your life really begins.
3

When our son Jeremy was a baby, we decided that we weren’t
going to give him any ice cream until he was one year old.
It didn’t hurt him one bit. When Jeremy was in the first
grade we got our first computer with a keyboard. I said
to him, “I’m going to teach you to use the keyboard the
right way.” He started to do his first grade spelling on the
keyboard. When he was a freshman, he received the
computer award.. Aaron, on the other hand, was his
own person. When he was little, he was curious about
how cars worked so he would take them apart to see how
they worked.. When he was a sophomore, he studied
electricity, he learned to build a simple readio, and he
got his ham radio license. Today he works
for NPR in Washington, D.C. We never know how our
children will become their own.

What we wanted our children
to learn is that in everything, there are choices. There are
good choices and bad choices. In everything you do,
there are consequences. There are good consequences and
bad consequences. In every learning situation, how
you begin will determine where you end up. In logic if your
premise is sound, your conclusion will be sound. If you live
your life believing in God, then your life will be guided
and directed. The life of Jesus is not a historical accident.
It is the center of our sacred journey.

When Jesus was tempted by Satan, all along he knew where he
was going. He was preparing the way to the kingdom of
God. When I was 17 years old, I was traveling on the Greyhound
Bus and I knew where I was headed. I was going to college
in Oskaloosa, Iowa.. And when we stopped at Reno for a dinner
break, I met a man on the street. He said to, “How are you doing,
young fella? You have some money don’t you?” He pulled out a
roll of bills, probably a thousand dollars. He said, “Let’s
have some fun!” I said, “I didn’t have much money. Sir, I gotta go!”
What I learned that day is, when we hold our sights high, we will
withstand any temptation. I remind you today, the kingdom of God
is at hand. It is closer than you think. One night, when I was
a young boy, the Lord Jesus came to me in a dream ….and
here I am.