Bible Summary and Challenges: Luke Four

At first, Jesus spent forty days in the forest and was continuously tempted by the devil. He would command Jesus do to many things such as jumping off a cliff, but Jesus refused everything the devil commanded. Instead he insisted that the Scriptures say otherwise and that these commands should not be done. After this period of the devil's temptations, Jesus traveled to Nazareth. Here, he went to synagogues and preached the Word of God. He read from the Scriptures and told the people stories, although one in particular made the people angry. They did not think that the Lord should have helped the foreigner. He should have helped all the people. The people of Nazareth were furious and almost pushed Jesus off a cliff. Jesus then went to Capernaum. It was here that He was preaching one day when a man, possessed by a demon, stood up and tried to make Jesus leave their synagogue. Jesus knew he was possessed so He commanded the demon to come out of the man and left the synagogue. He left Capernaum and then went to Simon's house. He healed his very ill mother-in-law and many of the other sick people in the town because they were also possessed with the devil. Jesus chased the devil out of them and they were healed. Jesus left the town the next day, despite the fact that everyone begged Him to stay, saying that He was sent to preach the Word of God so he must continue to travel to other towns to do so.

The 3 Challenges

One thing that this reading has inspired me to do is to try to not be easily tempted. There are a few ways that I can think of going about this but there are also a couple reasons why I would like to not be tempted as easily. One reason is that if I am not easily tempted, I can make better decisions in certain situations. I won't be influenced by what people are saying will happen or what they are doing that is so great. I do not want people to tell me all the benefits and leave it at that. I want to base my decisions on what I think is the truth. If I am easily tempted, it also means that I might give in to pressure and do things that aren't right. For example, if my friends tried to convince me to drink or do drugs, they would obviously only tell me how it makes you feel good. They would not tell you that it can kill you and that it is highly addictive and illegal. Although everyone knows these things, people can also be easily convinced if they get enough benefits out if it. I don't want to be easily tempted into doing things, no matter how significant or trifling.

There are only two ways I can think of to help myself to not be as easily tempted. One way is to look at something from all sides. I know I look at things positively, which is good but also bad. It is good because it encourages me and helps me to think good things about everything. It's a bad thing because it prevents me from seeing the dangers or disadvantages of doing something and not looking at all the bad things. Another way I can prevent myself from being easily tempted is by not being embarrassed to do what I want to do and to do what is right. Even though some people give in to smoking and things of that sort because they think its “cool”, I want to say no because I don't want to be tempted by how “cool” you are when you do it or how good it makes you feel. If I learn to resist temptation, it will lead me down better paths and help me make good decisions for my future.

This reading in Luke has also inspired me to be able to back up what I think about something, especially my religion and my beliefs. After reading this, I felt that I should always be on guard for those who question what I do or say. I should also never question what I am about to do because I should first think it over and not think twice about it when the time comes to actually do it. I have to stand up for what I believe is right and I should be proud of my religion. There is no reason to be embarrassed for my actions. I am now inspired, all thanks to Luke, to have an argument ready for the things I do and say and also the choices I make. I have to be prepared to show people how I think and what I believe is the right thing to do.

There is only one real way that I think of to help myself accomplish something like this. This way is to simply educate myself. I should read the Bible. It wouldn't be for the purpose of becoming a better Christian, but to further study the Word of God because there is no other way to do that. I also should educate myself regarding school and common sense would also be very helpful. Knowledge in general, no matter the source, would help to educate me and this is how I would provide my explanations for everything.

My third and last, but certainly not least, inspiration is to spread God. This part of Luke's “story” inspired me to infect the truth about our Lord and to show people what the Word of God is and where it can be found, which is in the Bible. To show people these things and see them do something positive about it is much more rewarding than you think. It can show people a way of living their life that they never knew existed. It can help people find something they never thought they could find or never hoped in their WILDEST dreams that they could accomplish. God can work miracles when people give Him the chance.

From my point of view, and everyone sees different things and situations differently, is that there is only one real way to do this. Study the Scriptures and learn all you can and tell people what you know about Him. The more they know, they more they want to know because God is very mysterious in a good way and makes people want to learn about him. They become curious and thirsty in the sense that they want more of Him and knowledge of Him. Infecting the truth about God will help people and is very simple to execute. You need to learn about Him yourself and satisfy your curiosity and then help others satisfy theirs.