8-1-2020

Good Morning All, 

    Hebrews 4:15; “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

    I always used to hold to the theory that anyone who was going to teach, or coach had to do so in the class that they had the most difficulty.  If, when the teacher was a student, and had trouble with English but had no trouble with math, he should teach English and not math.   The reason for this is because if a teacher does not struggle with a class, he may have difficulty in relating to a student who has trouble with the class.

   I came up with this theory while I was in college.  We had an instructor who was teaching Intro to Math.  It was the most basic of basic math.  Some of the students struggled even with this.  The real problem was that the instructor had taught at the Naval Nuclear Propulsion School the fall before.  His math skills were so far above the students who struggled that he simply could not teach them.  He could not relate to their struggles with math.

    That is part of what our verse is talking about.  Jesus is our high priest.  He came to earth and lived as a man, not a king or a prince or a wealthy landowner but as a man who had to work for a living.  He was a man who was subject to the laws and was even subject to the harassment of the Roman soldiers.  But more than this, he was subject to the frailties of man.  He knew what it was like to have a customer yell at him for some imagined error.  He knew of the pain of hitting your thumb.  He knew about people and their cruel comments.  He knew about being hungry and tired and aching after a hard day’s work.  He knew the temptations of life in a sinful world.  He understands what it means to be human.

    So, when we are tempted, or when the life we lead just gets extremely difficult; Jesus understands and will empathize with us.  He knows the struggles.  He knows the emotionally draining effect of one crisis piling upon another.  Even if they are simple or mundane, he understands.  He understands the parent who started the evening with one screaming child but soon escalated into three.  He understands the struggles you have with a boss or a co-worker.  He understands the battles you have with some addiction like alcohol, drugs, or porn.  He understands how hard it can be when you have a roving eye.  He knows what and where temptation can hide and the rise to show its ugly face.

    So, when we face temptation, we can turn to him in prayer and he will empathize and give us the courage and strength to stand up to the devil and his lies.  He will offer us a way out.  He will show us how to withstand but we must act with faith and we must trust and with prayer seek his help.  He will help; he has promised to care for us.

Father of mercy, we need you every hour.  We need your guidance and support.  We need your Spirit to keep us from temptation.  Give us the strength to withstand the tempter’s power.  Be with those who are especially feeling the devil’s assaults.  Keep them strong.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret