LIFE LESSON FOR TODAY, 8/13/14

My favorite picture of  " Seven Wonders of the 
World" is, Christo the Redeemer in Brazil.I was
looking for new pictures of the stature on the 
web recently.  I happened to notice the picture 
you see above. Some thrill seeker had climbed 
the statue again! I have a framed Life Magazine picture of  a man doing the same thing several 
years ago.  I was really fascinated by this feat 
so I framed the magazine cover.  

I watched along with several other Americans as 
a man  walked a tight over Niagara Falls in 2012. 
I recalled most of the TV stories I had seen about 
people doing extreme actions like climbing Mount Everest, daredevil car stunts, bungee cord leaps,
and surfing 20 foot waves.

I began to feel uneasy about watching these types of  stories.  I soon realized why! I had recently heard a sermon called, "Do Not Tempt The Lord".  The pastor 
explained that each time people intentionally put their life in danger, they were tempting the Lord.  Here are some of the scriptures in the Bible he quoted which discussed  tempting the Lord:




Deuteronomy 6:12-16

12 then beware, lest you forget the Lord who 
brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the
house of bondage.
13 You shall fear the Lord your God and serve
Him, and shall take oaths in His name.
14 You shall not go after other gods, the gods 
of the peoples who are all around you
15 (for the Lord your God is a jealous God among you), lest the anger of the Lord your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth.
16 “You shall not tempt the Lord your God as you tempted
Him in Massah.


Luke 4:1-2, 9-13

1Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan
and was led by the Spirit into[a] the wilderness,
2 being tempted for forty days by the devil.

9 Then he (devil)  brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.
10 For it is written:
‘He shall give His angels charge over you,To keep you,’
11 and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”
12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said,
‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”
13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.



James 1:13-15


13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.
15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.


I am amazed at extreme thrill seekers' demeanor 
after they conquer these feats.They are so elated because they feel that their skill was  the reason 
they lived  and were not killed by their stunts. I 
know the truth, God is the one who saved them 
from death.  He gave them grace and mercy.  In
His Word he said:

Hebrews 13:5-7  

⁵ Let your conduct be without covetousness;
be content with such things as you have. For
He Himself has said, 
“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 
⁶ So we may boldly say:

“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear. What can man do to me?”