According to Martin Luther it takes three things to make someone a child of God: meditation, prayer and temptation. Few would quibble with the first two, but the final point seems to be out of place. Bro. Hughes speculates what Martin Luther meant is that it is the trials, struggles, and temptation of life in order to make us strong. Our text tells us that Jesus was tempted in all points as we are and yet without sin. When we think about our natural life, we can question how Jesus could have been tempted as we are when His life was so different than ours. The bible tells us that he was tempted in all POINTS as we are, not in all situations as we are. So the question becomes how was He tempted in ways that relate to our modern life. Bro. Hughes lists three areas where he was tempted as we are. The first is the temptation to avoid. From the beginning of His ministry, the Devil tempted Jesus to short circuit, sidestep or otherwise change God’s plan for His life. He was tempted to avoid the process and go straight to the prize. It is human nature to try to take the easy way. Bro. Hughes tells us that often the easy way is not the right way. The second way He was tempted to hurry the plan of God. We too are tempted to interfere with God’s plan by acting on our own without waiting for God. Our society has fostered an attitude of get it now. God’s plan is always slower than our flesh wants it to go. Lastly He was tempted to come down. Our world tempts us to lower our standards and expectations. The problem is that once we lower our selves, the world will want us to lower our standards even more. The devil will not quit until we debase ourselves to the lowest we can go. If Christ had come down from the cross as they taunted Him to do, they would not have believed. The glory was in His enduring until he could say “It is finished.”

Our text is a recount from an unknown Israelite who had come out of Babylonian captivity. He tells of a story of his captors compelling him to sing and play for their entertainment. He asks “how shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” We too can find our selves in strange lands and find it difficult to praise the Lord. When we find our self in a strange place, that is the time when we need to praise more than any other. In these strange places, our attitude and moral can be at its lowest place. Like the Babylonians, the enemy will try to knock us down and then taunt us. The Israelites were in captivity due to their own actions. Their continued turning to idolatry and sin caused God to fulfill the prophecy of them being taken into captivity. In the seventy years that they were in captivity, they sulked and came up with every excuse in the world. They were uncomfortable and out of their element and the Psalmist ask, “How can we praise in a strange place. Bro. Hughes asks: Why Not? Life can put us in some strange places. We have all been in places where we say “I can’t do this.” Spiritually we will all find ourselves in some form of Babylonian captivity. Life will take us to places that we do not want to be and will keep us longer than we want to be there. It is at this time more than any other that we need to praise and sing. God can do anything and can forgive no matter why we find ourselves in Babylon. Anyone can sing in Jerusalem, but it takes real strength to sing in Babylon. To do so tells the world that we may be in captivity, we are not lost. Being able to praise in these strange lands is the key to getting out. The victory is in the song.

Our text is a recount from an unknown Israelite who had come out of Babylonian captivity. He tells of a story of his captors compelling him to sing and play for their entertainment. He asks “how shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” We too can find our selves in strange lands and find it difficult to praise the Lord. When we find our self in a strange place, that is the time when we need to praise more than any other. In these strange places, our attitude and moral can be at its lowest place. Like the Babylonians, the enemy will try to knock us down and then taunt us. The Israelites were in captivity due to their own actions. Their continued turning to idolatry and sin caused God to fulfill the prophecy of them being taken into captivity. In the seventy years that they were in captivity, they sulked and came up with every excuse in the world. They were uncomfortable and out of their element and the Psalmist ask, “How can we praise in a strange place. Bro. Hughes asks: Why Not? Life can put us in some strange places. We have all been in places where we say “I can’t do this.” Spiritually we will all find ourselves in some form of Babylonian captivity. Life will take us to places that we do not want to be and will keep us longer than we want to be there. It is at this time more than any other that we need to praise and sing. God can do anything and can forgive no matter why we find ourselves in Babylon. Anyone can sing in Jerusalem, but it takes real strength to sing in Babylon. To do so tells the world that we may be in captivity, we are not lost. Being able to praise in these strange lands is the key to getting out. The victory is in the song.

Life can wear us out. Life can be discouraging until we go to the word of God. In that word we can find what we need for the moment, and for the future. Often the secret of the word of God is not evident when it is first read, but only realized after thought and prayer. Bro. Hughes refers to this as the hidden gems in the bible. By allowing the word of God to saturate our life, the hidden gems become evident. So it is that we can read and re-read the bible and an awesome mystery will reveal itself even in often read and familiar scriptures. God has made it so that we will never be disappointed in what we find in Him. God likes to hide things. He does not hide things to be difficult, but to make us better. In nature there are hidden things: Gold, diamonds, and oil are things that are not obvious and on the surface, but things that must be worked for or dug up in order to find. God hides things for our good. God hides tomorrow. None of us know what will happen tomorrow. He has promised that His grace is sufficient for today. Bro. Hughes tells us that we must rely on His grace for today, because we cannot handle tomorrow until it gets here. When we don’t know what tomorrow will hold, we know that He has enough for us to handle tomorrow. He says that if we will put our trust in Him today, He will give us what is necessary for tomorrow.

He not only hides tomorrow, He hides experience. Life is a struggle and in that struggle God hides experience. Through that experience, we become a better person. The beauty in our life is found in the struggles that put color and experience into our lives. It is in the struggles that we find ourselves.

God also hides our sin. Through Calvary, He hides our sins and they are blotted out. When we repent and God extends His forgiveness, we are made whole and He forgets our sins so that they cannot be used against us again.

God hides things from us that are for our good. He hides natural resources that must be discovered. He gives us a savior and tells us that we must seek Him. God likes to hide things from us, and if we take time to evaluate it, we realize that there is saving grace in the thing that God hides.

Life can wear us out. Life can be discouraging until we go to the word of God. In that word we can find what we need for the moment, and for the future. Often the secret of the word of God is not evident when it is first read, but only realized after thought and prayer. Bro. Hughes refers to this as the hidden gems in the bible. By allowing the word of God to saturate our life, the hidden gems become evident. So it is that we can read and re-read the bible and an awesome mystery will reveal itself even in often read and familiar scriptures. God has made it so that we will never be disappointed in what we find in Him. God likes to hide things. He does not hide things to be difficult, but to make us better. In nature there are hidden things: Gold, diamonds, and oil are things that are not obvious and on the surface, but things that must be worked for or dug up in order to find. God hides things for our good. God hides tomorrow. None of us know what will happen tomorrow. He has promised that His grace is sufficient for today. Bro. Hughes tells us that we must rely on His grace for today, because we cannot handle tomorrow until it gets here. When we don’t know what tomorrow will hold, we know that He has enough for us to handle tomorrow. He says that if we will put our trust in Him today, He will give us what is necessary for tomorrow.

He not only hides tomorrow, He hides experience. Life is a struggle and in that struggle God hides experience. Through that experience, we become a better person. The beauty in our life is found in the struggles that put color and experience into our lives. It is in the struggles that we find ourselves.

God also hides our sin. Through Calvary, He hides our sins and they are blotted out. When we repent and God extends His forgiveness, we are made whole and He forgets our sins so that they cannot be used against us again.

God hides things from us that are for our good. He hides natural resources that must be discovered. He gives us a savior and tells us that we must seek Him. God likes to hide things from us, and if we take time to evaluate it, we realize that there is saving grace in the thing that God hides.

Dr. Hughes shares his thoughts resulting from a conversation he recently had with a man who ask “Why do some people come to church like they are going to war?” God wants us to be comfortable when we enter His presence. Dr. Hughes points out however that if when we enter into the presence of God or read His word, we can become uncomfortable because by doing so we must honestly examine ourselves. This is counter-intuitive. We have difficulty opening up and being vulnerable with other humans. But we must be totally open with God. We have no choice, because there is no way we can hide anything from an omnipotent God. Unlike with men, we are assured that God will not use our vulnerability against us. God understands our situation because He was tempted in all way as we are. Every struggle, problem or issue we have, He experienced it and still remained sinless. In Jesus we have a high priest who can totally sympathize with our pain and struggles. No matter what may experience in life, we can go to God who will take us into His loving arms and with total understanding forgive us and make us whole.

Dr. Hughes shares his thoughts resulting from a conversation he recently had with a man who ask “Why do some people come to church like they are going to war?” God wants us to be comfortable when we enter His presence. Dr. Hughes points out however that if when we enter into the presence of God or read His word, we can become uncomfortable because by doing so we must honestly examine ourselves. This is counter-intuitive. We have difficulty opening up and being vulnerable with other humans. But we must be totally open with God. We have no choice, because there is no way we can hide anything from an omnipotent God. Unlike with men, we are assured that God will not use our vulnerability against us. God understands our situation because He was tempted in all way as we are. Every struggle, problem or issue we have, He experienced it and still remained sinless. In Jesus we have a high priest who can totally sympathize with our pain and struggles. No matter what may experience in life, we can go to God who will take us into His loving arms and with total understanding forgive us and make us whole.

The word Saul used to describe himself is a startling one. Many people would not want to describe themselves as a fool. The story is one of great possibility and tragedy. A man who began with so much ended in such a pitiful and disastrous situation. Out text is a tragic confession of his life. The word that is used to describe a fool is one that indicates a lack of sense of moral direction and spiritual comprehension. In truth, none of us are exempt from playing a fool as Saul did. We all have the possibility to fall into a situation where we lose our sense of spiritual boundaries and adherence to moral convictions. Saul held a position of power and success. He had everything going for him, but he still had a destructive nature about him that caused him to lose it all. Saul had a good heritage and background. He was physically strong and tall. God called him to be the first king of Israel. He had an opportunity to cooperate with God and be part of God’s plan for His people. However as we read the story of Saul we see pride come up in his life and a tendency to act on his own without reliance on God. He becomes rash and impulsive in a manner that was destructive to both himself and his people. Bro. Hughes observes that we are all susceptible to the same trap as Saul. No matter how blessed we are, or how close we feel that we are to God, we all have the ability to play the fool, as did Saul.

We can play the fool:

• When we fail to submit to the King of King and Lord of Lords.

• When we make enemies of the people that God put into our life to help us.

• When we are disobedient in the small things that matter to God.

• When we allow hatred to become the master of our life.

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