Testing, take II

Moses said to the Israelites, "Why are you testing God?"

Why not?!? Sometimes I would like to.

But we just read in Matthew 4 that "Jesus was taken into the wild by the Spirit for the Test. The Devil was ready to give it. Jesus prepared for the Test by fasting forty days and forty nights. For the second test (of three) the Devil took him to the Holy City. He sat him on top of the Temple and said, 'Since you are God's Son, jump.' The Devil goaded him by quoting Psalm 91: 'He has placed you in the care of angels. They will catch you so that you won't so much as stub your toe on a stone.' Jesus countered with another citation from Deuteronomy: 'Don't you dare test the Lord your God.'

I guess that settles it. How are we preparing for testing that will inevitably come? The answer is found in Christ's first battle with Satan: "'Since you are God's Son, speak the word that will turn these stones into loaves of bread.'
Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: 'It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God's mouth.'"

Back to Exodus: "Moses named the place Massah (Testing-Place), because of the Israelites' testing of God when they said, 'Is God here with us, or not?'"

I did baptismal counseling with Bob and Stephanie today. Their daughter, Ahnna, has two middle names: Rose and Emmanual (God is with us). Funny enough, their dog's name is Moses.

The steady stream of words I'm getting from God's mouth right now is "I am with you to the end of the age." We can endure testing together. God has plans for us.