Years ago I asked my husband, "Honey, when there are two Scriptures that seem to imply two different actions, how do I know which one to apply that day?" With great wisdom, he painted a word picture that I have NEVER forgotten.if a policeman is standing under a red light waving you through, which do you obey, the red light or the policeman? I did not even hesitate. "The policeman," I responded. Butch replied, "Of course, the policeman is the greater law, so which Scripture is the greater law in this situation?" Man, has that helped me over the years. Just as Shiphrah and Puah in Exodus 1 determined that it was better to lie to the Pharaoh (which we know the Lord is specifically against, as in Ephesians 4:25 for example), than to have anything to do with the murder of little Hebrew boy babies (which, of course, the Lord is also against in Exodus 20:13). When in a situation where two Scriptures apply---you choose the greater law.

In Shirley Mitchell's 2^nd teaching session out of Jesus Lives, she shared about the temptation of Christ. I have been privileged to study that many times, and always seem to learn something different, but this time a smile broke over my face immediately as I saw the "greater law" concept reiterated by Jesus Himself!

Matthew 4:5-7---Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:" 'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.' " Jesus answered him, "It is also written: "'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' "

There we see it (after we get over the fact that the devil can quote Scripture better than many of us!), that although there was Scriptural proof that Jesus could very well be saved by the angels if He chose to toss Himself down from the temple top. The greater law here was " to not put God to the test", not to try Him with foolish actions. I love that even after 40 days of fasting, a time that could have involved such physical weakness for Jesus that He could have struggled (don't you tend towards spiritual weakness when you're physically exhausted and spent? I sure do!), instead our precious Lord showed such amazing spiritual strength that it encourages us even today as we recount the perfection that He exemplified.

So when we are met with the challenge of living out exactly how the Lord wants us to imitate His Word, especially when there seems to be two obvious choices, let's seek the counsel of the One who gave all the laws and understands the single best choice in each situation.

Pray with me: Precious Lord, we are continually awed by the fact that Your Word is never incorrect and that You are faithful to show us which in Your words are the greater law for our specific circumstance. Impress Your Words on our heart so that we will always know how to respond in each and every event that comes our way. We are honored that we have the example of Christ Jesus Himself to follow. We pray all of this in His precious name, Amen.