12/4/22

Our scripture this morning is ‭‭Luke‬ ‭4‬:‭9‬-‭13‬.

Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’” Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’” When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.

Satan is always ready to tempt us away from our faith, and while Jesus was fasting in the desert, the devil thought there was an opportunity. However, Jesus was stronger than any temptation the world could offer. God had already promised everything to Him (Matthew 28:18) and to us as His beloved children if we confess Him as Lord.

We see a very important lesson here: Satan knows scripture, but rather than using it as God intended, the devil twists it to trick us into sin. He quotes Psalm 91:11-12 to Jesus in an attempt to lure Him into obeying to prove who He is. Jesus knows this is wrong and responds with scripture used correctly (Deuteronomy 6:16), to trust God, not to test Him.

We are faced with a variety of temptations every day here on earth, things to distract and draw us away from our faith and our relationship with God and one another. As Jesus proved, knowing God’s word and applying it as we have been taught is our shield against evil. We can stand confidently as Jesus did, secure in God’s love.

Heavenly Father, You have defeated the powers of this world by sending Your son to save us. Help us to be strong in our faith that we may share the Good News everywhere. Amen.

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