Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Luke 4:1-2a Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.
YOU TOO CAN ANSWER THE DEVIL
When Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness, His answers were able to turn back every evil attack. What precious, beautiful answers they are to us! As we see Him turn away Satan, it means we are forgiven of our own guilt and failure, and it gives us courage, determination, and confidence when we ourselves face the devil in the wilderness moments of our daily lives.
Face him we do. For Satan does not give up trying to bring us down as He tried to bring down Christ. Our enemy prowls around like a roaring lion looking for those he can devour, wanting nothing more than to see us condemned along with him.
We find him up to his old tricks, even using the same kinds of temptations as he has used in the past. The temptations which Luke records in the opening verses of chapter four can be recast easily into language and situations with which we are all familiar. For example: In what ways does the devil urge you to look to yourself to care for your earthly needs before you look to the Lord? Does Satan tempt you to seek wealth and power above all else? How does he encourage you to "put the Lord your God to the test"? Is it when you demand or expect things of God that He has not really promised to you?
What answer do you give to the devil? You can give him a powerful, mighty answer because now you are connected to Christ. He is the Vine and you are the branches. He has made you one of His own through His blood shed on the cross. So now you can answer like He did too. You can answer the devil with the word of God, and you can answer with confidence.
