Title: The Path to Victory/ Topic: Overcoming Temptation

Today’s Reading: Daniel 7; Daniel 8; Psalm 137; Luke 4

Scripture: Luke 4:1-12
1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
3 The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread."
4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone.'"
5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 So if you worship me, it will all be yours."
8 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'"
9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written: " 'He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; 11 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'"
12 Jesus answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test."

Observation: Here in the record of the temptation of Christ we see the ways in which he was tempted in every way as we yet without sin (Heb. 4:15). The lust of the flesh: After 40 days of fasting, real, life-threatening starvation begins to set in. The body craves food because hunger pangs have returned (during long fasts hunger pangs actually stop after 3-4 days). Yet even though his body is crying out for food and he is physically weak, he overcomes the yearning of his flesh and relies on the Word of God. The lust of the eyes: Satan offers Jesus all authority, power, riches, everything the world has to offer. Everything humans strive for. All he has to do is to worship Satan and he gets it all without having to ever suffer on the cross. But he overcomes againwith the Word of God. The pride of life: Satan's last attempt to cause Jesus to sin is to attack his identity, the very core of who he is. "If you are the son of God..." then prove it, taunts the devil. But Jesus is secure in his identity and doesn't feel the need to prove himself. Again, he overcomes Satan with the Word of God.

Application: I need to be adept at using the Word as a weapon against the enemy of my soul just as Jesus did. He is my example in how to overcome. Satan also used the Word to try to get Jesus to succumb to temptation. The devil is very good at twisting the Word to try to create reasonable sounding justifications for doing wrong. This is a favorite tactic of his with weak or immature believers who aren't grounded in the Word AND in a personal, intimate walk with God. I need the Spirit's help to discern truth from error.

Prayer: Father, I've seen so many loved ones fail because they listened to the voice of Satan twisting scripture so they could justify indulging the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes or the pride of life. Teach us all to study your Word and to pray and listen to the voice of the Spirit. Make us effective warriors who use the weapons you give us skillfully.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.