Testing, Temptation, and God's Word

When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. (Luke 4:13 NIV)

I never noticed this verse before, but as I was preparing to compose this devotion, it was like God put a yellow highlighter in my hand. Whenever this happens, I can be pretty sure He has something to say to me.

When I read these 13 verses in Luke, I never wonder how Jesus would hold up. I never consider that He might give in, so I didn't really think there was much for me to learn from these lines. But, how wrong. God never wastes an opportunity to teach us. When Jesus came to earth as a man, the greatest lesson was about to be given.

Jesus was sinless and would remain so, but we aren't. Jesus knew, even those many years ago, that you and I would need to learn about Satan and his devious ways. We need to be aware of his ways. Jesus knew we would be in jeopardy of failing, of falling for the Devil's lies. He knew we needed to understand we must learn from Scripture how to recognize and overcome the deceit. We need to become familiar with God's Word and capture it in our hearts.

Once His Word is a part of our Spirits, we can call on it, just as Jesus did. We can defeat Satan's attempt to derail our lives. But, just as with Jesus, who was repeatedly tested by evil, we must know that Satan is just waiting for the opportune moment. He will not miss an opportunity to disrupt our journey to Eternity. 

Be on guard, as we enter 2020, a new decade, it is likely Satan wants to claim us as his ambassadors. Because we have captured God's Word in our hearts, and we call upon it when temptation approaches. Get ready to shout, "Satan, you have no authority here!"

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Luke 4:1-13

Mind Games

Revelation 12:9-17

I’ve never seen an episode of Game of Thrones (Yes, I said it), but I get the feeling today’s passage could easily be a scene from the show.  Apparently, waging war with dragons is quite common.

Swords and daggers may work well in GoT, but because we battle the real temptations of Satan, an engaged mind is the weapon of choice.  It cuts deeper than a sword when fighting against the lies of the Devil.

Verse 11 says “They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”  Being able to defend ourselves with words is crucial.  In Heaven, where the battle has already been won, we look forward to a time when our minds can relax and enjoy His peaceful glory, but unfortunately, life here on Earth is a warzone filled with temptation.  Our best defense is an engaged mind that can “keep God’s command and hold fast a testimony about Jesus” (v. 17).

We don’t want to go into battle swinging blindly.  We need the knowledge and truth of Jesus to fight for us.  We must pick up our shield - Bible - and be prepared to fight.  Resting in the fact that when our battle here on earth is done, we have a heavenly home to go to!

Father, you blessed us with minds to think, but it’s up to us to engage them in meaningful ways. When we need a powerful defense against the Enemy, turn us to your Word because knowledge is true power.  Amen

Stand Your Ground

How many war movies have you watched where the enemy was approaching, looking as though they could plow right through the fortified barricade set up? How often did you cringe at the possibility our hero would be be overrun, defeated by a cunning, powerful and evil force? Can you hear the shout of the brave commander broadcasting the instruction to his band of frightened warriors, "Stand Your Ground!"?

As Christians, we have a similar battle cry as we do our best to resist Satan and the temptations he uses to achieve his will. These temptations are often camouflaged as something good, or useful or desirable; but they are tools in the devil's hands. Something as simple as the currently popular movie which offers entertainment, but in the form of improper behavior or foul language, can cause us to stumble into the enemy's camp.

You know what tempts you and where you are weak; so does Satan.  He will use those things to entice and take us captive. I remember a Beth Moore study I participated in several years ago, she taught us Satan is real and looking for every opportunity to trip us up. But, we have the upper hand. We have God’s Word and the promise His Son made to us with His death and resurrection.

The encouragement Beth Moore shared was this: to stand our ground, even stomp our feet and proclaim “Satan, you have no authority here!" I have shouted this one-liner while in the midst of many battles. Try it, it works.

2 Samuel 23:11-12

Victory!

Every year about this time, I try to find one of my favorite movies on television - Yankee Doodle Dandy. This year it was playing on TCM and I don't subscribe to that channel, so I settled for another favorite - Air Force One. 

The battle of right over wrong will bring out the flag-waver in me every time. I wait with anticipation for one of the final scenes in the movie when the ultimate bad guy is close to defeat and our hero says, "Get off my plane."

There is one more line to give me chills and get the flag moving wildly. When the cavalry, in this case, the Marines, rescue our beleaguered champion and report to the world, “We are changing our call sign to Air Force One.” Those words tell the world, all is well. 

Many of the Psalms provide a similar sense of victory and fill my heart with the swelling sense of knowing all is well. David was often in the midst of battle when he would call upon his God for help and protection from the evil forces around him. 

"I have a message from God in my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked and deceitful; they fail to act wisely or do good." (Psalm 36:1)

David is preparing to do battle, to fight for his country's freedom and the God he loves so much. As a man after God's own heart, he knows his task is justified and he understands how important is the fight for good over evil. In fact, this is a war to will be waged over and over until Jesus makes His final appearance.

"How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of Your wings." (Psalm 36:7)

 Now, when I find myself battling with the distractions life flings in my path to discourage or derail me, I turn to the Psalms for comfort, direction and encouragement. If David can defeat a giant, I can overcome my problems knowing Jesus is at my side. I can shout to Satan, "Get off my plane!"

 Psalm 36

Someone Is Out To Get Me

Life can be hectic.

The home phone rings at the same time the door bell rings and my mobile phone rings. The mail man is down the street and I need to get a couple of checks in the mail. I am about to watch a football game, but my wife asserts that the internet is down and letting it go is not an option. It is time to mow the lawn, but the mower won’t start. Oh yeah, and I am informed that the tuition bill must be paid by 5 PM today.

Aaarrrrrgggghh!!!!!!!!!!

 Sometimes I think someone is out to get me!

 Today’s reading is Ephesians 6:10-20.

Paul is telling us that there really is someone out to get us. That someone, though, isn’t trying to make our life on earth difficult. He may do that, but that isn’t his ultimate goal. What he really wants is to take away my eternal bliss. He wants us to join him in the burning lake of sulfur.

Satan. Lucifer. Devil. The dragon. The serpent. Prince of this world. We know him by many names.

Other cultures know him as Haborym, Loki, Mania, Pluto, Mantus, Balaam and Apollyon.

Paul tells us there is a defense against Satan and that is faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus gives us our salvation and frustrates Satan’s efforts.

 But Satan is a stubborn, cunning and persistent enemy. He keeps trying. Paul tells us we therefore  need to put on the full armor of God. We need to be in the Word of God and pray in the spirit. Being in frequent contact with Jesus ensures that Satan will not achieve his goal.

 Yes, Satan is out to get me. Jesus ensures Satan won’t win, but as a partner with Jesus, I also have a responsibility. By remaining in the Word, after I die I will be in Paradise, not with Satan. That indeed is a great blessing.

Now if only Paul can give me advice on dealing with unwanted phone calls and door-to-door salesmen ….

BAM! It’s a Celebration!

Genesis 3:14-15

 Have you ever watched a movie where in the beginning everything is going great? “Life is good” as they say. But then… the bad guy enters, and life turns upside down. One thing after another goes wrong as the villain gains power and wreaks havoc.

As you watch, first you begin to root against the bad guy. Then your feelings become a little stronger; maybe borderline anger. Finally you reach your limit when you find yourself wishing that something terribly wrong would happen to the villain.

And when it does, BAM! It’s a celebration! If you’re at the theatre the audience may even applaud and cheer.

The story of Adam and Eve is kind of like that. They are in the Garden of Eden in perfect harmony with each other, the world around them and especially with God. But then the serpent enters. He spins a few lies and all of a sudden, life is turned upside down.

When you think about this, does it make you angry? Do you even feel hatred for the serpent? He doesn’t care about Adam or Eve or God or you or me. He’s like the guy in the All State commercial who loves to create mayhem. That’s what the serpent does; death and destruction.

Finally, the Lord God enters to declare the consequences of all of their behavior. He directs His first comments toward the serpent. If you listen carefully, you can hear His angry, booming voice as He pronounces the final defeat of the snake.

 “Because you’ve done this, you’re cursed, cursed beyond all cattle and wild animals, 

Cursed to slink on your belly and eat dirt all your life. I’m declaring war between you and the Woman, between your offspring and hers. He’ll wound your head, you’ll wound his heel.”            MSG

The serpent is doomed. But who is it that will wound the serpent’s head, or as it is translated in the NIV, “crush your head”?

 These two verses are the first promise of Jesus. He will crush the head of Satan. He will have victory. Go ahead. You can stand up and cheer. Satan has been defeated. We have been delivered. The Lord is alive and still at work in us and through us.

 BAM! It’s a celebration!

Be Prepared - Mark 8:31-9:1

Remember Trivial Pursuit? The object of the game is to move around the board by correctly responding to trivia questions in various categories. While Trivial Pursuit is a fun game, it should not be our way of living. Busy lives make it easy to get lost in the pursuit of things we think are important.

In today's scripture, Jesus starts teaching the disciples about Himself. He is very clear that He must suffer, be rejected, die, and return to life after three days.

Peter doesn't get the message. He takes Jesus aside and rebukes Him. In response, Jesus admonishes Peter. Satan has put wrong thoughts into Peter's mind. Peter is in pursuit of stopping Jesus on His mission.

Jesus makes it clear that souls are too valuable to lose in pursuit of things that don't really matter. No matter what shame and humiliation or what we may have to endure, He must be at the center of our lives.

Satan constantly prowls around waiting for opportunities to get us to sin. He puts temptations before us to pursue wrong things and get us off track. Sometimes we don't see it, sometimes we know we are headed on the wrong path, but we sin anyway.

To guard our lives against sin and temptation we must be prepared by keeping our faith in God strong, being in the Word of God constantly, and having a meaningful daily prayer life. Remember our soul is priceless. We shouldn’t give it to anyone but God.

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