Devotional

 

This past weekend a friend and I were talking about the Lord when the temptation of Jesus and His time in the desert came to my mind (Luke 4:1-13). Remember how the devil led Jesus to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world? Then 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. So if you worship me, it will all be yours" (Luke 4:6-7).

After talking about it, this thought struck me: the enemy will risk looking stupid to tempt us to sin, even Jesus! He was trying to tempt Jesus, the Creator of the universe and all it contains, with authority over the earth's kingdoms. Jesus created those kingdoms, and He, being God, has authority over them, much, much greater than any authority the devil has over them. The devil, aka the Deceiver, said he could give that authority to anyone he wanted to, as if he could offer Jesus who is GOD anything at all! So, even though it was a completely deceptive and ridiculous ploy, the enemy tempted Jesus with these things, all the while knowing the truth that Jesus is the Son of God, the Alpha and the Omega, the Prince of Peace, King of Kings, the Way the Truth and the Life, and yet came to Him, as though he could flaunt his power and sway our Lord and cause Him to sin.

He wanted Jesus to worship him and lied to him saying those kingdoms could be His if He bowed down to him. When in reality the devil had nothing of value he could give Jesus, even if He had succumbed to that temptation. Nothing at all! Infact, if Christ had been deceived by the enemy's foolish proposition the whole purpose behind His coming would've been demolished. Philippians 2:6-11 details all that Christ did on our behalf..."He humbled Himself and became obedient to death -- even death on a cross...Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

If the devil would risk looking stupid to tempt Jesus to sin, then he most certainly would do the same with each of us. Thankfully, Jesus lived out the truth of what we should do when we are tempted either by the enemy or our own flesh, that is use the Word of God as a sword to pierce through the lies of the enemy. Jesus' response to the devil's proposition: "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only'" (Luke 1:8). He didn't converse with him; He didn't reason with him; He didn't consider his lies; no, He simply stated the truth of God's Word and said it with authority. I love how simple Christ's response was, too: worship and serve God ONLY. That answer could nip in the bud a lot of temptations the enemy throws at us.

Just as Christ had the Word ready for when the temptation came, we would be wise to study Scriptures that could shut the mouth of that ancient serpent and that would give us the strength to move past those tempations and into a freedom that we may have never known before. We can pray and ask the Lord to show us areas of our lives that we need freedom, and find Scriptures to write on our hearts so that when the enemy comes to us with a stupid temptation, then we are at the ready with the Word to extinguish all of those arrows he sends our way (Ephesians 6:16).

"Be very careful, then, how you live -- not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:15-20). We are the children of God, sons and daughters of the King of Kings! Let us not forget our purpose here on this earth: to know God and make Him known, bringing glory to Him, building His Kingdom, and worshipping Him all along the way.