QUOTE THE WORD
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” Then the devil took him to the holy city, 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 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.’” Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.” “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’ ”
— Matthew 4:3-10 NLT
TODAY’S THOUGHT
At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry on earth the Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness for a time of prayer and fasting. Afterwards Satan comes to tempt Jesus.
Satan first appeals to his natural hunger for food and tries to get Jesus to use His divine power for personal profit. Jesus responded by quoting from Deuteronomy 8:3.
Then Satan tries a different approach. He took Jesus to the highest point of the Temple and dared Him to jump off. Satan even quoted from Psalm 91 about the angels protecting us. But Jesus resisted the temptation by quoting from Deuteronomy 6:16.
But Satan is persistent. He takes Jesus to a tall mountain to see the kingdom of the world and offers them to Jesus if Jesus will worship him. Jesus again quoted scripture to reject Satan’s temptation. This time it was from Deuteronomy 6:13.
If Jesus used scripture as a means of overcoming temptation, shouldn’t we? But the problem is a lot of followers of Christ don’t know scripture enough to really be effective in quoting the Word when they are tempted.
When we know the Word of God we can practice the replacement principle—when presented with a lie we replace it with truth. God’s Word is truth. But it is only powerful truth if we know it.
Jesus gave us a clear example of how to handle Satan’s attacks on our minds. Quote the Word.
Therefore it is important to be in corporate worship, a small group bible study, and spend time daily with God’s Word. It is the Word of God that can renew our minds and protect us from the attacks of lies. The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit that cuts off the lies of Satan.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Holy Spirit help me to know Your Word. Help me to be disciplined to read and memorize Your Word.
Scroll down to share what you feel God is saying to you based on today’s reading.