MATTHEW 4:1-11 – “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall 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 and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.”
THEME OF THE DAY: THE DAILY WARFARE IN THE CHRISTIAN. How would we define the spiritual warfare a Christian must fight each and every day until our death or the Lord Jesus returns? Before I give my simple answer, it is important to grasp there are a lot of things out there claiming to be Christian and being labeled spiritual warfare which are not.
The first thing to understand about spiritual warfare is that it cannot be something Christians share with non-Christians. Spiritual warfare is only for living people, born again, living people. Non-Christians have no spiritual life, and dead souls are not engaged with the devil in spiritual warfare. He already owns them.
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:1-5).
So, what would be a simple definition of spiritual warfare. Consider this . . .
“The daily spiritual warfare Christians must fight in this world is the battle for our hearts. If the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh may lure our affections off Christ and cause us to place any person, any pursuit, any achievement, or anything above Christ in our hearts and thus our affections, we have lost the spiritual battle. Our hearts have been surrendered.”
In today’s scripture is the most detailed description of spiritual warfare in the Bible. It is our Lord’s encounter with Satan, and at the heart of the matter, is the heart of the matter. Satan wants to get Jesus away from a fixation on His Father’s will and thus disqualify Him as our Savior. Jesus would not or could not do so. His heart was always attached to His Father, and so must it be for us.
Take time and look into our lives. Is there anything or anyone we are putting ahead of the Lord Jesus in our hearts and affections? Be honest. Be thorough. A lot is at stake. Ask the Lord to help. The whole of the Christian life is unrivalled love for God and remember, He is a jealous God. He will not allow the priorities of our hearts and affections to be anywhere but on Him.
PRAYER: Father, make me wise and discerning of the spiritual warfare that I must fight daily.
REFLECTION: Anyone or anything that seeks to replace Jesus on the throne of our hearts is a spiritual foe.