LUKE 4:1-13 – And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’ ”And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’ ”And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ” And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.”
THEME OF THE DAY: ALWAYS ON WATCH. ALWAYS IN BATTLE. Today’s scripture is Luke’s account of our Lord’s wilderness temptation. The Spirit of God led the Son of God into an intense battle with the devil. How insane was the evil one to think he would triumph over Jesus! Yet, the battle raged and each time our Lord defeated His foe with the Sword of the Spirit – the Word of God. With each blow from Satan came the victorious counter-punch “it is written” from our Savior. As the battle came to an end with the devil departing in defeat, pay close attention to how Luke describes the activity of the devil – And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.
The word “opportune” means a time that is suitable or advantageous for a particular purpose. To paraphrase the definition, “the devil left Jesus for a future time of his choosing when he felt he would have a greater opportunity to defeat the Lord.” Obviously, that time would never come but it didn’t stop Satan from attacking. And the lesson becomes clear for us; a lesson we must heed or unlike the Godman, Jesus, we will experience defeat for the devil is far more crafty and powerful than us.
The lesson? We will never know a day free from the attacks of the devil. He will exploit our flesh, use the world to trip us up, and bring fiery darts of accusations to our conscience – And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God (Revelation 12:10). Our “call to arms” is a call to watchfulness. Jesus exhorts us, “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). If we hope to fight the good fight, and keep the faith till the end, daily remember, we are always on watch, always in battle.
PRAYER: “Father, help me to always be on guard knowing every day is battle day.”
QUOTE: “The devil never rests in attacking God’s people. Arm yourself with this truth.”
In the affection of Christ Jesus,
Pastor Jim