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: THE TEMPTED LIFE OF THE CHRISTIAN. So many sermons have been preached, books written, and Sunday school lessons conducted on the wilderness temptation of our Lord Jesus. There is much to be learned from it. Here are a few of the more familiar lessons; the sovereignty of God over the devil, the effective use of the Word of God, (the Sword of the Spirit) in spiritual warfare, the distortion of scripture by the devil, the crafty tactics of the devil, the humanity of Jesus, the trust of Jesus in God’s Word, and the eventual defeat of the devil and his attempt to disqualify Jesus as our Savior by sinning (which Jesus would not and could not).
There is one other lesson very important for us to remember and apply. It is found in the closing words in today’s scripture. Luke writes, “And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time”. The word opportune is translated for a season, for a time, until another time, until his next opportunity.
The lesson? We will never be free from the tempting tactics of the devil as he looks for areas in our lives to exploit and bring us to sin against the Lord. The Christian life is the tried life, always. There will be no ceasefire in this war. Such awareness will cause us to fight like Jesus did with the Sword of the Spirit. We will also find ourselves in a watching posture, a guarding posture against the subtle attacks of the devil.
The Christian life is a life of warfare. Daily think about this reality. The devil constantly looks for opportunity to attack. Be aware. Be armed.
PRAYER: Father, remind me daily of the spiritual warfare I am in and to guard my heart in the battle
REFLECTION: The Christian life is the tried life and will be so all through life. Be aware. Be armed.