Scripture
“Jesus said to him, 'Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him. ” (Matthew 4:10-11)
Observation
The devil can get in my head, he can try and corrupt my heart, he can mess with my life, but he can never replace the Kingship of Jesus over it all. As Jesus is tempted in the desert, each and every time he combats the devil with truth from the Word, ultimately defeating the enemy by proclaiming His worship to God and God alone.
Application
While the devil is crafty, he is relegated ineffective if my mind, heart and soul are set on Worship unto the Lord and serving Him only. Often my failures to resist temptation are a result of me worshiping something other than God; my desires, my plans, my wants. When my worship is unto Christ alone the devil has no choice but to flee. When my weapon for warfare is to Word up to ward off temptation, the result will be success each and every time.
I often fail at this, but Jesus’ faithfulness has never waned and His word will never waver. I just need to need to guard my heart, protect my perspective and keep my eyes on the King of kings.
How?
- Stay in the Word! Jesus knew the Word and lived the Word, and ultimately the Word was his final blow weapon. The book of Hebrews says that “the word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword.” When we war with the devil we need to take this ultimate weapon and wield it with boldness.
- Know the Word! Same as above; there is no problem or challenge that the Bible can’t answer and no conflict that it can’t resolve. But just reading the word isn’t enough. As Pastor Wayne says, “we need to let the Bible read us.” I love the illustration he uses when he opens his Bible and places it over his head. I see it as marinating our mind, heart and soul on the Word of God. When we marinate things that’s how the flavor comes through; when I marinate on God’s word that’s how the best reflection and representation of Him will come through in my life.
- Say the Word! The saying is “actions speak louder than words.” If I just keep what I read and learn inside that might be ok. I’ll be inspired and full of knowledge. An inspiration is fine. But when I actually do something about it, when I walk the walk, put action to the inspiration, that’s when incarnation happens. And incarnation transforms, it puts meat to the bone and action to my good intention. Jesus didn’t smirk at the devil and walk away, although He could have. He stood bold in the face of temptation and declared with His mouth that God alone was the One He worshiped and called Lord. And in doing so released the secret weapon to defeat the evil one for all time.
Prayer
Jesus, again You are the example. Thank you again for setting the blueprint on how to resist temptation. I need to word up! I pray for the discipline and decisiveness to intentionally meditate on Your Word, allowing it to transform my mind, heart and soul to align with Yours. I worship You, You are Lord of my life. Amen
