“And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread” (Luke 4:1-3).
These three verses begin the account of the temptation of Jesus. . If you aren’t familiar with the story please read the entire passage (Luke 4:1-13). It is one thing to tempt you and I to sin, but quite another to tempt the very Son of God!
The devil will be there to tempt us to sin when we are at our weakest. The devil will dangle anything he can to get usto cave in and sin. However, even as weak as Christ felt after a forty-day fast, He didn’t fall for Satan’s tricks. Christ was armed with Scripture and sinned not..
Temptation in itself is not the problem. It is the yielding to it that will cause us to fall. The devil knows that and plays upon it to draw us into his trap. I never want to give him any credit, but, he is definitely cunning.
When the crafty rascal, the devil, comes to us we must remember the words found in Hebrews 4:15, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” Satan has power, but, it cannot compare to the power of the Almighty God. When we feel we are tempted more than we can bear, God will “make a way of escape” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Sue Winchester
Missouri
PRAY TOGETHER: Pray for the Home Missions Board as they select a new general director and for current director Larry Powell as he prepares for retirement.
