Luke 4:3–4: “And the devil said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.’ But Jesus answered him, saying, ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” ‘ “

February 15th, 2022 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Satan used 3 kinds of temptation against Jesus, and he still uses the same ones against all believers to this day. The first is the temptation to do it by yourself. The second is the temptation to take the easy way, the way of least resistance. And the third is the temptation to not believe it until you see it.

We, of course, cannot be tempted to turn stones into bread because we don’t have that kind of power. So Satan changes it slightly, tempting us to believe that if we want something, we just need to do it and never mind looking to God. We are regularly tempted to go outside the boundaries of God’s will to satisfy our personal desires. In the second temptation, Satan offered Jesus a kingdom without the cross. Why go through all the trouble and pain to have victory over the world and the flesh, when it could be handed on a silver platter at no personal cost? But if Jesus took the crown without the cross, redemption would not have taken place and we would still be lost in our sins. The final temptation, for us, is like saying to God, “I won’t believe in you until I see you; show it to me on my terms.”

The common denominator of all 3 temptations is that they attempted to destroy Jesus’ and the believer’s relationship with God the Father. But Jesus was able to overcome Satan’s temptations and because of Him so can we. We love the quote from Martin Luther about how he overcame Satan, he said, “When he comes knocking at the door of my heart, and asks, ‘Who lives here?’ Jesus goes to the door and says, ‘Martin Luther used to live here, but he has moved out. Now I live here.'” When Jesus Christ fills our life, Satan has no way to come in.

“LORD, forgive our sins, fill our hearts, and keep the evil one from us; we humbly ask, in Jesus’ name.”