Faith 2

Faith 2

Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour. Take a firm stand against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.

1 Peter 5:8-9

The Bible teaches us that Satan is our adversary—a liar and a murderer. He slanders, accuses, and deceives, and lies are his chief weapons. In order for us to recognize and counteract his deceptions, we must know and believe God’s truth. We don’t resist by running away from the enemy; we resist by standing up to him with the Word of God—through faith.

When Jesus was tempted by the devil (see Matthew 4), he responded to Satan’s three temptations with Scripture, not with his divine power. That’s encouraging to us because we too can respond with Scripture. When Satan tempted Jesus with hunger, a desire of the flesh, Jesus responded with Deuteronomy 8:3: “People need more than bread for their life; real life comes by feeding on every word of the Lord.” If I cater to my physical needs and ignore God’s will for me, I sin.

Satan’s second temptation involved quoting Scripture out of context and daring Jesus to put himself in danger and then call to God for rescue. Jesus responded with Deuteronomy 6:16, saying it is wrong to tempt God. We should not put ourselves in circumstances where we try to force God to do something on our behalf.

The third time around, Satan offered Jesus a shortcut to power in exchange for worship, but Jesus responded with Deuteronomy 6:13, which says that whatever we worship is what we serve.

If Jesus, who is the Son of God, chose to resist the devil with faith in God and surrender to his Word, how much more do we need to!

Father,

When we are confronted with the devil’s lies, please help us to recognize them and counteract them with your truth. Thank you for your Word. May we hide it in our hearts so that we will not sin. Amen.