Temptations Central

This thing with Satan is occupying a good part of my biblical studies lately. I’m encouraged to know that God’s plan is pretty precise and obvious to those who are looking for His Word. I was taken with reading Matthew 4: 1-11 regarding the three temptations of Jesus in the desert after 40 days of fasting. When Satan offers Christ ‘all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; I was shocked at the power the devil has to tempt each and every one of us as we operate on what is essentially his turf.

Remember Lucifer hung out with the Lord in heaven. They were roadies for a while until Lucifer got the big head and was banished to the physical realm. Once Jesus rebuked him for the third time scripture says “Then the devil left Him and angels came and attended Him.” So once Christ withstood temptation, God then delivered unto him all that Satan offered and more.You see that is Christ’s birthright and ours too. So let me get this straight.The devil probably knows the bible better than we do. He understands what tempts us because he knows what pleases God. Remember, they hung out together. Hence I am a much easier target certainly than Jesus Christ was and ruination for me won’t necessarily take the promise of all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. Since I am made in the image of God, perhaps the key to my salvation is surrendering all that I Have and all that I am to Him, He who is my Lord and Savior. By doing so I should be able to put myself into a position to see the devil coming. If I see him coming, maybe I can withstand, for the moment, the need to have my wants and desires satisfied by sacrificing the integrity of my soul for momentary gratification. I understand there is a difference between the temptation to sin and a test of faith. What I’m coming to grips with is how simple it appears to be when looked at from a godly, no spiritual perspective. Once Jesus answered each one of Satan’s successive temptations with Matthew 4:4 “It is (also) written: Man does not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” Matthew 4:7 “It is also written: Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”Matthew 4:10 “Away from me Satan! For it is written ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.”Then the devil left and the angels came.

The key then is to get on the other side of temptation by walking in the Word consciously enough to understand that just saying no to Satan is an absolute guarantee of getting all that you desire and all that you need in this life. What must be overcome however is to realize just how cunning the devil has become in getting one to realize, to forget, to ignore that he is the source of all temptation. When in doubt, call on the name of the Lord and eventually Satan will be replaced with angels ready to attend you. As Jesus said, “Seek ye first the kingdom and whatever it is that you desire, you will have more…”