Until the Next Opportunity

We start off today with a familiar Bible passage, but something new stood out to me the other day when I read the story of the temptation of Jesus in Luke 4.

1Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, Some manuscripts read into the wilderness. 2where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.
3Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.”
4But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’ Deut 8:3.”
5Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6“I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. 7I will give it all to you if you will worship me.”
8Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say,
‘You must worship the lord your God
and serve only him.’ Deut 6:13.”
9Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! 10For the Scriptures say,
‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you.
11And they will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’ Ps 91:11-12.”
12Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the lord your God.’ Deut 6:16.”
13When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.


We know that Jesus was tempted in every way that we are (Heb 4:15). We can also know that if the devil was trying to tempt Jesus and make him slip, he will come after the children of God just as hard to tempt them away from the will of God.


Verse 13 really stood out to me today while I was reading this today.. " he left him until the next opportunity came." The Bible does not tell much else of time later that Jesus was tempted, but we know it happened. What did Jesus do every time he was tempted? He refuted the temptation and spoke back with the Word of God. The enemy knows exactly when and how to tempt us, but we must stand up and recite the Word of God which is the truth.


One thing to remember is that you may win today, but then enemy will be back "when the next opportunity comes..." The good news is that we have authority over the schemes of the enemy at every opportunity. God has equipped you with all the weapons you need to defeat any temptation or even a thought that is not from God. Here are two of many scriptures you can stand on.


So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. --James 4:7


the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. --1 John 4:4


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Loud and Clear

Image
  The other day I was out mowing the yard, and my two sons were playing in the yard as they typically do.   I was listening to my favorite mowing playlist with my wireless Bluetooth noise reducing headphones.   I like listening to my Amazon playlist through my phone while I mow the yard.   It gives me some time to reflect on some awesome songs that magnify God.   My son Jacob noticed this and wanted to see what it would be like to wear his daddy’s headphones and listen to the tunes.   I put on my headphones on my son. He got the biggest grin on his face and walked/danced away with joy and happiness.   A few minutes go by, and I hear Jacob say something from across the yard.   “Dad…something is wrong with these headphones!   They are getting glitchy.”   I figured out quickly that there was nothing wrong with the headphones at all, the problem was that my son got too far away from the source of the playlist, and the music began to cut ou...
Read more

Hovering over the Waters--Genesis 1:2

Image
 The other day I was speaking to the girls about baptism and what makes it such an important event in the life of a believer.  As I was thinking of baptism and stories about water, I felt God directing my thoughts to a scripture in the beginning of the Bible that I never linked to baptism before.  Bear with me, this may be a bit of a stretch, but I believe God likes to stretch our thoughts and reveal new things to us using his word. Genesis 1:2 The earth was  without form, and void; and darkness  was  on the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. We are going way back to the beginning on this one.  The earth started out being without a form and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep.  However, the Spirit of God was still present hovering over the waters.  As I was thinking about this passage, it was revealed to me that just like the Earth was without form ( purpose ) and void ( empty ),...
Read more

Steal, Kill and Destroy vs. Give, Live, and Create

Image
  The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have  it  more abundantly. - John 10:10 John 10:10 gives us a very clear idea of the agenda of the Kingdom of God vs. the Kingdom of the enemy.  We can assume from reading about the agenda of the thief ( enemy ) that the agenda of God would be directly opposite.  Lets take each action and compare the agenda of both. Thief's Agenda Steal Kill Destroy God's Agenda Give Live (or give life) Create We have to realize that there is a measure of good and evil in the world, and that God's judgement is the measurement by which everyone will be judged.  Now lets look at some real world issues and see how God's word and agenda line up with current social issues. Steal vs Give- The enemy is out to steal from you and your family.  If you there is anything good that you possess, the enemy is out to steal it out from under you.  Joy, pe...
Read more