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“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”
-Matthew 4:1


Hello My Friends,


The definition of temptation is the desire to do something, especially something wrong or unwise. We have all dealt with temptation at varying levels in our lives. While sometimes we can withstand them, at other times we give in. Have you ever wondered what we might be able to do to be stronger in moments like these? Well, Jesus provides us an example in Matthew 4.


After Jesus is baptized by John in the Jordan river, He is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Here he fasts for forty days and forty nights pitting Him in a weakened and susceptible state. This is when the devil approaches in the scripture.


The devil recognizes Jesus’ hunger and tempts Him to turn stones into bread. The devil is preying on Jesus’ basic need for food. Jesus does not waver however but responds with scripture regarding man not living by bread alone but by every word from the mouth of God.


The devil then takes Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple and tells Him to throw Himself down if He is the Son of God. If so, the angels will save Him. Jesus responds once again with scripture saying you shall not tempt your Lord your God.


Finally, the devil brings Jesus to the top of a mountain, showing Him all the kingdoms of the world and saying it can all be His as long as Jesus bows down and worships him. Jesus responds with scripture saying you shall worship the Lord your God and Him only you shall serve.
This said, the devil left Jesus. At each step, Jesus was able to deflect the temptations with scripture. However, it is not just the words themselves, it is the message they have embedded into His soul. The scriptures are so much a part of who He is that His words and actions recall them into service when needed as simply as breathing.


Are there scriptures in your life that you live by? “Love one another”, “Judge not lest ye be judged”, or maybe “Your will be done”? Which ones are you able to employ when temptation arises? If we are able to identify the times and circumstances in our lives where we are most susceptible to temptation we can arm ourselves with scripture to fortify ourselves.


I invite you to explore the scriptures to identify ways to strengthen you through the hard times. If you want to explore this more please reach out, I would love to walk the journey with you. God bless you all.


With much love, -Pastor Brian