Friday, September 28, 2007
Matthew 4:1-11God loves us and has a wonderful plan for our lives. As soon as we accept that truth and begin following that plan, it won't be long before we realize that Satan has a plan too. He doesn't care is we call ourselves Christian. He just doesn't want us to act like one. And when we consider that countless people who are turned off by hypocritical Christians, it's obvious why this is one of Satan's favorite strategies.
Everyone expects Christians to act differently- and rightly so. If Satan can sidetrack us from living as Jesus' true followers, he has won the day. It all boils down to a power struggle, seen in Matthew 4. Satan wasn't out to kill Jesus. Rather, at this point he was out to recruit Jesus. In essence, it was Satan's way of saying, "I don't care if You are the Messiah, just let me manage how You're going to work out Your Messiahship."
It's interesting that the Spirit intentionally led Jesus into the wilderness for this confrontation. Perhaps to remind us that life with Jesus is not always easy. In fact, we should expect to spend some time in the "wilderness" of temptation and testing. When we're at our weakest, as Jesus must have been after his 40-day fast, Satan tries to take advantage. He knows where we're vulnerable and creeps into our struggle with seemingly good plans. But beware - his plans are not God's plans, and they're not good plans! Jesus knew that, and He over-powered the enemy with the Word of God.
Admist the dry and dusty scenery of weak moments in our lives, it's GOD's Word that refreshes our souls and protects us from Satan's attempt to manipulate and malign our witness for Christ. His Word is the key to victory. It also charts the course for following His wonderful plan for our lives.
I've been paid for in FULL 4:53 PM