Bible Verse of the Day Thursday December 23rd 2021

 Matthew 4:3-4 The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread: Jesus answered, "It is written: ’Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ "

Satan told Jesus that if He indeed was the Son of God, He had the right and the power to satisfy His own needs. Satan did not doubt if He was the Son of God; Satan knew this to be true. His objective was to tempt Jesus to turn against the Father.

The Israelites experienced hunger in the wilderness because God wanted to show them that obedience to God's Word is the most critical thing in life (Deuteronomy 8:2-3). Although the Children of Israel demanded bread while they were wandering in the wilderness and eventually died, Jesus declined to turn the stones into bread and lived. Satan's objective was to shake the perfect trust Jesus had with the Father and, this way, change God's plan of salvation.

Jesus didn't rebuke Satan or disagree with him, He answered Him, and His answers came straight from God's Word (Deuteronomy 8:3). The proposition that Satan brought forth did make sense; why go through this time in the wilderness hungry, but what was in God's Holy Word made more sense. It was not that Jesus wanted to refuse supernatural help in satisfying His hunger. He did accept what the angels brought Him when the temptation was complete; he willingly accepted the timing of the Father and surrendered to His will in all aspects of life. Sometimes we ask God for something, and we want it in our time; this is a lesson from our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus, about the importance of waiting on God and His time.

Satan will time his attacks to when we are at our weakest, when we have been symbolically wandering around in a wilderness for days. Through the Holy Word of God, we will be able to maintain a vibrant and energetic fellowship with our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. Our dependence on God will depend wholly and entirely on our knowledge of the Word of God. When we intake physical nourishment, it converts into physical energy; the same thing happens when we intake the Word of God it transforms into spiritual power and strength.

Jesus fought Satan, not with some supernatural power that is not accessible to us. Jesus fought that battle with Satan with resources that are obtainable to us, the Word of God. Jesus could have stood against Satan with all the power of heaven (Matthew 26:53), but He chose to use the Word of God as His weapon. We will be successful in resisting the temptation of Satan the same way Jesus did, by casting that Light of God upon our enemy, Satan. If we are ignorant of what God is telling us in His Word, we will be inadequately armed when we have to fight our battles with Satan.

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