Skip to main content

Satan is defeated. Jesus is victorious ...

In the story of the flood, we read of the covenant made with Noah. As we move into the story of Jesus, we come into the realm of the new covenant. God was doing a new thing, something greater than anything that ever happened under the old covenant. At the outset of Jesus' ministry, the devil made another attempt to undermine the work of God. He tried to distract Jesus from His mission. His methods bear a striking similarity to those used in the Garden of Eden. He tries to sow seeds of doubt - "If you are the Son of God ..." (Matthew 4:3,6). Quoting Scripture (Matthew 4:6), he gives the appearance of spirituality. Satan's goal becomes clear in the third temptation. He wants Jesus to "bow down and worship" him (Matthew 4:9). Satan is defeated. Jesus is victorious. This victory can be ours as we grasp the truth: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge" (Proverbs 1:7), as we learn, when tempted by Satan, to say, with Jesus, "It is written" (Matthew 4:4,7,10).
(One Year Bible - Day 4: Genesis 7:1-9:17; Matthew 4:1-22; Proverbs 1:1-17)
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lord, we worship You in the place of worship...

Psalm 48:1-14 Lord, we worship You in the place of worship – “Within Your Temple, we meditate on Your unfailing love.” Help us to go out from there, and play our part in seeing that Your praise “reaches to the ends of the earth” (Psalm 48:: 9-11). How will other people know of Your love, if we don’t tell them? How will they find their way to Your House, if we don’t invite them? When we share Your Word with others, help us to remember Your promise: “My Word… will not return to Me empty, but will… achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).
Post a Comment
Read more

Help us, Lord, to become better people – not bitter people!

2 Chronicles 26:1-28:27 Help us, Lord, to learn from the failure of King Uzziah. He began well – “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord … He set himself to seek God” (2 Chronicles 26:4-5). He lost his way – “When he was strong, he grew proud, and he was false to the Lord his God” ( 2 Chronicles 26:16). Help us, Lord, to become better people – not bitter people!
Post a Comment
Read more

One Year Bible: Day 68 - Leviticus 19:1-20:27; Mark 14:43-72; Proverbs 6:30-35

Central to the teaching of Leviticus is its emphasis on the holiness of God and His purpose of making His people holy: “Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. Keep My decrees and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy … You are to be holy to Me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be My own” ( Leviticus 20:7-8 , 26 ). We are commanded to “be holy.” We have the Lord’s promise that He will make us holy – holy to the Lord, different from those who live according to worldly standards. Jesus was perfectly holy, yet He did not defend Himself when He was falsely accused by evil men ( Mark 14:55-61 ). He “confessed our sin”, took our place, bearing the punishment for our sins. We must not be ashamed to confess Him – “Yes, I am with Jesus. Yes, I am His disciple” (contrast Peter’s denial in Mark 14:66-72 ). there is judgment for those who destroy themselves by going the world’s way rather th...
Post a Comment
Read more