A Bible Devotion

MATTHEW 4:10 ESV 10 Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written," 'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'"

When Jesus was tempted by the devil, He talked back to the devil by quoting the written Word of God. You should do the same thing.

Let's read the whole story.

MATTHEW 4:2-11 ESV 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." 4 But he answered, "It is written," 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written," 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and "'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'" 7 Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'" 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." 10 Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written," 'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'" 11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

We can learn many things from this account of Jesus being tempted by the devil.

First we see that the devil attacked Jesus when he was weak and hungry. He was attacked at His weakest point.

The devil's main initial tactic was to instill doubt. "If!" After doubt failed to tempt Jesus, the devil offered a seemingly easier way for Jesus to achieve His purpose, than by doing the will of God.

The only response Jesus ever had to any of the devil's temptations was quoting the written Word of God. That was His only defense.

The devil also tried to use God's Word, but twisted the meaning.

The devil did not give up immediately the first time Jesus talked back to him. The devil kept on hitting Jesus with thoughts of temptation repeatedly.

The temptations were real and appealing. The devil seemed to offer an easier way than trusting and obeying God, but of course the devil is a liar.

As Jesus persisted with speaking God's written Word, the devil finally gave up.

How do you know when the devil is talking to your mind? The source of any thought that causes you to doubt God's Word or God's goodness is the devil. Any thought that tries to get you to act contrary to God's Word, is from the devil.

JAMES 4:7 ESV 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

We submit to God by submitting to what He says in His written Word, the Bible. When we resist any thought contrary to God's written Word, we are resisting the devil. When we do that, the devil will flee. Maybe not immediately, but if we persist in being submitted to God's Word, the devil can do nothing to us.

So do as Jesus did. When the devil hits you with doubt, quote the Word of God to him.

SAY THIS: When the devil tries to bring doubt to my mind, I will answer with the written Word of God, just like Jesus did.