Lenten Reader | Day 8

March 2nd, 2023

Worship the Lord

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Matthew 4:8-11

When the devil took Jesus to the high mountain in hopes to tempt Him, Jesus didn’t get angry and start an argument with him. Nor did He try to change the devil’s mind with a lofty discussion on doctrine. Jesus immediately threw Scripture right back at him – a passage out of Deuteronomy 6:13: You shall fear only The Lord your God; and you shall worship Him alone and swear by His name. Jesus knew well that the same words Moses used in giving the law to the children of Israel would have great power over Satan.

The enemy doesn’t have any new material to try to tempt us. He’s been using all the same strategies since the Garden of Eden. God has given us His Word and we are charged with using it as a great and mighty tool and at times even as a weapon to combat the schemes of the enemy.

We are blessed with sixty-six books of God’s living Word. In Hebrews 4:12, Paul says that God’s word is sharper than any two-edged sword. Jesus understood that He wasn’t combating the enemy on His own.

If we could only understand that we are not fighting this fight alone. We have the one that conquered death, hell, and the grave going before us in all things. Satan is going to try to tempt us daily. He knows the plans that the Lord has for us, and He is daily trying to thwart those plans. We need to know Scripture and speak light over his dark schemes. Jesus is our perfect example. If it worked for Him, shouldn’t we be doing the same?

Mindy Houser