September 30. 2024 Devo

September 30th, 2024

“It’s All About Jesus!”
The Temptation of Jesus (Luke 4:1-14)
Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry. Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.” But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’”– Luke 4:2-4 (NLT)
“Do You Have It IN You?”

Don’t miss the three most powerful words in our passage today. “The Scriptures say.” Don’t you find it fascinating that when the Enemy came against Jesus in this time of testing, Jesus responded to every temptation with that phrase? Jesus stood on the Word as His Foundation. He used God’s Word as His shield. He used it as His sword. But notice a couple of other things as well.
First, the Word that He memorized and kept in His heart and mind was all that He had with Him. He was in the wilderness. There was no church or temple to run to. He was all alone. There were no friends to call on for support or accountability. There comes a time for all of us that it’s the same way. We know the Enemy loves to attack when we’re isolated. But if we have the Word of God, we’re never truly alone!
That gets me to the second thought. Jesus took time as He grew up to get the Word of God into His heart and mind. He went to the synagogue. He went to the temple. He read the Word. He studied the Word. He memorized the Word. So when His time came for testing, He was ready. Here’s the deal. You can’t bring out what you’ve not taken time to put in! Too many treat spending time in God’s Word as an optional part of our faith. That’s why we struggle so much when the Enemy comes against us. Jesus was able to bring God’s Word out because He had taken time to take God’s Word in. He didn’t have to go looking for His Sword and Shield. He just had to unleash it.
Take this to heart. Getting into God’s Word is not optional for those who desire to live the victorious life. The Enemy WILL come. He WILL tempt. He will seek to lure you, discourage you, and deceive you. The Word of God can help you overcome him when he does. The only question is, do you have it IN you? That’s God’s Word for you today.