Don’t Give In
Opening Prayer
Lord, keep my eyes and heart focused on You. I want to live in Your truth.
Read Matthew 4:1–11
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do 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 splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Oscar Wilde’s character Lord Darlington says, “I can resist anything except temptation.” Do you ever feel the same way?Here is a lesson from Jesus in dealing with temptation. He is being tempted to forget why he had come and to settle for personal gratification (3), instant glory (5,6) and an easy route to power (9). But Jesus will not be diverted; his focus is clear.
The devil would love to turn us away from doing what God wants and get us focused on ourselves. What can we learn from Jesus? He reminds himself of the truth of God as it is in the Bible. All temptation involves distortion. The devil can twist Scripture (6). He always wants us to believe a lie. So the answer is always to remind ourselves of truth.
Jesus also remembers his purpose. The devil offers us all sorts of things that look attractive, but they are not ultimately satisfying because they are not what God wants. Just as Jesus got his sense of purpose and God’s calling from Scripture, so do we. Knowing our Bibles is a great help in facing up to temptation and staying true to God’s purpose for our lives. We are not here to live for ourselves but to bring glory to God.
Apply
What verses can you take with you today to help you face temptation? Hebrews 4:15,16 and 1 Corinthians 10:13 may help.
Closing prayer
God, help me to keep Your truth at the front of my mind as I face temptations today.
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