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Luke 4:13 “Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.”

   The wording here is quite revealing. For one thing, the devil gives up because he was out of things to try. The devil has a somewhat limited repertoire of tricks. After he exhausts these, he is at a loss for a time. For a while He left Christ alone. But, true to his nature he was back at it when it was convenient for him.
   The devil is a deft creature. He will not put in any more effort than he has to. He thrives on the quick and easy methods he has perfected over the course of thousands of years. But, though shrewd, he is also bumptious, and will not give up his target in spite of being soundly beaten time and again. Endurance is the answer to his shtick.

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us victory in Christ! How could we live without Him? Defeat is a cage that the enemy wants everyone to live in. If they make it out of that one, he will put them into pride, and hold them there. Liberty, oh how precious it is! In Jesus we may be finally free. We will bring the honor and praise to You, oh LORD! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 4:12 “And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said,`You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'”

   Jesus is quoting here from Deuteronomy 6:16. All three of His quotations in this passage come from Deuteronomy. So, not only does He defeat the devil’s schemes, but He does it in a very Jewish, and very Divine, way. What I mean is that Deuteronomy is God’s clarion call to the children of Israel for obedience. So, it was very Jewish in that it belies a perfect understanding of their history to put so much stock in this book. All the cause for problems in Israel hark back to things they were warned of in Deuteronomy.

Heavenly Father, You are surely wonderful! We will not put You to the test, but will trust You in every circumstance. You are worthy of our very lives. Only You have loved us in all purity. Only You have been only good towards us at all times. Oh how we marvel in Your precepts! Your ways are high above us and we praise You in them. Thank You for giving us the truth. We are weak, we cannot live on lies. You protect us from the evil one. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 4:11 “”and,`In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.'”

   The devil will always use the same ploy. He constantly questions God’s most amazing attributes. God actually cares about us. He loves us. He watches over us. It is this very thing that makes God so wonderful and unique. He is a Good Creator Who looks after His creation. Satan has to question that, because if he doesn’t, he is defeated before he gets started. He has to try to cast doubt upon that track record.

Heavenly Father, thank You for loving us! Wow, how could we ever thank You enough? We are overwhelmed by Your goodness and love. Your faithfulness is unparalleled. The schemes of the enemy only serve to highlight Your greatness in our minds. We will forever praise You and give You all of the glory! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 4:10 “”For it is written:`He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,'”

   Since Jesus had been directly quoting Scripture, the devil decides to do the same. However, true to form, he twists it for his purpose. He leaves out the phrase ‘in all your ways’ as he quotes Psalm 91:11-12. Though at first this might seem insignificant, we must remember Proverbs 3:5 and 6. This phrase reminds us that there are ways to consider. We must trust the Lord and look to him for our proper path. Jesus knew this well.

Heavenly Father, do not let us fail! Your ways and means are best. We will not question Your intentions, but trust in Your intervention. You are the only One we can depend on. You alone have the wisdom to know all that we need in this life. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 4:9 “Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.”

   This action would have drawn much attention. The idea was to do something very drastic, and public, to prove the identity of Christ. This was unnecessary and inconsistent with the will of the Father. It pandered to immediate gratification.
   In addition to this, such an action could be seen as a strange fulfillment of Malachi 3:1. However, Jesus knew that He was to only do what the Father led Him to. This prevented man, or as in this case, Satan, from demanding fulfillment on their own terms. Jesus’ utmost goal was to please the Father, and He remained focused on that.

Heavenly Father, You know and understand what we need and when we need it. We will rely on Your wisdom, which can solve the hardest of problems. Even when our most heartfelt desires are involved, You know what is best, and not we ourselves. Thank You for taking care of us! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 4:8 “And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written,`You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'”

   Almighty God is the only person that is to be accorded worship. It is His order for the universe. Satan understands this fully. And that is why worship is his greatest desire. He wants to be the center of everything. But, to look to him would be like trusting in a single candle rather than an ultra-bright star many times brighter than our own sun. There is simply no comparison. The LORD is of a kind completely different than all created beings, including Satan.

Heavenly Father, we can see and understand that You have established an order for Your universe. You make all things well. You are the Fountainhead. We accord to You the honor due Your Name. It is the most natural thing in the world to worship You each and every day. It is as basic as breathing. Thank You for being Who You are! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 4:7 “Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”

   Rather than gaining anything, Christ would have lost everything. To worship Satan is to give him power over you. The offer of so much power was empty because it meant only to be Satan’s stooge. Jesus knew this was a trick, and we should always keep His response before us.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the example of Christ. He is our Master, and He is the Master of Life. He shows us the way to live, and gives us the life we have. Oh how we love Him! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 4:6 “And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.”

   The offer made here was a legitimate one in that the devil did have the authority he displayed. However, the offer was a paltry sum in comparison to the entire universe. It was deceptive and tempting, both of which the devil is always good at. The point was to appeal to a desire for instant gratification. All of this authority, and more, was to come to the hand of Christ anyhow. But the devil offered this amount now. The bird in the hand is not really worth the two in the bush, however.

Heavenly Father, thank You for helping us to understand true value. There is value in Christ. He is what we want above all else. He is desirable. The thing to be the most coveted is a part in His kingdom, not rule in this world. We praise You Father for Christ! He is Your Perfect Son. May we bring Your glory to the forefront in all that we do! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 4:5 “Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.”

   There is not a high mountain from which every kingdom can be seen. Yet, the devil has power to do limited wonders. He showed off his greatness in a flashy show. This did not impress Christ, but would have been quite a spectacle I’m sure.

Heavenly Father, no matter what this world offers, Your truth is far greater. We cannot substitute anything for it. You have given us just what we need, and all else is worthless in comparison. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 4:4 “But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written,`Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'”

   In other words, we must not put dependence on physical food over dependence on the Word of God. The devil had questioned God’s Word by saying ‘if’. The fact of the incarnation of Christ did not have to be proven in order to establish the veracity of the Word. Thus, we are to rely on Scripture above all else.

Heavenly Father, Your Word is precious to us! In it we find all we need for life and godliness. It will never be exhausted. By Your Spirit we continue to learn from it each day. We praise You for giving ti to us and how that You have protected it. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.