So he took Him to Jerusalem, had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here. For it is written: He will give His angels orders concerning you to protect you, and they will support you with their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”
And Jesus answered him, “It is said: Do not test the Lord your God.”   Luke 4:9-12 HCSB

Con artists are often successful because they talk a good game. They defraud people by making them think that they care about them and have their best interests at heart. They convince people that they want what is best for them. The truth is that they are only looking out for themselves and will ruin other people’s lives to get what they want.

Some of us have found ourselves in unhealthy relationships because we fell for a smooth talking devil. We listened to someone sell us a pack of lies and we fell for them hook, line and sinker. This is nothing new, it’s been happening since the beginning of time. Way back in the Garden of Eden the devil told Eve in Genesis 3:1, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden?’ ” See the devil put a little twist on it. He made Eve question what God had actually said. Had God told her that she couldn’t eat from any tree in the garden? No, He had actually told her that she could eat from any of the trees except the tree in the middle of the garden. In our scripture passage today, He dares Jesus by saying, “If you really are the Son of God.”

Unfortunately as human beings we don’t know what the future holds. I bet if Eve had any idea what was headed her way, she would never have touched that forbidden fruit. She would have listened to God and continued to live in this heavenly existence that God had provided for her and Adam. But, she fell for the devil’s lies. Genesis 3:1 tells us that the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. We are warned way back in Genesis not to fall for the devil and his schemes. But so often we do.

Now in Luke, chapter 4, we are told that the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. The devil knows Jesus is hungry so he tries to tell Him to turn stones into bread. In other words, don’t wait for God to provide, make it happen on your own. But Jesus did not fall for that one. Jesus quoted scripture to him (Deuteronomy 8:3). The devil took Jesus and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and offered to give them to Him if Jesus would only worship him. Again Jesus quoted scripture to him (Deuteronomy 6:13). Then the devil took Jesus to the top of the temple and told him to jump and allow God’s angels to catch Him. He quoted Psalm 91:11-12 to Jesus saying that the angels would catch Him. But Jesus, knowing that was not what that scripture meant, quoted Deuteronomy 6:16 to the devil and told him that we are told in scripture not to test the Lord our God.

Let’s look at this situation. First of all, Jesus was in a vulnerable position. He was no doubt hungry, He had not eaten in 40 days. He was obviously angry with the devil for lying to him and tempting him.  He was no doubt tired after having been in the wilderness for 40 days. He was lonely, He had been out there by Himself.  We know we are also vulnerable when we are hungry, angry, lonely, tired. At times we find ourselves in one or all of these situations. We must not be taken in by the smooth talking devil.

The best way to stand against him is to do just what Jesus did. Confront him with the Sword of the Spirit or God’s Holy Word. Now in order to do so, we must know our scripture. We can clearly see that the devil knows scripture and will twist it to convince us to do what he wants. Before you engage in a sword fight with him, you need to be sure that you are studied up. This is why I encourage you to not only read your Bible, but study your Bible. This helps us avoid deceptions that come when people twist scripture or take verses out of context.

In Ephesians 6:10-18 we are given armor and two offensive weapons, God’s word or the Sword of the Spirit and prayer. When you find yourself in battle with the devil pray, draw your sword. James 4:7 tells us to submit to God, resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. It’s just that easy. Trust in God today and don’t fall for the devil’s lies.

Have a great day!