Jesus Already Did It!!!!

Thursday, September 1st, 2011

Today's Passage>> Matthew 4: 1-11
memory Verse>> James 4:7

Anyone who knows and loves God knows that His Son Jesus was completely God even which He was completely man, living and walking on this earth. But He subjected Himself to the laws of the flesh so that He could walk in our shoes, knowing what it would be like to be tempted in all things and not give in by the power of the Holy Spirit. One question did occur to me, though. What if Jesus, Whose ultimate goal was to walk out the Father's will, DID give in to the enemy's attempts to tempt Him?

What if Jesus had allowed the temporary feeling of hunger pangs to overwhelm Him, and had given in when Satan tried to get Him to turn the stones into bread? When He was taunted, and His lordship put into question, what if He'd simply just jumped off that mountain? Of course the angels would've moved heaven and earth to keep Him safe. As for that last dare, I know there would've been no way Jesus would have bowed down to the mortal enemy of His beloved Father. But could you imagine how devastating the other two situations would've been?

To you and me, who've always lived in this flesh suit, it seems only a small thing for the enemy to convince Jesus to perform two insignificant magic tricks such as turning stones to bread, or jumping off a high place. But to the Lord, it would've been the ultimate betrayal of everything His Father placed in Him. That one decision would've sent the message to both the kingdom of light AND the kingdom of darkness that Jesus couldn't be counted on to bring salvation to the world. That would've totally destroyed God's plan, and then where would we be? Lost without any hope. And the enemy was just as aware of this as Jesus was. For this reason alone, Jesus HAD to resist him, knowing he would ultimately flee.

What does this mean for us? If Jesus, Who has been given dominion and power over all things, could depend on God's spirit to enable Him to withstand temptation, how much more should WE pull on every ounce of grace from God's throne to stand against the wiles of the enemy? Jesus went before us, walked it out, and did NOT give in. We don't HAVE to give in as if there weren't any evidence of how possible it is to be holy. But every single time we do, we give the devil permission to mess with our destiny, rendering us --and God's plan for using us-- completely ineffective. Follow the blueprint for resisting temptation: remind Satan of God's Words, then evict Him from your presence like the aggravating pest he is. Jesus already did it, remember? The answers to this test are already in The Book. We can't fail!

Prayer: Father, I thank You for sacrificing Jesus so that every temptation I face won't look so intimidating and impossible to overcome. I place myself under the blood of the Lamb, and declare the ability to resist the kingdom of darkness, causing every trap set for me and my brothers and sisters to be destroyed. For Your glory and in Jesus' Name, Amen.