Tag Archive | Matthew

Matthew 4 – Fighting Temptation

Mar5

Good evening y’all. Today we are looking at Matthew 4

Be blessed 🙂

Jesus was tempted in different ways but He didn’t yield to the temptations. It is possible to resist temptation(s). To be tempted is not the sin, its yielding to the temptation that is the sin.

The book of James explains that when we are tempted, we shouldn’t say, God tempted us: We are tempted by our own evil desires.

“Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by [what is] evil and He Himself tempts no one. But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own evil desire (lust, passions). Then the evil desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.(James 1: 13 – 15 AMP)

You might say, ‘overcoming temptations is easier said that done’.  That is only true when we are ill-equipped to fight the temptations; or we decide to forsake the most effective tool God has given us to fight temptations: the word.  The most effective way to counter the enemy is by using the word of God. The word of God is the sword of the Spirit. The word is powerful and effective. Its sharper than any 2 edged sword.

“For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart”.(Hebrews 4:12 AMP)

Jesus used the word of God that He knew to combat the devil. Note the devil too knew the bible but he twisted it to get the effect he wanted.  We have to be careful of people who lure us into temptation by twisting the bible. This is why it is important for us to spend time reading our bible. We have to know God’s word for ourselves. We can’t afford to wait till temptations come for us to start reading our bible: by then it might be too late.

Jesus’ interest in the word of God start at an early age. In Luke 2:46-47 says, ‘After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.‘  He was twelve years old at this time.

We have to be sensitive to the spirit to know that some of the offers we are given, even though they sound good, are not actually from God.  What Jesus was offered in the temptations wasn’t too bad superficially, but Jesus knew that the devil was just trying to distract him from His purpose, so he combated him by quoting the scripture back to him.

“But He replied, It has been written, Man shall not live and be upheld and sustained by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God”. (Matt 4:4 AMP)

“Jesus said to him, On the other hand, it is written also, You shall not tempt, test thoroughly, or try exceedingly the Lord your God”.(Matt 4:7 AMP)

“Then Jesus said to him, Begone, Satan! For it has been written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone shall you serve”.(Matt 4:410 AMP)

Some temptations are glaring and we should be quick to resist them. Scripture says submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you.  We shouldn’t even entertain the thoughts. 

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you”.(James 4:7 NIV)

Let’s do what Jesus did and put on the whole amour of God.  The word of God is very vital in the various items of the amour of God.  The scripture below tells us so:

“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17)

May God give us the grace to study His word diligently; resist the devil always; and submit totally to Him. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.

Thanks for joining today.

Have a blessed evening 🙂

***With God all things are possible***

Matthew 3- Lip service or Heart service?

Mar4

Good afternoon y’all. Today we are looking at Matthew 3

Be blessed 🙂

In this chapter, we see John calling everyone to repentance and then he notices the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch.

I particularly like his statement to them in verse 7- 10 and that’s where I want to focus today’s blog.

“When John realized that a lot of Pharisees and Sadducees were showing up for a baptismal experience because it was becoming the popular thing to do, he exploded: “Brood of snakes! What do you think you’re doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to make any difference? It’s your life that must change, not your skin! And don’t think you can pull rank by claiming Abraham as father. Being a descendant of Abraham is neither here nor there. Descendants of Abraham are a dime a dozen. What counts is your life. Is it green and blossoming? Because if it’s deadwood, it goes on the fire”.( Matthew 3:7 -10 MSG)

“But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch him baptize, he denounced them. “You brood of snakes!” he exclaimed. “Who warned you to flee God’s coming wrath? Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire”.(Matthew 3:7 -10 NLT)

From these verses, we can see that, its the way we live our lives that counts. Just mere lip service is not good enough. Our lives need to truly show that we have been transformed and changed by God. If truly we have repented and accepted Jesus as our Savior, there are certain behaviors that should no longer be associated with us. We can fool ourselves and others but we can’t fool God. God knows the intent of our hearts, He knows if we are genuine or fake in our walk with him.

My challenge to us today is for us to be honest with ourselves and look inward. Do our lives truly reflect Christ? Can people detect from our actions that we are God’s children?  Can they see Jesus in us? If our works are to be tested by fire, will it stand?

I will leave us with the words of Paul in Colossians 3: 1- 11 and 17.

“Since you became alive again, so to speak, when Christ arose from the dead, now set your sights on the rich treasures and joys of heaven where he sits beside God in the place of honor and power. Let heaven fill your thoughts; don’t spend your time worrying about things down here. You should have as little desire for this world as a dead person does. Your real life is in heaven with Christ and God. And when Christ who is our real life comes back again, you will shine with him and share in all his glories. Away then with sinful, earthly things; deaden the evil desires lurking within you; have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust, and shameful desires; don’t worship the good things of life, for that is idolatry. God’s terrible anger is upon those who do such things. You used to do them when your life was still part of this world; but now is the time to cast off and throw away all these rotten garments of anger, hatred, cursing, and dirty language. Don’t tell lies to each other; it was your old life with all its wickedness that did that sort of thing; now it is dead and gone. You are living a brand new kind of life that is continually learning more and more of what is right, and trying constantly to be more and more like Christ who created this new life within you. In this new life one’s nationality or race or education or social position is unimportant; such things mean nothing. Whether a person has Christ is what matters, and he is equally available to all”. (Colossians 3:1- 11 TLB)

“And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, and come with him into the presence of God the Father to give him your thanks”.(Colossians 3:17TLB)

Thanks for joining today.

***With God all things are possible***