Study God's Word...the Devil Knows it Better Than We Ever Will

 "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. For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,' and 'in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'" Luke 4:9-11

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." I Peter 5:8



Did you know that scripture taken out of context can lead you to sin? This very section of Luke is entitled, "Satan Tempts Jesus." Temptation can be the path to sin. Of course, Jesus knows God's Word better than Satan, so He of course resists the devil's seedy plan. We don't always resist temptation, we're not perfect. But it is even harder to resist temptation when folks quote the actual Word of God...out of context. 

"Judge not, lest ye be judged," is used to tell people to ignore the sins of those around them, never offering loving correction. (Matt. 7:1) "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," is used to push through tough situations, without relying on God in meditative prayer. (Phil. 4:13) "Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you," is often used along with, "And whatever you asking in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified," to paint a picture of a God who will give us just anything if we pray. (Matt. 7:7 and John 14:13)

This is another good reason why it is so important that we study the Bible. There are misguided folks, misinformed church leaders, and mistakenly sited verses. If we don't understand the context of individual verses, or short segments of the Bible, we can be led away from God's true meaning in His Word. We absolutely need to be vigilant in our focus on God, on seeking His will, on being obedient to His call. 

Why Niki? Why are you so adamant that we spend a vigilant effort at studying the Bible? Other than the obvious...we love God and we want to learn more about Him. The devil is a fallen angel, so he is WELL versed in God's Word. He knows God's Word better than we probably ever will in our earthly lives. Our best weapons against his knowledge is faith, prayer, and knowledge. We need faith in God's promises, especially His promise to never leave us. We need prayer, to lean on God's strength and His wisdom. And knowledge of His Word, the better we know it, the better we are equipped to rebuke the enemies when we are attacked.

How do we start arming ourselves? Dedicated prayers. Asking God to use us to do His will is a great way to keep us on the right path. Praising God will make Him the focus of our attention - we will find more and more ways to sing His praise. Time in His Word. The more time we spend reading His Word, the more we will begin to understand the things He wants us to know. These add up to some great armor against our diligent enemy... 

As we study God's Word, we will come to see that Matthew 7:1 is a guidance of how we can't help our Brothers and Sisters in Christ to correct their sins, until we have reflected on, and corrected our own. After we have been honest with ourselves about our own sin, then - in love - we can help point our loved ones onto His path. How about Philippians 4:13? Some people quote this as an assumption that because we believe in God then He will just always give us strength in every situation. They forget that we need to be in constant contact with our Father, humbly coming to Him asking for His mercy in strengthening us for each and every day.   

I'm going to dive deeper into "ask, seek, knock" and "ask in My name" next week. I believe it deserves it's own Thoughts to really bring out the lesson behind it. I wouldn't call that a "Part Two" of today's message, more like a spin-off. Today, I pray, that you soak in the important reminder that we need to study, study, study God's Word - every day! Part of that is spending time in humble, and meditative prayer, asking God for His wisdom to be revealed to us so we do not misinterpret His Word. I promise it will be the most rewarding journey! 



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