Suited up and Ready for Battle

"Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit to go out into the wilderness, where the Devil tempted him for the forty days. He ate nothing all that time and was very hungry." Luke 4:1-2
Right after Jesus was baptized and the glory of God came upon Him with the Spirit and God said Jesus was His Son in whom He was so proud - the Holy Spirit leads him into the wilderness to be tested. Why? Because when God sent His Son to this earth to be made fully human, He had to experience everything a human does, and aren't we tested and tempted?!
For forty days Jesus was tempted by the Devil (whom I promise is still alive and active today). The Devil not only tempted Jesus during these forty days, but Jesus was also left without food, a need that is essential for us to survive. He was probably burning and screaming from the inside. I can hardly go a full 24 hours without food before I am just crying from within.
"Then the Devil said to him, 'If you are the Son of God, change this stone into a loaf of bread.' But Jesus told him, 'No.' The Scriptures say, 'People need more than bread for life.' Then the Devil took him up ad revealed to Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment time. The Devil told him, 'I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and the authority over them - because they are mine to give anyone I please. I will give it all to you if you bow down and worship me.' Jesus replied, 'The Scriptures say, 'You must worship the LORD your God; serve only Him.' Then the Devil took Him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, 'If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, 'He orders his angels to protect you and guard you. And they will hold you with their hands to keep you from striking your foot on a stone.' Jesus responded, 'The Scriptures also say, 'Do not test the LORD your God.' Luke 4:3-12.
Jesus was tempted just as we are tempted everyday. His temptations fell into 3 areas:
-To provide for His own cravings, His own needs, to trust in Himself. Aren't we tempted to do this. Aren't we tempted daily to trust in ourselves and not the God who can provide for all of our needs?
-To have the whole world by worshiping the Devil. How many times do we fall into this trap. We think we can do evil and have the world, but where does that leave us eternally?
-To test the Word of God. (In which I hope you see the Devil knows as well, he himself quoted scripture.) But we are not to test the Word of God. The world and the Devil tries to prove to us that the Word isn't true and we should test it before we believe it. But how far does that actually get us? Are you willing to jump off that cliff?
Jesus, however, responded to each temptation with the Word of God that He trusted and knew to be true:
-"...people need more than bread for their life; real life comes by feeding on every word of the Lord. Deuteronomy 8:8. God will provide for all of our needs. He will quench our hunger. What we need more than food is His Word.
-"You must fear the Lord your God and serve Him. When you take an oath, you must use only his name." Deuteronomy 6:13. We can't have the world, by doing evil. We must only worship the one true God, and He will give us our hearts desires. He is preparing a kingdom for us where we can live for eternity.
-"Do not test the Lord your God." Deuteronomy 6:16. Don't test God. He is more powerful than anyone, and He deserves our worship and respect. Test Him and you will surely fail.
Jesus had God's Word stored in His heart. God's Word fought off the temptations from the Devil for Jesus, and it will do the same for us.
"When the Devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came." Luke 4:13. The Devil may leave you alone for a time, but don't think he is gone forever because he is just waiting for another opportunity. The Devil wants for us to fail; He wants to laugh in the face of God and say, "See, Kristen wasn't so faithful after all." But if we store God's Words in our heart we will have His armor around us and His sword in our hand, to fight off every advance of the Devil. "I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you." Psalm 119:11. "Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil....Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." Ephesians 6:11,17.
If the Devil tempted the Son of God, what makes you think He won't tempt you? So be ready! What temptation does he hold over you right now? Look to the Word of God and store scripture in your heart, memorize it, and use them in defense against the Devils tactics and temptations. Be on guard! Would you go to war without your armor and gun? Don't go to war with the Devil either without be suited up and ready for battle.