Temptation

Good Morning,

Luke 4:5-7 (NIV)
The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours."

The devil was none too subtle in these verses, was he? He was direct in His temptation of our Lord. Today, however, the enemy is a bit subtle with us in his temptations.

He doesn't come and offer us "all the kingdoms of the world" when he tempts us, but he does offer us pleasures that, at the time, seem like all the pleasure in the world. He doesn't, perhaps, offer "all their authority and splendor" but what he does is tell us that we can have all of the pleasure we want because it's his to give.

Then, he doesn't tell us, "...if you worship me, it will all be yours," when he tempts us. All he wants now is to take us away from our true praise and worship of the Lord and to lead us down a path where we the love for Jesus we have will wane and eventually fade to almost nothing. He knows that if he says that we must worship him, well, we're not going to go down that road. But, in his subtle way, he just wants to take us away from God...even if only for a little while. You see, once he finds that "soft spot" that many of us have, he'll keep on coming back to attack us right where he knows we'll be most vulnerable.

So, of course we must be on guard when the devil DOES offer the huge and great things in his temptations, but we've also got to be on guard for his subtleties, as well.

Point being...We've got to be constantly vigilant and always on guard against the enemy. We've got to be especially careful in those areas where we are most vulnerable.

Love, peace, and blessings,

David