Remember Jesus – March 5, 2020

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
Matthew 4:1,2

Remember Jesus

Sometimes in life, we are just overmatched. Our opponent or enemy is just too strong, too big, too much for us to handle. The Alamo is certainly one such example. Fewer than 200 men stood fighting against an army of 1,500. They knew they were overmatched and could not win. They knew no reinforcements were coming.

It certainly seems like Jesus was overmatched in his battle against the devil. For one thing, he was in the wilderness—a place where he was isolated. Nobody was coming to his aid. There would be no reinforcements. He was on his own. He was on Satan’s turf. And while he was out there, he was fasting. Physically, he was drained.

You know how that feels, don’t you—to be spiritually overmatched? You feel like you are on your own and the devil keeps on coming. He tempts you with doubt: “If God really loved you, why did he let this happen to you?” “Doesn’t God want you to be happy? He must not really mean what he says in his Word. Go ahead, live the way you want.” And he keeps coming. Temptation after temptation.

Like the Texans at the Alamo, you can’t win. You may fight for a little while, but in the end, you are overrun by the devil’s temptations and defeated. You have lost too many battles and have fallen into sin over the same old familiar temptations.

“Remember the Alamo!” That was the rallying cry in the war following the famous battle. Our rallying cry is different: Remember Jesus! He went to battle for you. He crushed the devil and defeated all your enemies. Through his death on the cross, he forgives your sins and gives you the gift of heaven. He also gives you the weapons to defeat the devil in your daily life.

Thank God for sending Jesus. And get to know his Word, so that you can say no to temptation and remain on the way to heaven.

Prayer:
Dear Jesus, thank you for defeating Satan for me. Equip me with your Word that I may fight temptation in your name. Amen.