Police Devotion 12-17-15
“Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.” (Matthew 4:1-11)
Our Scripture says that Jesus went into the wilderness “to be tempted of the devil.” He did this to show us what to do when we’re tempted to sin. Hebrews 4:15 tells us that Jesus was “in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” Jesus is God, but He became a human being. He still had the power of God but human frailties as well, including hunger. He went without food for forty days and nights, so He was weak. When you’re weak and lack energy, you’re more vulnerable to temptation.
Satan tempted Jesus for forty days, not just three temptations. Jesus was “forty days tempted of the devil” according to Luke 4:2. When the devil came to tempt Him, Jesus could have used His power as God to send the devil away. The devil would have had to obey since he is only an angel and Jesus is God. Of course, that wouldn’t help us, since, we aren’t God in the flesh. So Jesus went through this trial in the wilderness to show us how to use a weapon that we have and can use to resist temptation—the Word of God.
If you’ve received Jesus as Saviour, you have His indwelling presence as stated in I John 4:4: “greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” You also have His Word, the Bible. When you’re tempted to sin in your words, deeds, or even thoughts, find a Bible verse that applies to the temptation. Think about it. Quote it out loud. That’s exactly what Jesus did. Quoting Scripture will help you, because God’s word is powerful: “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword…” (Hebrews 4:12). Even when Jesus was hungry and weak, He showed us that the Word of God works against Satan’s temptations, even the temptations that you face as a cop.
If you’ve never seen in God’s Word how you can be sure of going to heaven when you die, please go to www.clevelandbaptist.org, click “How do I Go to Heaven?” on the sidebar.
Brian Miller 12/14/2015
Cleveland Baptist Church | 4431 Tiedeman Road, Brooklyn, Ohio 44144 | 216/671-2822