I spent most of yesterday writing devotions for next week based on Sunday's sermon in the Villain series. Talking about Satan's m.o. and how he operates. According to Satan's temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, he only has three "knocks" to try to get into our hearts and trip us up. You'll have to hear Mike's message Sunday for more, and don't forget to use the Digging Deeper devotionals next week!
In light of all that, I asked for prayer in staff meeting because each week when I write these devotionals I can palpably feel the oppression of Satan coming against it. So I ask for your prayers as well. Satan hates it when we get into His Word on a daily basis.
In my quiet time this morning reading through the book of Titus, the verse that stood out to me, especially after thinking all day yesterday about how we fight temptation, was Titus 2:12 (NIV): “It [grace] teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.”
Though Satan may be trying to lead us into ungodliness and worldy passions, grace teaches us to say "No" to these things and instead say "Yes" to living self-controlled, upright, godly lives.
If grace is my teacher, what am I doing to improve my learning? This is not something you can cram for at the last minute. This is a test that you need to study for every day. And part of that involves a daily time in God's Word and in prayer, in fellowship with the Master Teacher, who is full of grace and truth.
Another random thought this morning about temptation...Charles Stanley writes that Satan tends to come with temptation when we are under certain conditions, which he outlines using the acronym H.A.L.T.:
- Hungry
- Angry
- Lonely
- Tired
This means we must always keep our guard up! You can see these conditions when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness. But we can overcome, in spite of these limitations.
One more nugget from Charles Stanley...he notes that Jesus used Scripture to fight Satan and lists four reasons why the Word is so effective against temptation:
- God's Word exposes the sinfulness of what you're being tempted to do. Satan tries to convince that sin really isn't that bad, but the Bible exposes sin for what it is.
- God's Word gives you God's viewpoint. It helps you separate yourself somewhat from the emotional impact of temptation.
- God's Word helps you focus your thoughts elsewhere--the principle of displacement. It keeps you from thinking about temptation by focusing your attention on God's thoughts.
- Turning your attention to God's Word helps you express faith that God can get you through this.
Bottom line: If you want to be successful in fighting temptation, you need to immerse yourself in God's Word daily!


