What Is Written

Note-taking has always been something I've done, and this older-me appreciates notes taken! You'll recall God's affirmation of Jesus following His baptism: "This is my Beloved Son, in Whom I am well-pleased" (Matthew 3:17).  Right away, Jesus went into the wilderness, fasted for forty days, then came under attack by Satan. The first of three temptations, Satan said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread" (Matthew 4:3). Forty days without food, I'm fairly confident Jesus was hungry! Isn't that just like the enemy to launch his attach when we are vulnerable! In his book, Going Places With God, Wayne Stiles writes: "Temptation always offers to fulfill a legitimate need in an illegitimate way." How do we respond ... well, how did Jesus respond? He said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone' (Luke 4:4) - a shortened version of what Moses said in Deuteronomy 8:3, "man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord." Oh, there is an urgency for Believers to know what "saith the LORD" - it is most critical at all times, particularly in vulnerable moments when we are tempted to choose the illegitimate over the legitimate! Stile says, "When temptation squeezes, Scripture should spill out." Scribbled notes here-and-there help me remember and call to mind things - dates, times, names, places, etc. Just as Jesus spoke, so must we speak ... what is written!