So I’m in in the kitchen with Mikaela (my almost 4 year old)
telling her about Matthew 4, where Jesus is tempted in the garden by Satan. I’m
explaining to her that “to tempt” is when someone tries to get you to do (or to
want to do) something wrong. I told her Satan is God’s enemy, that he doesn’t
love God and he tries to trick us into not loving Him either. Immediately, she
stomps her foot and shouts, “But He is my God, and I love Him very much! So get
out of here, Satan!” :) Of course I’m thinking, “That’s my girl!”
We went on to talk
about the powerful way that Jesus confronted Satan. Mikaela’s favorite part is
when Jesus said, “Get out of here!” :) But we also talked about the other
half…Christ used the most powerful weapon of all, the Word of God. Each time He
replied, “It is written…”
Now, I want you to think about this…when Satan was trying to
fill Christ’s head with lies and junk Jesus didn’t have time to run and get His
Bible! (Or scroll, as the case may be.) I know this is a comical thought but
the truth is, He was human just like us. Had He not spent time in the Word and
made it a point to memorize scripture (hiding it in His heart) it would no
doubt have been much more challenging to defeat the devil in this situation.
But He was prepared!
I firmly believe that in the absence of memorizing scripture we
can never truly unlock the full power of the Word in our lives. Don’t say you can’t! God wouldn’t
call us to hide His words in our hearts if we couldn’t do it. Just pick a verse
that really ministers to you and read it several times a day. Write it on your
mirror. Put it on note cards placed where you’ll see them several times a day.
Soon it will begin coming to you, seemingly out of the blue, just when you need
it most. And you will then experience the Holy Spirit speaking to you out of
the scripture you have stored up! It is an awesome tool for taking each thought
captive and putting Satan in his place from the very first instant he makes a
move for your mind.
