June.14.01: Light For The Day - "Overcoming Temptation" -- Matthew 4:1–11 (NLT) "1 Then Jesus was led out into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted there by the Devil.  ............. 10 "Get out of here, Satan," Jesus told him.  "For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God; serve only him.’" 11 Then the Devil went away, and angels came and cared for Jesus." ------------------ I memorized the Bible verse. I quoted it to myself over and over again. I thought it surely would give me victory over the particular temptation that had me so defeated.  But quote as much as I would, no victory came.  I was just as vulnerable with my Bible verse as without it. I suspect many of us have had this experience.  We see Jesus recalling verses from the Old Testament  and quoting them to Satan. Jesus was victorious.  Why aren’t we when we do the same thing? The answer lies in the distinction between magic and faith.  - Magic is using an object or chant in a desperate attempt  to ward off evil or control circumstances.  + Faith is a quiet confidence that what God says is true  enough to act on.  I had been using my Bible verse as a magic talisman,  waving it desperately to repel temptation. But when we  look at Matthew 4, we see that Jesus used Scripture in  quite another way. He went into the Word, found a  principle or truth, and said in effect,  “I will now live by this truth.” Jesus saw the Word of God as truth, and determined  to act on that truth. It was this exercise of faith that  gave Him victory over His temptations. And it is just  such an exercise of faith that will give us victory when  we are tempted today. Yes, let’s look for the key to our victory in the Word  of God. But let’s not use the Bible in a pagan, magical  way. Let’s take God at His Word, act on what He says,  and let God use our faith to give us the victory in Him. -- Lawrence O. Richards ---------------- -- James 4:7 (RSV) "Submit yourselves therefore to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you."