“Our Daily Bread”     http://odb.org/

The Daily Devotions of Greg Laurie                                  http://www.harvest.org/devotional/daily-devotions/home.ht   

“Homily Grits Devotional”   http://www.homilygrits.com/

1 Corinthians 10:13…  No temptation has overtakenyou except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will notallowyou to be temptedbeyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. (NKJV)

The first thing we must understand about this opening scripture is that the Apostle Paul was writing to believers in the church of Corinth…  This Epistle was written to try and get the believers back on the right track, as they were being tempted to go back to the old sinning ways of their pre-Christian life…

Temptations are never directly from God…  God may allow our flesh or Satan to tempt us to sin…  But as the opening scripture teaches us…Christians who seek God’s help, will always find a way to get through them…

James 1:13-15… Let noone say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for Godcannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself temptanyone. ¹⁴ But each one istempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full–grown, brings forth death.  (NKJV)

The unredeemed sinner will have no chance (nor the desire) to turn from the sin filled ways of the world…1 John 2:15-16…  Satan has them blinded…and they are in bondage to a life of sin (2 Corinthians 4:4), that can only be broken when God draws the sinner to Himself…John 6:44…  God must open the eyes of the sinner, to their dire need of His saving grace, through saving faith alone in Jesus Christ…Ephesians 2:8-9…  (See note at the end for more on God’s grace through obedience to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ)

Satan tempted Jesus 3 times, when Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness, to fast for 40 days and nights…  We see these temptations recorded in…Matthew 4:1-11…&…Luke 4:1-13…   Here is the link for the latter…  http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=lu4:1-13&version=NKJV

I see two important points in this scripture about Jesus’ encounter with Satan, which I can personally attest to in my own life, as effective means for fending off Satan’s temptations…  First we see that Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit, in…Luke 4:1… Then Jesus, being filled with the HolySpirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, (NKJV)   As I write time and again…the supernatural power with-in the Christian comes from the Holy Spirit, not from the Christian’s own mere mortal strength…

The Apostle James, Jesus’ half brother, pens this, in…James 4:7… Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.  (NKJV)   Pretty strait forward advice here for the Christian !!  Submit you life to God, through the leading of the Holy Spirit…and Satan “will flee” for easier targets…  This total submission to the Lord only occurs, when the Christian is “Walking in the Spirit”…  I just wrote about this a few days ago…  Go to www.Godsmanforever.wordpress.com and type in 5/13/2013 in the search window, to read about it…

Secondly, after each of the 3 temptations Satan used to try and entice Jesus…Jesus responded by quoting Old Testament scripture…  After the first temptation, Jesus responded with this, in…Luke 4:4… But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by everyword of God.’” (Matthew 4:4)…    Jesus quoted this from…Deuteronomy 8:3…   

Satan’s second temptation was thwarted by Jesus, with this, in…Luke 4:8…  And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Himonly you shall serve.’ ” (NKJV)    Jesus quoted this from…Deuteronomy 6:13…

Satan’s third temptation was defeated by Jesus’ reply, in…Luke 4:12… And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall nottempt the Lord your God.’ ” (NKJV)    Jesus quoted this scripture from…Deuteronomy 6:16…

We see Satan’s temptations defeated by Jesus, who was filled with the Holy Spirit…  And we also see Jesus using scripture to defeat Satan’s temptations…  God promises that the Christian will be able to stand against Satan’s attacks, by wearing God’s armor, in scripture penned by the Apostle Paul, in…Ephesians 6:10-20…  Here is the link for the Apostle Paul’s writing on “The Whole Armor of God”, to protect the Christian from the evil one…    http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Eph6:10-20&version=NKJV  

Key scripture from this is…Ephesians 6:11… Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ¹¹ Put on the wholearmor of God, that you may be able to standagainst the wiles of the devil.  (NKJV)   

Friends, this is a 6 piece set of spiritual armor which God provides…that the Apostle Paul describes in this scripture…  And God’s promises for protection from Satan starts by using the only offensive piece of this armor, the “sword of the Spirit”…which is the Word of God, the Bible…   I spent a day writing about this one/two combination of being filled with the Holy Spirit, and wearing the “Whole Armor of God” to combat Satan’s temptations…  It was titled…“God’s Duo”; and for anyone who wants to read more about how to fend off Satan’s temptations…just go to the link above, and type 2/25/2013 in the search window…

What worked for Jesus in fending off Satan’s temptations, has also worked for me personally…  I do my best to “Walk in the Spirit” each and every day, by continuously seeking cleansing upon sinning (1 John 1:9); and by putting on all 6 pieces of God’s spiritual armor to fend off Satan’s attacks…  Do I still sin ??  Of course I do !!  But the promises God makes through His living and powerful Word (Hebrews 4:12-13), are promises that the dedicated Christian who allows God to write His Word in their heart, mind, and soul…will find God’s Word to be absolutely pure in truth…

Proverbs 30:5… Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.  (NKJV)

Heavenly Father, I pray that Your Word will cut right to the very core of the unredeemed soul that needs to have their eyes opened by You…  I pray Lord, that Your Word may be used today, to change hearts and lives for an eternity…  I pray that the fullness of Christ may abound in all of our lives…in Jesus’ most precious name and for His sake…Amen…

Blessings in Christ,  bruce r mills 

P.S. Here is a link for this most important days writing, about how God’s grace is received to become a Christian in God’s eyes; through understanding and obeying the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, after first being drawn in by God…John 6:44…   https://godsmanforever.wordpress.com/2013/07/11/gods-group-thoughts-for-7112013-the-truth-about-sin/