Luke 4:1-13
“And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. And the devil, taking him up into a high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. And he brought him to Jerusalem and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands, they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.”
This passage from the Gospel of Luke is familiar to many. As I reread it this morning, I was convicted by how often others claim to speak God’s words, quoting scripture to support their claims. It occurred to me that if even the devil dared to quote scripture to God himself, would he hesitate to do the same to us? We need to be sharpened by the Word of God and live by the Holy Spirit to discern what is from God and what is from the devil.
How many times have we made decisions based on, “This person has quoted the bible, therefore it must be from God…” even when the Holy Spirit within us whispers a different message. It’s time to awaken and recognize the true source of voices and messages.
God has given us the Holy Spirit, the greatest gift we could receive. This gift empowers us to walk and live by the Spirit, discerning God’s true voice from the devil’s deceptions.
There are so many false profits out there who have no fear of God to say and confidently use the word of God to fulfill their agenda. As a child of God, we have been given the best gift from our savior Jesus Christ to walk and live by the Spirit of God.
John 14:26 says:
“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
The Holy Spirit guides us, reminding us of all Jesus taught and continues to teach. As children of God, we are endowed with this extraordinary gift to walk by the Spirit, not by fleeting emotions, and discern God’s voice with clarity.
How do we live by the Holy Spirit? Well, I am not going to say here are 3 or 7 ways to live by the Spirit. It is simple and direct by Living out Christ and having a relationship with God the Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. We need to SPEND Time with GOD to know God and to Live in the Spirit with God. Pray or communicate with God, Come to God, listen to God, Know God, read your bible.
Galatians 5:16-26 further clarifies:
“…But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
Paul in these verses has put so clearly what it means to walk and live by the Spirit of God. This morning I pray for the Lord to give us wisdom and understanding to discern what is God and what is not. I pray we will walk and live by the Spirit and the fruit of the Holy Spirit will be greater in our daily walk.
Thank you, Jesus!