The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Matthew 4:5-7, “Then the devil took Him into the holy city;

and he had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple,

6 and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down;

for it is written, “He will give His angels charge concerning You”; and

“On their hands they will bear You up, Lest You strike Your foot against

a stone.” 7 Jesus said to him, ‘On the other hand, it is written, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”'”

Did you ever have a friend try to get you to do something you knew

was wrong? Wow! I can remember numerous times such has happened

in my life. Sometimes they wanted to get me not to do something I knew

to be right. Also, they didn’t give up. They pestered me to do or not to

do something contrary to my own thinking. Satan is like that. He pesters

us until we do what he wants. Then, we come to regret it.

Satan had already lost round one with Jesus. He refused to turn stones

to bread (vv. 1-4). So now, he takes Jesus into the City of Jerusalem, the

Holy City and causes Him to stand at a high place on the Temple Mount.

You want to talk Scripture? Satan said. “If You’re the Son of God (and You

are), throw Yourself down; for it has been written and cannot be changed

(perfect passive indicative)” that angels will care for you and protect you

from hurting even your foot against a stone. Satan was quoting Psalm 91:11-12.

But, if you turn there and read, you will find that he conveniently omitted

four words: “in all Thy ways.” What Satan was endeavoring to get Jesus

to do was not the Father’s will. Be very careful! Not everyone quotes

Scripture correctly –not even some preachers!

In the end, and the confrontation is not quite over, Jesus never argues

against Satan’s misquotation. He just quotes more Scripture: “You shall

not put the LORD your God to the test.” Sometimes a voice inside of us

says, “Well, it’s not really the right thing to do, but you’re saved, so you

won’t go to Hell for doing it. And besides, it’s fun.” Don’t be fooled.

There is a consequence for every sin. Satan knows it; he just doesn’t

want you to think about the consequence. Turn like Jesus did to the

Scripture. The Holy Spirit will use the Word to feed your soul and keep

you holy.

Love and prayers always,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”