The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Luke 4:1-13, “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around
by the Spirit in the wilderness
2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and
when they had ended, He became hungry.
3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE.'”
5 And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been
handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.
7 “Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.”
8 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD
AND SERVE HIM ONLY.'”
9 And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said
to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here;
10 for it is written, ‘HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU TO GUARD
YOU,’
11 and, ‘ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE
YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.'”
12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It is said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD
YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.'”
13 When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.

Earlier verses in this fourth chapter of Luke tell us that Jesus had returned from the Jordan and
was being led by the Holy Spirit for forty (40) days in the wilderness. During that time, Jesus was
subjected to the temptations of the devil. Three major temptations sought to reduce His equality
with the Father to that of Satan. If Satan would attempt to seduce the LORD Jesus Christ, what
do you think his attempts would be upon you and me?

The first temptation was to turn stones into bread. If you’ve been to Israel, you know for a fact
that there is no lack of sufficiency of stones available. But, the crux of the temptation lay in the fact
that Jesus had been in the wilderness for 40 days without food –and He was hungry! Still, with
hunger and all, Jesus successfully resisted Satan’s temptation: “Man shall not live by bread alone!”

Satan’s second attempt to seduce Jesus was to show Him the “all the kingdoms of the world,”
with the promise of procuring them for Him. All He had to do was worship Satan, and they were
His. Imagine! Still, Jesus replied: “You shall worship the LORD your God and serve Him only.”

Satan’s third temptation lead Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem and dare Him
to cast Himself down, reminding Him that He was consistently guarded by the angels of
Heaven. Jesus’ simple but powerful reply was “You shall not put the LORD your God to the test.”
The Scripture then tells us that Satan left Jesus until another opportune time.

Is it not possible that we who belong to Him and are possessed and controlled by the Holy Spirit
can also successfully resist the temptations he dangles before us? Why do we apparently believe
that Satan is so powerful as to be irresistible? Yes, Satan does possess power! And by ourselves,
his power is irresistible! Yet, when we rely upon Christ Jesus, every solicitation from the devil can
be successfully resisted!

Surely, we believe that Christ is greater than Satan! Surely, we believe the LORD’s Word to be
truthful! Furthermore, everything we’ve ever needed the LORD has stood ready to supply us. What
could convince us otherwise now? Search the Scriptures! The LORD has always been successful!
The problem is with us! We simply don’t believe. Yet, we can believe! Do you believe? I hope so!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom