The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Matthew 4:8-11, “Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory; 9 and he said to Him, “All these things will I give You, if You fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Begone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.'” 11 Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.”

Did you notice? Did you see what just happened? Jesus had just said (v. 7),

“You shall not put the LORD your God to the test.” That is, we are not to ask Him to do things that would show off His power. Humm… thought Satan. Why not?

So, once again, Satan appeals to human pride. Luke’s gospel says that Satan showed Jesus the kingdoms of the world “in a moment of time” (Lk. 4:5). All of

this is spiritual in nature, leaving me to believe that the “very high mountain”

was a view through time and space. Look at these kingdoms, Satan said. They can all be Yours. Right now, they’re mine; but I can and will give them to You. You don’t have to suffer the anguish of the Cross; You only have to humble Yourself and worship me.

Barnes writes, Satan “commences, therefore, artfully and plausibly, and the real purpose does not appear until he has prepared the mind for it. This is the way with all temptation. No wicked person would at once tempt another to be profane, to be drunk, to be an infidel, or to commit adultery. The principles are first corrupted. The confidence is secured. The affections are won. And then the allurement is little-by-little presented, until the victim falls. How everyone should be on his guard at the very first appearance of evil, at the first suggestion that may possibly lead to sin!”

Once again, our LORD Jesus used Scripture to refute Satan’s temptation; and he went away. We can defeat Satan, but not without the LORD’s help. We just

MUST stay in the Word every day! Make it a habit to read the Bible daily. Read

it carefully and consistently. It’s the one thing Satan cannot stand. And it is a force the LORD has given us by which we can become spiritually strong and

victorious!

You are daily in our prayers, always in our love,

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.”