Jesus our example

Not only do we have the privilege of seeing Jesus work in our lives right now, but we also have four pairs of eyes that we can look through and see how He lived on earth. The Gospels allow us to get as close to Jesus as we can, 2,000 years ago. Today and tomorrow, we will sit at His feet and learn from the Master.

Lesson 1: He knew His identity

As Jesus was in the wilderness, a place of testing and trial, He faced the Devil’s attempts to destroy His identity. Twice the Devil says, "if you are the Son of God...". In other words, if you don’t do what I say, you’re really not the Son of God. That’s twice the Devil tried to undermine who Jesus was and create space to have other labels placed upon Him. When you face addiction, it’s easy to forget who you are and the status you’ve been given. You can take on so many titles like ‘failure’, ‘addict’, or whatever your specific addiction is. Jesus knew His identity before the Devil had time to attack. In Luke 3:22 Jesus is called God’s beloved Son with whom He is well pleased! Wow! That’s His label, a beloved Son with whom God is well pleased. In Jesus, that’s also your label, a beloved child with whom God is well pleased. So next time you face your temptation, don’t listen to the thought in your head saying, "that it's just who I am," but who God says you are and that's 'free'.

Lesson 2: He breathed Scripture

Now we touched on this on Day 2, however, it’s not just theory anymore, we get to witness Jesus put this principle into practice. Again, as the Devil throws deceit and temptation at Jesus, not only does He know His identity, He also knows how to wield the strongest weapon we have. Hebrews 4:12 tells us, "For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword...”. Notice the time frame with which Jesus used this weapon. It wasn’t a day later, or even a few hours, it was immediate. He wasted no time cutting down the enemy's attack at temptation. Scripture flowed through Him so much that any lies or manipulation had no chance of landing a blow. The temptation that can come through addiction can strike at any moment, when you’re ready, or when you least expect it. Let God's Word flow through you so the enemy's attack has no chance to land a blow.

Response:

Choose one or two verses to remind you of who God says you are that you can use whenever and wherever you are.