| Isn’t it great to know that no matter what challenges we face, Jesus teaches us by example how to live and overcome? In Matthew 3:17, when Jesus was baptized, God the Father responded from heaven by descending as a dove and saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” (NASB) In the very next chapter, we see Jesus being led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil who tried three times to challenge His identity. But Jesus didn’t need to prove to the devil that He was God’s Son; God had just declared it at His baptism! Jesus was firm in His identity and He lived by what God said. When we put our faith in Christ, become born again, and walk-in fellowship with Him, we have the same assurance that God is our Father. The devil would try anything to get you to perform in order to feel accepted by God, but we can’t earn a spot in God’s family by anything we do. God loves us because He is our Father, and we are his children! Nobody can change that or take it away! Remember, there is a battle for your identity. The enemy may try to make you question and doubt who you are and whose you are, but Jesus set the example for us. How did Jesus answer the devil when He was tempted? By the Word. How do we defeat the enemy? The same way! The Word tells us who we are, and we need to know what the Word what God says about us. If you don’t live by what God says about you, you will always live to try to get approval from people or rely on your works instead of living by the approval of the Father. If you live by the praise of men, you die by their criticism. Jesus knew his Identity, totally secure in who God said He was. We must live in such a way that, no matter what test or temptation comes our way, we answer with God’s Word applied to our lives. He says you are forgiven. He says you are loved. He says you are His and that he has great plans for you! That is the truth! That’s amazing! |
Because God Says So!
