Day 346: Using the Word

Luke 4:1-30; Ezekiel 44-45; Isaiah 64

Jesus gets tested by the devil "in every way possible." And what is so cool about how he overcomes Satan--through scripture. He uses the very words of God, the message of The Lord, to fight and keep himself strong and on track. If that's how Jesus did it, then that's how I want to! We can be stronger when we don't just rely on ourselves, our own mottos, other people's encouragement. There is nothing more powerful in this world for standing strong against our enemy than the Bible.

Then, Jesus puts himself in a tough position with the people of his hometown. He basically tells them that they are no better than Gentiles, than unbelievers, and if they liked him before, they definitely changed their minds. Jesus speaks truth and the people don't like it. We need to speak the truth about Jesus, even if the people around us (including our family) don't like it. There is nothing more important than the message of Christ: that he has come to set everyone free and provide salvation through himself. We should not hold back for fear of what people will think. Everyone needs to hear about the Good News, and to hold it back shows we don't love Jesus or others enough.

In Ezekiel, God is basically revealing the standards for worship. The best, the perfect, the honest, the obedient, that's the worship he wants. All the specifics aren't necessarily important to us today, but the purpose of them still is. The purpose is to give God our best, our first, and be completely obedient to him.

This chapter in Isaiah reminds us that our sins cannot be taken lightly and that God deserves so much better from us. It isn't that we have to earn our way to heaven by no sinning ever--that would be unbiblical--but it is about seeking holiness and righteousness because we love God. He has not only given us so much, shaped us, offered us salvation, but he is GOD, he deserves our obedience and worship.