JESUS MEMORIZED SCRIPTURE
By Marlana Branning
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ But He answered, ‘It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”’ Matthew 4:1-4 “Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to Him.” Matthew 4:8-11 Right after Jesus was baptized, He fasted in the wilderness for an extreme period of time. When He was at His weakest, the enemy came to Jesus and began tempting Him. Isn’t that just like Satan? He loves to tempt us when we are most vulnerable and susceptible to give into sin. Jesus may have been hungry, tired, and physically weak, but He stayed spiritually strong! Because Jesus know God’s Word so well, He could use it as a weapon. Every time Satan tempted Him, He recited Scripture back to the enemy. In Hebrews 4:12, we see that the Bible is likened to a sword. God’s truth is the most powerful weapon for defending ourselves. Psalms 119:11 states, “I have stored up Your Word in my heart, that I may not sin against You.” Wow. If we memorize God’s Word and store it in our hearts, we will be able to withstand the attacks of the enemy. What a promise. What are we waiting for? Let’s memorize some Scripture!
ACTION POINT
When was the last time you memorized a passage of Scripture? Pick one (or more!) of these verses to memorize this week: Psalm 119:11, Ephesians 6:10-13, Hebrews 4:12-13
STUDENTS
Help your students memorize Psalm 119:11.
KIDS
Challenge your children to give examples from their life of why Scripture is important and can be our weapon.
PRAYER
Jesus, thank You for your example of using Scripture as a weapon against the schemes of the enemy. Help me to hide Your word in my heart so I do not sin against You.