"It is written"

The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ was tempted by and resisted the devil on three separate occasions (Matt. 4 NIV). Let us ensure that we identify exactly what was transpiring in these few verses of scripture: the son of God - the "Lord of Lords" - was waging war with the most dangerous force of evil in the universe! Yet, it is the manner in which Jesus resisted evil which is a critical lesson to us. One would think that three paramount battles such as these would be fought on a grand scale, utilizing great armies and even greater weapons. Yet, Jesus opted not to summon the "legions of angels" which we know were at his disposal (Matt. 26:53 NIV). According to the Apostle Matthew, in all three instances of temptation, Jesus began his response with the words, "It is written" - revealing to us one of the most important weapons we, as Christians, have in our repertoire: the written word of God.

It seems ludicrous for a warrior to walk onto a battlefield without necessary equipment. What chances would a medieval knight have had in battle without armor, a sword, and a shield? But, day after day, many Christians set out on their God-ordained missions unarmed for the conflicts which lie in wait for them. Let us not fool ourselves; each day we remain on Earth, we do battle with forces which attempt to destroy us; and every sunrise we witness is a sign that God has not yet called us home from our earthly missions. In other words, the Christian is a soldier of God who has been deployed to the battlefront. It is with this vision that the Apostle Paul described the tactical gear of the Christian infantryman (Eph. 6:14-17 NIV):

• Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

This said, is it any wonder that battles are lost? How can we expect victory in this struggle - what Paul referred to as "the good fight of the faith" (1 Tim. 6:12) - when we are ill-equipped for the missions at hand? What warrior in their right mind rides into battle with poorly kept armor and weapons - or, worse yet, no equipment whatsoever? King David described the blessed as those who delight in God's law and meditate on it "day and night" - even warning us that not doing so renders us as "chaff that the wind blows away" (Psalm 1:1-4 NIV).

Let us, therefore, be strong in the word of God - our most precious weapon in this difficult battle which is earthly life. Let us follow the example of Jesus and resist evil through knowledge of the scriptures - not relying on our own vulnerable human strength but on the power of He who is almighty.