Dave's Diary

Daily Reading: Matthew 4 and Psalm 4

But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say,

‘People do not live by bread alone,
    but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ (Matthew 4:4 NLT)

Jesus was very hungry after his extended season of fasting. In His hunger, He was deeply tempted to use His divine power to meet His own legitimate need for food by turning the abundant stones in the wilderness into loaves of bread. But, pausing to consider His decision, Jesus sensed that this was not God the Father’s will for Him. So He strengthened His resolve and settled the matter for Himself by reciting Deuteronomy 8:3 aloud to Himself and to the tempter: “People do not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.“

It’s worth pointing out that Jesus would not even have had this truth in His spiritual defence arsenal if He had not Himself been “eating” the words that come from the mouth of God through reciting and meditating on Scripture in the wilderness. His attentiveness to the Word of God every day gave Him the tools to resist the temptation when it came to Him in an hour of weakness. This story illustrates the great spiritual value of memorising Scripture and thereby letting it live in our hearts and minds as a defence mechanism against temptation.

Life application: Pick a verse from either today’s Old or New Testament readings and memorise it. Recite it to yourself throughout the day and think about how it affects your everyday life and decision-making.

Psalm 4:⁴ Tremble and do not sin;
    when you are on your beds,
    search your hearts and be silent. (NIVUK)