Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

March 27
Wednesday

OUT OF CONTEXT

READ:
Luke 4:1-13
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Your Word is truth.
__John 17:17
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When a friend started making random despairing statements, people were concerned for him and started giving advice and offering encouragement. As it turned out, he was simply having fun by quoting song lyrics out of context to start a conversation. Friends who tried to help wasted their time by offering help he didn't need and advice he didn't want. The consequences of my friend's msileading statements were not serious, but they could have been. In taking time to respond to his false need, someone could have neglected someone else's truly serious need.

Some people who take words out of context just want to gain attention or win an argument. But others are more sinsiter. They twist truth to gain power over others. They endanger not only lives but also souls.

When people use words to manipulate others to behave in certain ways__or worse, when they quote the Bible out of context to convince others to do wrong__there's only one defense: We need to know what God truly says in His Word. Jesus was able to resist temptation with the truth (Luke 4). We have the same resource. God has given us His Word and Spirit to guide us and keep us from being deceived or misled.
__Julie Ackerman Link
Your words of pure, eternal truth
Shall yet unshaken stay,

When all that man has thought or planned

Like chaff shall pass away. __Anon
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If we hold on to God's truth,
we won't be trapped by Satan's lies.

*****Today's Biblre Reading****


1 Then Jesus, being filled
with the Holy Spirit...was
led by the Spirit into the
wilderness, 2 being tempted
for forty days by the
devil....

3 And the devil said to Him,
"If You are the Son of God,
command this stone to
become bread."

4 But Jesus answered him,
saying, "It is written, 'Man
shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word of God.'"

5 Then the devil, taking
Him up on a high mountain,
showed Him all the
kingdoms of the world in a
moment of time. 6 And the
devil said to Him, "All this
authority I will give You, and
their glory; for this has been
delivered to me, and I give it
to whomever I wish. 7 There-
fore, if You will worship
before me, all will be Yours."

8 And Jesus answered and
said to him, "Get behind Me,
Satan! For it is written, 'You
shall worship the LORD your
God, and Him only you shall
serve.'"

9 Then he brought HIm to
Jerusalem, set Him on the
pinnacle of the temple, and
said to Him, "If You are the
Son of God, throw Yourself
down from here. 10 For it is
written: 'He shall give His
angels charge over you, to
keep you,' 11 and,'In their
hands they shall bear you up,
lest you dash your foot
against a stone.'"

12 And Jesus answered and
said to him, "It has been
said, 'You shall not tempt the
LORD your God.'" 13 Now when the devil had ended
every temptation, he
departed from Him until an
opportune time.

>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<

In tempting Jesus to sin, Satan misrepresented, misquoted, and
misapplied what God said (vv.3,5-6,9-11). Jesus defeated him with the
right use of Scripture (vv.4,8,12). He showed the importance of the Word of God. (Matt. 4:1-11