Strength for Today

"Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit..." (Luke 4:14). Returned from what? From the three temptations in the wilderness. For 40 days Jesus had been tempted by the devil in the wilderness. He successfully resisted the temptations of the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life by quoting Scripture. Now He was returning to Galilee "in the power of the Spirit" to teach in their synagogues (v. 15) and be glorified by all. There is a lesson here for us. Knowing the Word of God will help us resist temptation. And when we do overcome temptation, we can return to our endeavors "in the power of the Spirit." We are not ready to teach until we have overcome temptation. We overcome temptation by the Word of God. We overcome Satan to become better servants. Erwin Lutzer said, "Our response to temptation is an accurate barometer of our love for God." We overcome to become. "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that had overcome the world -- our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" (1 John 5:4, 5). Overcome to become!