Day 21

“And the tempter came and said to Him, If you are God’s Son, command these stones to be made loaves of bread.  But He replied, It has been written man shall not live and be upheld and sustained by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”

–  Matthew 4:3-4

Additional reading: Matthew 4:1-5, 6-10

When I was in high school, I played defensive end on my varsity football team. I remember one game in particular because I learned a big lesson in humility that day. At practice all week our coach had been drilling into us not to over pursue the ball but to be patient, and for the most part I had been listening. All game I was where I was supposed to be until this one play…

The quarterback called for the ball, and as soon as the ball was snapped, the running back jumped in front of the QB and took off running in my direction. I came off the line full speed and tackled the QB out of bounds. I stood up so proud of myself until I realized that the only thing the quarterback had in his hand was the hand towel he used to keep the ball clean during the game. I was so focused on the running back jumping in front of the QB that I missed the wide receiver running in from the other side and being tossed the ball by the QB.

In this case, I had fallen for a “trick-play.” I was distracted by the running back and settled for a hand towel instead of a sack.

Counterfeit – something purposefully made as an exact imitation of something valuable or important with the intention to deceive.

What things are you being distracted by and settling for in your day to day life? In Matthew 4, Satan repeatedly tempts Jesus by twisting the Word of God with the phrase, “It is written.” He used the scripture, but out of context, trying to trick Jesus. It did not work. Jesus did not allow temptation to get in the way of what God had for Him.

By spending time with God and staying in His Word, we can more easily identify the fakes, choose God’s best, and not settle for the counterfeits that the enemy puts in front of us!

What counterfeits are you accepting over God’s best in your life?

Stay strong and carry on,

Carrington