Away from me, Satan

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."
10 Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"

Matthew 4:8-10


This temptation that Jesus faced is not unlike the temptation that you and I face on a daily basis to put the things of this world above our relationship with God. When you spend more time at work for example than you spend with your family then in a way you are communicating to your family that you love your job and that you love the accolades that come from being successful in your career more than you love your family and this is a form of worshiping the world as God has commanded you to love your wife and family with the same love and intensity that you love Him. When your thoughts are consumed with how you can get more stuff or when all you think about is getting that next promotion or buying that bigger house or how much your financial portfolio has plunged in the past year, when these thoughts replace thoughts of how you can reflect God’s love to others with whom you come into contact with today then in a way you are worshiping the world instead of worshiping our Awesome God by filling your mind with unselfish thoughts that are full of grace and love and peace and joy. This reminds me of a quote that I have heard from various people on a number of occasions that says: “The best barometer as to the condition of your heart is to identify what you think about most throughout your day and to have a look at where you spend your money.” Guard your heart today by filling your mind with God’s Spirit and God’s love; ask him now to begin to renew your mind in order that you could love and worship Him like never before by surrendering all and by letting His love reflect onto others as they see Jesus in you. God can change your whole perspective on this life by the power of His Spirit who lives inside if you would only let Him by opening your heart and jumping into this whole new life of love.