This post was last updated on September 2, 2026
Day 102 (Year 3)
Receiving God’s Word with the Right Attitude
“Jesus said to him, ‘It is written again: You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'” (Matthew 4:7 NKJV)
The preceding verses describe how the devil led Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple and told Him to throw Himself down, even quoting scripture to suggest that the Father would send angels to protect Him from striking his foot against a stone. Jesus then gave the retort above. Misusing scriptures, misclaiming God’s promises, or even exploiting Him for personal gain is to put Him to the test. This kind of temptation to abuse scriptures often appears only for believers who are familiar with the Bible. Contrarily, the fools simply focus on satisfying their lusts and may even wrongly quote scriptures to justify their desires.
Sometimes people follow their selfish desires to a dangerous extreme, distorting God’s promises and demanding His help. Trying to hold God’s promises hostage—using them to reinforce personal or even satanic desires in an attempt to compel Him to act—is also tempting God. Contrarily, if we make every decision according to God’s guidance and then seek His help in times of crisis, He will certainly intervene. That is not testing God, but rather His desire to grant grace to the humble or the afflicted. Often, God uses difficulties to reveal our weaknesses, broaden our perspective, strengthen our trust in Him, and allow us to experience Him in a deeper way.
People often either neglect God’s Word entirely or are prone to abusing it. And a few are overly cautious and dare not apply it at all. When sharing truth with others by quoting scriptures, we must be careful not to misuse God’s words. Yet we cannot simply follow some lifeless interpretations of the Bible. Indeed, those who have studied at theological or Bible seminaries might have been instructed against careless interpretations. We should not interpret the Bible haphazardly nor in an overly conventional way that merely speaks for certain traditions. These are not helpful for spiritual growth. Today’s verse indicates that believers should approach Scripture with a careful and humble attitude, seeking the Spirit’s illumination and the text’s meaning—not to control God’s words, but to allow His words to speak to us. This is a sound, helpful, and beneficial approach to Bible study. Furthermore, we should learn how to live by the words that come from God’s mouth only with an attitude of submission, relying on the Spirit’s guidance to apply them, and overcome the devil with godly blessing to all.
Reflection questions:
1) Do you believe that God’s Word is good for you and should not be used to reinforce any selfish desires? Why?
2) How can believers escape the temptation to misuse Scripture? What standards can be used as a measure in this area?