As most of you know, I teach Bible study Thursday evenings in our home. For years now, members of the group have provided snacks on a rotating basis and that way we all get to try a variety of things that we otherwise may never be exposed to. Anyway, one of the guys in the group is a chef and he always comes up with something unusual for us to try. Tonight, he brought chips and something he referred to as “Cowboy Caviar.”
I started to laugh when I saw what it was. Corn, salsa, peppers and perhaps a little jalapeno as well. It looked good and I would have thought of it more like corn relish, until I tasted it. It was a little on the fiery side… The point here is that the reality didn’t match my expectation.
That’s how it is with Satan and God’s word. God’s word reigns supreme – the original. And then there is Satan – the imitation – but things he says are meant to be confusing to the listener and he tries to direct people away from God and into Satan’s own camp. A great example of the deception of Satan occurs in the New Testament when Jesus is in the wilderness after His baptism. Satan “quotes” Scripture from the Old Testament, but if you read it carefully, you will notice that the verse has been changed.
Satan says to Jesus, in Matthew 4:5-6, “Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’’” It’s that last part that I want to focus on. Because the verse comes from the 91st Psalm, a psalm that speaks to the protection of God.
The real verse, Psalm 91:11-12 says, “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” Notice that Satan’s imitation omits the phrase “to guard you in all your ways” In other words, Satan’s verse sounds like the real deal, but it falls short. That’s the way it always is with Satan – short of the real deal – the original word of God.
My encouragement this evening is that God wants us to pay attention to Him and to focus on the truth – the authentic God. My prayer is that you won’t take the word of God lightly. Because it is easy to get swayed and think you are getting the real thing when all you really have is Cowboy Caviar… Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…