Do you ever find it a challenge to fight temptation? Of course you do; we all do. The best way to fight temptation is the way Jesus did. When Satan tempted Jesus with bread, power, and freedom from harm, Jesus responded by quoting scripture. Again and again Satan would throw out a great prize and each time, Jesus shot him down with God’s Word. Follow Jesus’ example and you’ll have a much easier time overcoming the devil’s attempts to tempt you into sin.

Perhaps you are thinking right now, “Bryant, that makes a lot of sense, but I’m just not able to memorize things, especially right after the holidays!” Let me offer you some advice. Instead of memorizing the exact words of a verse of passage, capture the main idea that’s being communicated. There are two reasons for this:

• First, worrying over the exact words will trip you up, post a barrier to your learning, and possibly become a barrier to even attempting it in the first place.
• Secondly, it’s the point of the verse that God uses to give us victory over temptation.

So, as you read and study the Word of God, memorizing is fine, but understanding the meaning of the passage is even more important.