DEFINING ATTITUDE

I notice it is not just the book in my hand, but the attitude of my heart that defines whether the reading useful for good in my life. Anyone (including the devil himself) can learn to quote scripture, but it is the attitude of the heart which defines whether we use God's word to rectify our wrongs or to justify erroneous thinking. Check out the quote war, below, from today's reading:

And the tempter came and said to [Jesus], “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” Then the devil left him . . . from Matthew 4:3-10

I don't want to leave my attitude to chance! I want to take this moment to deliberately define the purpose and attitude of my heart as I read through scripture in 2010. I pray I'll more like the character in this dialogue who uses scripture to defeat the tempter. How about you?