Study THE Playbook

Most team sports use set plays. In football, offense, defense and even special teams have some sort of playbook.

In an interview following his rookie year, pro quarterback Tua Tagovailoa admitted to struggling quite a bit at times. He said he didn’t know the playbook as well as he was supposed to, which led to not knowing where each player was to be and what they were to do on a particular play. For any player, especially the QB, this is a no-no.

When tempted in the wilderness, Jesus used Scripture to ward off the Adversary’s advances. Since Jesus had fasted 40 days, the Devil challenged Him to make bread from a rock. Jesus responded by quoting Deuteronomy: “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). As the Devil continued to tempt Him, Jesus quoted from Psalms and Deuteronomy again before the Devil departed.

The Bible is our playbook. It teaches us why we need Jesus, who He is, what He did, and how to live like Him. We must read the Bible and try to understand it. The better we know our playbook, the better we will know where to be and what to do. Jesus used passages to help Him during a trying time.

We need to take a lesson from the greatest person who ever lived. After all, if it helped our Savior ward off temptation, it can certainly help us, too.