Him only

 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.   And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.   If you worship me, it will all be yours.”

  Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’

^{"I will give you ALL their authority and splendor : it has been given to me and I can give it to anyone I want to..If you worship me , it will all be yours "   This is a pretty audacious claim ..one that could have been immediately been called into question by Jesus ...but Jesus never questioned the veracity of Satan's claim ...instead He simply told Satan that  He  was to only worship God alone.   Satan had no response to this  .}  

^{Bright lights ...Moth to a flame . Not long ago I read a blog post by a well known Christian Business man , who was giving financial advice .  He was saying  if you follow his  steps , not only can you have financial security later in your life , but you will be in a better place to serve the Lord .  This is  not that much different from the offer of Satan .  As followers of Christ ..we have been commanded to Worship God and Serve Him only .  I do not believe we  Serve Him only by serving ourselves first .  This is a hard lesson ...and one so many of us ( included )  miss because so few of us are  actually doing it .  The bright lights of financial success , of the worldly pleasures and temptations ..are not seen as temptations . But rather as blessings .}  

^{In a elegant sleight of hand Satan has convinced us that he has given us Authority , and the proof of that Authority is the Splendor we surround ourselves with .  And then we  take the Splendor and thank God for it ?  Did God give us wealth and Prosperity , through the force of arms ?  Through subjection of other peoples ?  Through our Military might ?  Are not everything we fight for ..that we  shed our blood and the blood of innocents for ..those things that Jesus told us to abandoned to follow Him...this Jesus who  rejected  the Kingdoms of the World to Worship His Father and Serve Him only ?}  

^{As we celebrate the Birth of our  Lord  and savior today let us meditate on ...How we  can best Worship the Father and serve Him ..}