Something about Crushing a Snake's Skull

A vivid reminder from Russell Moore about Jesus' clear understanding of his own identity as the Son of God and as the second Adam, as he moved from his baptism to his temptation in the wilderness:

"If you had stood there by the Jordan River, watching the scene at the baptism of Jesus, you might have braced yourself for a shock wave of glory. After all, the God of Israel had just unveiled - publicly, audibly, visually - his promised Messiah.  The villagers around you might have been chattering about great things - the overthrow of Rome, the throne of David, shock and awe.  You might have waited to watch this new king unleash his Spirit power.  Instead, though, you would see him shake out the water from his hair, pause and look at the mud on the bank, and then walk off toward the desert.  As he passed by you, you might have heard him whisper to himself, something about crushing a snake's skull.  Jesus knows who he is."

--Russell Moore, Tempted and Tried 

Two Attractive But Dangerous Lies

"All fallen human beings tend to buy into two attractive but dangerous lies. These are the lies that were on the tongue of the serpent on that fateful day of manipulation and disobedience in the garden. The first lie is the lie of autonomy, which tells me that I am an independent human being with the right to invest my life however I choose. The second lie is the lie of self-sufficiency, which declares that I have everything I need within myself to be what I am supposed to be and do what I am supposed to do. Because we do not want to live for God, but for ourselves, we are easily seduced, at the mundane, everyday level, by these lies."

--Paul David Tripp, Whiter Than Snow: Meditations on Sin and Mercy

How To Speak to the Devil When He Throws Your Sins in Your Face

"When the devil throws our sins up to us and declares that we deserve death and hell, we ought to speak thus: 'I admit that I deserve death and hell. What of it? Does this mean that I shall be sentenced to eternal damnation? By no means. For I know One who suffered and made satisfaction in my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Where He is, there I shall be also.'"

--Martin Luther