A long time ago in a land far away Jesus braced himself against a strong gust of wind. Standing high on the temple roof, Jesus heard the noise of a market. He looked down into the holy courtyard and saw sheep pens, money-changing tables, and long lines of customers. Men haggled and argued, but no one prayed or worshipped. Soon, Jesus would step into that greedy world and clean house, but that challenge was for another time. Today had enough trouble of its own.  Jesus turned his head and looked into the eyes of Satan. He knew the battle wasn’t over, and he waited for satan to make the first move.  “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” satan began. “This temple with its white stones and golden domes, it reminds me of our home in heaven.” Satan, still disguised as an angel of light, opened his arms and seemed to present the temple to Jesus. “I brought you here because your Father wants to see your faith.” Satan’s face melted into a loving smile at the mention of the Father. “He is so proud of you, but He is concerned that your humanity isn’t strong enough for the struggle. That’s why you are here. It’s time to show your Father how strong your trust in Him really is.” Satan bowed his head reverently and began to quote the scripture, but he didn’t just say the words. He sang. It was the ancient song of Moses, composed by the prophet himself after his experience during the dedication of the tabernacle in the desert. Satan’s strong voice took the song to a magical place as he closed his eyes and remembered the many songs he had sung next to the great throne. His voice was able to sing multiple parts all at once and the blend of the harmony and melody touched Jesus’ heart. It was beautiful. But Satan didn’t sing the whole song, no it was too dangerous to sing about dwelling in the shadow of the Most High and treading upon snakes. Satan carefully chose only part of one elegant verse.  “For He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you in all of your ways. They will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”  Satan held the last note and then let it slip away.  “Now,” he whispered, “If you are the Son of god, Jump and the holy angels will save you.” The devil hoped that Jesus would get carried away with the emotional music, but even if the song didn’t inspire him, the verse was a powerful argument. After all, didn’t it promise that the angels would save him? Satan opened his eyes and looked at Jesus who stood firmly on the ledge. He smiled. The temptation was brilliant. This is religion, he thought, People trying to control their gods because they didn’t trust them.  Jesus’ feet didn’t budge. He was praying again. His lips moved but no words came out. Satan waited impatiently, trying to read the lips. Then he saw three words that he hated, “God’s got this.” Then Jesus opened his eyes and quoted another verse that Moses wrote. “It is written, Do not put the Lord your God to the test. I will not test my Father’s love. I choose to trust Him.” Then Jesus began to hum the rest of the song, and satan knew the words to the melody. “He will call upon me, and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble…”  Satan’s smile melted into a sneer. First Jesus refused to take the power and do it himself. Now He refused to force God’s hand through religion. Fine, satan thought. No more subtlety. I’ll pull out all the stops. The angel snapped his fingers and the two disappeared from the temple roof.  Score? Jesus two. Satan zero. When satan quoted a bible verse on the temple he was tempting Jesus to show his distrust in the Father by trying to control Him. Quote a promise, make a rash decision, and then make God rush to the rescue. This is the pattern of every false religion. Humans can force the gods to bless them through sacrifice. It’s divine manipulation.  History is full of examples of holy men promising eternity in heaven and blessings on earth if the penitent would just give more money to the church, b