First Sunday in Lent, March 10th, 2019

First Sunday in Lent, March 10th, 2019

In the Fourth Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, St. Matthew presents to us the encounter between Satan and Our Blessed Lord.   This encounter took place when Our Saviour had been fasting for forty days and forty nights, St. Matthew tells us.  And it is at that point that Satan steps in to try and take advantage of the situation.   Because the very first temptation which Satan gives is to tempt Our Lord to turn stones into bread.  The next temptation the old devil proposes is by taking Our Lord up to the top of the Temple and to  throw Himself off.  Here is where Satan quotes Scripture:  ". . . . for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone."  (St. Matthew 4:6)  Satan is quoting here from Psalm 91.  Finally, Satan takes Our Lord up to the top of a high mountain and shows Him all the "kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them." (St. Matthew 4:8)   One thing that always amazed me about this particular encounter between the devil and Our Blessed Saviour is that the devil is not afraid to quote Scripture.  But we should point out that he can quote verses of Scripture but he does not live them.  Thus, all faithful, devout, committed Christians should make note:  It is more important to live what we learn from the Bible than it is to simply memorize Scripture verses.  Have you ever met someone that seemed to know all kinds of verses of the Bible but that particular person did not act very Christian despite all that knowledge?  They could quote Scripture but they did not live out what they learned from Scripture.   It is important for us to read Scripture.  Perhaps this could be our challenge during Lent.  If you are not already in the practice, read the Bible every day.  Start out with one of the Gospels, perhaps.  Read a chapter every day.  Read two chapters a day.  Get in the habit of reading Holy Scripture.  And then once you get into the habit of reading the Bible, then go out and practice what you have learned.   One of the beautiful things about reading the Bible is that we have the potential to learn something brand new every time we read it.  In other words, during my lifetime I have read the Bible countless times all the way through.  And yet despite the fact that I have already ready a specific verse or a particular section dozens of times . . .  hundreds of times . . .  previously, the Good Lord always shows me something brand new when I read it again.  Use the Bible as a source for inspiration.  Use the Bible as an instrument to learn from.  Use the Bible to hear what God is saying to you.  And then when you have learned from the Bible, go out and live what you have learned.  Be the person that God wants you to be.  

St. Margaret Church meets each and every Sunday morning at 9:30 AM.  We worship at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  We use the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Come join us as we listen to God speak to us through His Word.  At Communion time, we receive the Precious Body and Blood of Christ to nourish us and give us strength for our journey called life.