First Sunday in Lent, February 26th, 2023
The Gospel passage which we will hear on the First Sunday of Lent comes to us from the Fourth Chapter of St. Matthew. Here, St. Matthew describes Our Lord's Forty Days in the Wilderness. As we all know, the devil likes to take every opportunity he can to take advantage. This is no exception. He tries three separate times to take advantage and tempt Our Blessed Saviour while He is fasting. Finally, the Lord admonishes the devil by telling him: "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." (v.10) After this, we are told, the devil left Him and "angels came and ministered unto Him." (v. 11) There are two major points that we can take away from this:
First, Our Lord was fasting for forty days and forty nights and during this time, the devil came to tempt Him. How many of us have sat down to pray, or sat down to read the Bible, or tried to concentrate while we were in church and every type of thought comes into our head: we start thinking about what we're going to eat for lunch; we start thinking about something we should have done at home; we start thinking about a movie or a TV show; etc. I am sure this has happened to all of us at one point or another. The point is this: if the devil is bold enough to tempt Our Blessed Saviour, he is certainly bold enough to tempt you and I. Some people let these distractions over-power them and keep them from prayer completely. They take these "distractions" as some sort of a "sign" that they weren't meant to pray or that they can't pray. If this happens, the devil has won. Don't give the devil the victory. Remember always that the devil will stop at nothing in order to keep you from growing closer to God. If the devil can tempt Our Blessed Saviour, he will certainly tempt you as well. Don't let the temptation stop you in your tracks. Tell the devil who is in charge of your life and then move on!
The second point is that the devil will try to tempt us with things that are attractive to us, that are appealing to us. He will tempt us with things that we would want and desire to begin with. The devil will use any tool necessary to tempt you and I. He will use food and drink; he will use power and money; he will use position and title. Any of these things mentioned are not necessarily bad in and of themselves, but if they keep us away from God or if they stand as a barrier between us and God, then this is what makes them bad. Also, many of these things that the devil tempts us with, we end up "worshiping" those things instead of God. For example, how many people end up focusing on drink instead of God. How many people focus all of their energies on gaining more and more power or more and more money? In that example, that person worships money or power and never thinks about God. Again, the devil does not want you to have a relationship with God. He will use anything and everything to keep you from having a relationship with Our Blessed Saviour.
We need to counter these temptations by keeping our eyes fixed on Christ. Always go towards Him and do not let any temptation . . . . no matter how wonderful it seems . . . . prohibit you from having a good relationship with God. Give God your heart. Let Him be the ruler of your life. Don't let "things" rule your life: whether they be food, drink, power, riches, etc. God should be the ruler of our hearts.
First, Our Lord was fasting for forty days and forty nights and during this time, the devil came to tempt Him. How many of us have sat down to pray, or sat down to read the Bible, or tried to concentrate while we were in church and every type of thought comes into our head: we start thinking about what we're going to eat for lunch; we start thinking about something we should have done at home; we start thinking about a movie or a TV show; etc. I am sure this has happened to all of us at one point or another. The point is this: if the devil is bold enough to tempt Our Blessed Saviour, he is certainly bold enough to tempt you and I. Some people let these distractions over-power them and keep them from prayer completely. They take these "distractions" as some sort of a "sign" that they weren't meant to pray or that they can't pray. If this happens, the devil has won. Don't give the devil the victory. Remember always that the devil will stop at nothing in order to keep you from growing closer to God. If the devil can tempt Our Blessed Saviour, he will certainly tempt you as well. Don't let the temptation stop you in your tracks. Tell the devil who is in charge of your life and then move on!
The second point is that the devil will try to tempt us with things that are attractive to us, that are appealing to us. He will tempt us with things that we would want and desire to begin with. The devil will use any tool necessary to tempt you and I. He will use food and drink; he will use power and money; he will use position and title. Any of these things mentioned are not necessarily bad in and of themselves, but if they keep us away from God or if they stand as a barrier between us and God, then this is what makes them bad. Also, many of these things that the devil tempts us with, we end up "worshiping" those things instead of God. For example, how many people end up focusing on drink instead of God. How many people focus all of their energies on gaining more and more power or more and more money? In that example, that person worships money or power and never thinks about God. Again, the devil does not want you to have a relationship with God. He will use anything and everything to keep you from having a relationship with Our Blessed Saviour.
We need to counter these temptations by keeping our eyes fixed on Christ. Always go towards Him and do not let any temptation . . . . no matter how wonderful it seems . . . . prohibit you from having a good relationship with God. Give God your heart. Let Him be the ruler of your life. Don't let "things" rule your life: whether they be food, drink, power, riches, etc. God should be the ruler of our hearts.
St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.
NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.
Please Join us as we gather together as God's family to: hear the Word of God; listen as God speaks to each one of us in our hearts; worship God in song and in word; listen to the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer; and, finally, receive Our Blessed Lord in Holy Communion so that we can be nourished for the journey we call life. Take one hour out of your busy schedule to worship God, to honour God, to acknowledge the need for God in your life.
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