GOOD MORNING
First Sunday Of Lent
February 26, 2012
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My Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ.
I greet you in the Holy and Righteous Name Of Jesus.
Our Lord and Savior.
Inspiration
Covenant of promise followed the Flood, which destroyed most of the world. A covenant of service followed the baptism of Jesus, who saved the world. The wilderness of testing leads to pathways of fruitful ministry. Persons in every generation need to be reclaimed by the baptism, which opens vistas of discipleship for the believing heart.
This is day the LORD hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.
HEARING GOD'S VOICE
Genesis 22:1-14
Romans 8:31-39
Psalm 25:1-10
Mark 1:9-15
The same Spirit who descended on Jesus 'like a dove' at HIs baptism now sends Him into the desert for His first recorded encounter with the great adversary Satan.
This was no accident. Jesus had to face Satan head-on, alone; no fellow believers were present to comfort and strengthen Him. The battle was arduous, long and lasted forty days without food. His only companions were wild beasts, whose presence underscored the awful loneliness of that region.
When Jesus had won the battle in the wilderness, He was completely exhausted. It is then that the 'angles attended to Him'. Our LORD leaves the battlefield qualified to meet every challenge and challenger and thus enters on His ministry.
Today we gather to hear what it is like for even the beloved of God to be frighteningly alone.
When temptation comes to us, we know we are not alone in our isolation. We hear and tell these stories so that our own trials will not overwhelm us. We who come into this world with sin ingrained in our souls, will never be able to win the battle with Satan. We need a Savior who can do that for us.
During this Lenten season of preparation for baptism and renewal of baptismal promises, we profess our faith in the words of the Nicene Creed: "We believe." Jesus took flesh "for us" and suffered "for our sake" We are strengthened by these reminders of God's caring relationship with us and our relationship with one another as the baptized people of God. Ps. 25:1-9
The witness of scriputre is consistent: However deep into the wilderness we might find ourselves, whatever tricks Satan might have in store for us, God is close at hand. and the last words are always God's
Is God aloof from human pain
That ravages our mortal frame?
Oh no, Christ felt our agony
When sin and death He overcame!
PRAY- O Almighty and eternal God, we implore You to direct, sanctify, and govern our hearts and bodies in the ways of Your laws and works of Your commandments that through Your mighty protection, both now and ever, we may be preserved in body and in soul; through our LORD Jesus Christ, Your son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen
