"And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you
with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know; that
he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but
that man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the
LORD. (Deut. 8:3) RSV
What a wonderful example of the truth that stands against
temptation! We all need to memorize this text. Our strength is to be
so focused on Christ, to be so filled with his power, his salvation,
his life, that the devil will not prevail against our faith in Him.
Shortly after the Reformation, some young followers of Martin Luther
wrote him (kind of like an original "Ann Landers") with a question,
saying, "We are harassed by many temptations which appeal to us so
often and so strongly that they give us no rest. You don’t seem to
be troubled in this way and we should like to know your secret.
Don’t temptations bother you? Are you somehow immune to sin?"
Luther wrote them back in reply, saying, "I, too, know something
of temptation. But the difference is that when temptations comes
knocking at the door of my heart, I always answer, "Go away! This
place is occupied. Go back where you came from, for Christ is here."
A key to understanding and dealing with temptation is found in
those words: "for Christ is here." We need to allow Jesus to fill
our hearts.
This Lenten season we have two opportunities to be filled with
Christ. One is through the theme we will be exploring during Lent:
"Light for the Darkness." Here are the sermon titles and texts for
Lent through Holy Week:
1st Sun.in Lent: Feb. 21, "His Word: Our Light" Luke 4: 1-13
2nd Sun. in Lent Feb. 28, "The Lord is My Light" Psalm 27
3rd Sun. in Lent: March 7, "Some Light on Suffering" Luke 13: 1-9
4th Sun. in Lent: March 14, "Light for Sinners" Luke 15
5th Sun. in Lent: March 21, "Our Response to the Light" John 12:
1-8
Palm Sun: March 28, "Jesus: Slave and Savior" Philippians 2: 5-11
Maundy Thursday: April 1, "Jesus: The Lamb of God" Exodus 12:
1-14
Good Friday April 2, Service of Darkness (Tenebrae)
Another way we can be filled with Christ this Lent is to attend
the Wednesday Soup
Suppers and Studies. Our study this year is the "Forty Days of
Love," a video based series taught by Rick Warren, based on the Love
chapter of St. Paul, 1 Corinthians 13. The study guide is available
for purchase in the church office. Here are the session titles and
key verses for each of the six sessions:
Feb. 17: "Love Matters Most" 1 Corinthians 14:1
Feb. 21: "Love is Patient, Love is Kind" 1 Corinthians 13: 4
March 3: "Love Speaks the Truth" 1 Corinthians 13:6
March 10: Love is Forgiving" 1 Corinthians 13:5
March 17: "Love is Not Selfish" 1 Corinthians 13:5
March 24: "The Habits of a Loving Heart" 1 Corinthians 13:7
During these weeks of Lent, let’s say to the devil: "Go away!
This place is occupied. Go back where you came from, for Christ is
here."
