Brown's Daily Word 2-12-08

Good morning,
One of the readings for last Sunday, the first Sunday in Lent, was taken from Mathews 4: 1 ff. It is the record of the temptation of our Lord. It is written, after the Lord's Baptism, when the Lord was driven by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan. He stayed in the wilderness for 40 days and forty nights praying and fasting. He was ministered to by the angels. There He overcame Satan.
Each of us in our daily lives succumbs to some form of temptation, be it by overeating, drinking too much, smoking too much. Some of us are even tempted by the famous seven deadly sins; Greed, sloth, lust, gluttony, pride, envy, and anger. How many of us lust? Gluttony? It is obvious that obesity is a huge problem, as obesity levels in this country are epidemic now and as for pride just look at some of our homes and possessions. Envy? I defy anyone to claim that they have not been envious in their lives,and each of us has surely been angry at some point in our lives.
In many ways, many of us have committed the seven deadly sins without even blinking an eyelid. We have all succumbed; we have all given into some form of temptation and some for a price! Everything has a price if we think about it. Eating too much becomes overweight and the list goes on.
The trouble is that there are other ways in which we give in to temptation and we don’t even think about it. In Genesis 3, we see what happens when we give into temptation. We see the punishment that God dishes out and it is not at all something to enjoy. Adam and Eve were cast out from Paradise, the fall of mankind begins, and mankind paid the price until the arrival of Jesus who, despite everything, manages to resist the temptations of the devil and eventually He crushes his head at the Cross and in the empty Tomb.
We always tend to opt for the easy way, the quick fix solution. We tend to avoid challenges at all costs, because we know in our hearts of hearts that it’s quite an effort to accept a challenge. However, it is often the case that it is more of an effort to avoid the challenge. Just think back to Adam and Eve, who seemed to capitulate very easily. Jesus, on the other hand, had a much harder task and, from all accounts, He handled it very well.
We are in the season of Lent. Lent is traditionally the season when many Christians throughout the world will give something up to test themselves, to see if they can go along the journey that Jesus undertook. I think giving something up is rather silly, making a mockery of his personal sacrifice. There have been times that I have followed Lent to a point and I have tried to abstain from certain things. Yet, I realize that giving up chocolate is hardly a test.
Somebody asked me what I was giving up for Lent and I told her nothing. She was quite taken aback by my statement, but I gently reminded her that while there are denominations that follow this religiously, there are other activities one could do for Lent. For starters we could take something up! We could do something worthwhile, we could even become more involved in the life of the Church and add to Christ's workforce of agents against Satan! That’s one way to look at it!
Perhaps this Lenten season you are going to give up chocolate, drinking, smoking, or overeating. Perhaps you are going to make a conscious decision to be more active and less inactive. Have you ever considered going that step further? Have you ever thought about becoming an agent against Satan? Have you ever considered the prospect of joining the Movement to fight against the Devil and all his incarnations? The Early Methodists felt called to organize to beat the devil.
God calls us as we are. He created Adam and Eve, but they screwed up. His Son Jesus Christ proved to be the Way for us to follow.
I think back to the biography I once read of a man who was a known murderer, violent, aggressive, and abusive towards women. He was not a likeable person at all; he thought nothing of torturing people, young or old, men and women alike. He was the epitome of evil, he was not worthy to hold public office, and he wasn’t worthy to tie the laces on your boots or shoes. This man had done so many terrible things, so many evil actions that he was detested by whole communities and no one, but no one trusted the man. His name was Saul, and on the road to Damascus Saul was converted to the Way by his experience of God talking directly to him. God spoke to him, and he responded. Thanks to that most unworthy, defiled man, perhaps an agent of the devil, he became the greatest ever Apostle of the Christian Church, spreading the Gospel throughout the Western World. His new name, by which we most commonly identify him, was Paul.
Perhaps during this Lenten season, I can challenge you to accept the challenge of Christ. Perhaps you have tried like Jonah to run away but from God there is no place to hide. Perhaps you feel unworthy, well ask yourself this, “Am I as bad as that man Saul?” Perhaps, this Lenten Season, instead of giving up you could take up the challenge set before you and continue the works of the Gospel, the works of the Kingdom, and become a true disciple. God wants you as you are, not by testing yourself or by testing him; he wants you to follow as his disciple, not by giving up but by taking up.
In Christ,
Brown

" I need Thee, O Lord, for a curb on my tongue; when I am tempted to making carping criticisms and cruel judgements, keep me from speaking barbed words that hurt, and in which I find perverted satisfaction. Keep me from unkind words and from unkind silences. Restrain my judgements. Make my criticisms kind, generous, and constructive. Make me sweet inside, that I may be gentle with other people, gentle in the things I say, kind in what I do. Create in me that warmth of mercy that shall enable others to find Thy strength for their weakness, Thy peace for their strife, Thy joy for their sorrow, Thy love for their hatred, Thy compassion for their weakness. In thine own strong name, I pray. Amen. --Peter Marshall

Pray for us for the following ministry events:
The Lenten season of worship and service, to organize to beat the Devil,

Couples banquet on Saturday, February 16 at 6 p.m. Speaker - Dr, George Miller
The Jeremiah People on Saturday February 23 at 7 p.m.
Palm Sunday celebrations with Easter Cantata Sunday March 16
Concert for the youth on Friday April 11 at 7 p.m.

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