Red Rock News March 8, 2025
First Sunday in Lent

        Temptation and testing are universal throughout  human history and no one is ever immune from temptation, testing or spiritual attacks. Throughout  the Bible, we are given story after story of God’s  chosen people being tempted and tested – Adam,  Eve, Abraham, Joseph, Job, Daniel… An important  point to note is that when the devil (an evil force  that opposes the work of God) tempts us, he  doesn’t appear in hoofs and horns. He appears as  something desirous. He sows doubts to confuse  us, distorts the truth and creates a fog in which we  no longer see or differentiate God’s way from the  ways of the world. As Shakespeare said, “The devil  hath power to assume a pleasing shape.” The  serpent is described as crafty; very likely he was  also beautiful, like a beautiful emerald viper, not  like a hissing cobra or rattlesnake.  

        C.S. Lewis also reminds us the devil finds a  believer’s weak point and uses it to announce a  war on his or her soul. When the devil wants to  attack a person’s soul the first thing, he does is  create a “partition” between God and that person.  The first partition is the “desires of the flesh.” They  cover a broad range, not just sexual sins, but  desires for wealth, power, fame, success, and a  host of other things. The second partition is the  “desires of the eyes” refers to the many things that  capture our attention through our sight, the entry  point for many temptations. Here again we need to  discipline our eyes. What we allow ourselves to  look at and what we avoid to not draw ourselves into sin. And the third partition, the “pride of life”  where we boast of all the things we have  materially, and we brag about all our achievements  and popularity. The temptation to gossip about  other people and live out the lies we tell ourselves. We grow accustom to believing some of the bad  habits in our hearts are good. It’s quite all right to be selfish and self-centered. It’s quite all right to  express hatred and disgust towards others. Thus,  in our rugged individualism, we exalt ourselves, our  self-importance over God and others. Pride is at  the root of today’s narcissistic culture. 

        The first Sunday in Lent begins with Jesus  being led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be  tempted and tested by the schemes of the devil (Luke 4:1-13). After fasting forty days and forty  nights, he was hungry. Now the desert where he  was taken was truly barren and desolate. As  William Barclay describes it; the hills were like dust  heaps; the limestone looked blistered and peeling;  and the ground sounded hollow to the horses’  hooves and it glowed like the heat of a vast  furnace. It was in this place of devastation where  Jesus was tested. We’ve all experienced those  dark times in our lives where our spiritual,  emotional and physical strength and resilience  grow weak, where doubts begin to cloud our  certainty about God, what is and what is not sin.  

        In the temptation of Jesus, the devil tempted him with food. The devil also tempted him  with worldly power. He could have what was  already his if he worshiped the devil and gave up  his unwavering devotion to his Father. But with  every temptation, Jesus pushed back on the  devil’s deception with the very word of God, a  word that holds divine power and authority.  Though his own people in Nazareth rejected him,  the devil here recognizes Jesus as “the Holy One  of God.” Luke tells us that after the devil’s plans to  seduce Jesus were foiled, the devil left him until a  more opportune time. The devil does appear again  in the final days of Jesus’ life.  

        How do we overcome our temptations? The  devil always whispers in our ear what our itching  ears what to hear the most. First, prayer is a  powerful deterrent against temptation. The Holy  Spirit comes to our aid when we cry out to him for  help. Second, we cling to the word of God as  Jesus did, and use it as a source of power and  authority. Thirdly, those who are baptized and  clothed in the love and mercy of God wear a shield  of protection against the evil forces of this world.  Spending time daily in the Bible and prayer is not  optional for Christians. Rather, it is a critical part of  the process of renewing our minds and learning to  recognize and do God’s will and deal effectively  with temptation and testing “when” it comes. Amen.