St Mark’s Lenten Thoughts, The First Sunday In Lent

First Sunday in Lent

Psalm 32 Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 Romans 5: 12-19 Matthew 4: 1-11

The gracious gift of God and His Son, Jesus Christ bore the sins for us by dying on the cross. That set us free. Thanks be to Jesus Christ, the true Son of God.  Then Jesus went to the desert and fasted forty days and forty nights. Jesus was truly very hungry. The devil tempts Him three times. “If you are the Son of God, command these stones become loaves. Jesus answered the devil, “one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”

The second time the devil tested Jesus “in the holy city and made Him to stand on the parapet of the temple and said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.” Jesus told the devil, “You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.” Then, the third time the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world! Jesus said, “Get away, Satan.”

And then the devil departed, and angels came and ministered to Jesus. So happy the sinner is forgiven and permits no guilt. “As long as I kept silent my bones wasted away…For day and night, your hand was heavy upon me; my strength withered as in dry summer heat.” Then I confessed to the Lord and my guilt was no longer. We should always pray whether we’re tempted or not.

Pray always is the encouragement of this Psalm 32.

Marybeth O. McVie

Thanks to Father Bryan Owen for the Ukrainian-Russian painter Ilya Repin image source.