“…In All Your Ways…”
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
When the serpent
said to the woman, “Did God really say?”
he invited her to doubt that God had her good at heart. This doubt is the heart
of sin, and it is a very powerful thing, even though it seems so small. When
God led Israel out of Egypt, they
doubted the good will of God. They grumbled and complained for water and food.
When Moses was up on the mountain with God, the people doubted God’s goodness;
they built a golden calf and worshiped it. So He led them into the wilderness
to test them. He led them for 40 years, until the generation who doubted had
died.
In the same way, Jesus
was led into the wilderness to be tested. He is all of Israel in one
person. Where Israel
failed in the wilderness, Jesus succeeded. There was no doubt in Jesus when He
went into the Jordan River to be baptized. And
there was no doubt in Him when He was led up into the wilderness by the Holy
Spirit. He did not go on His own accord. Even so, He was willing to be led according
to the will of His Father. It was time to reveal what kind of Son Jesus would
be.
The things Jesus
was tempted with are no strangers to you, are they? The devil wants you to try
to save yourself. He wants you to serve your own desires. He wants you to
worship someone other than the one true God. All these things tempt you to
doubt God’s good will for you. By the grace of God, most of you have never
known real hunger. We can go only a few hours without food before we’re so anxious
that we must have something to eat. This is why we join with Jesus in praying, “Give us this day our daily bread.” The
truth is, “God gives daily bread without
our prayer, even to all evil people, but we ask in this prayer that God cause
us to recognize what our daily bread is and to receive it with thanksgiving.”
And yet, don’t you
think God should bless you in the ways you think are best? The devil left out
an important part in reciting Psalm 91. The Psalmist wrote, “He shall give His
angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.” The devil conveniently left out the phrase, “to keep you in all your ways.” That
phrase does not refer to the things you desire; they refer to the ways of God,
the things He desires. Have you needlessly put yourself in danger only for the
thrill of it? Have you gambled shamelessly? Have you done something that, if
you got caught, would have caused you shame? These things distract you from the
will and the ways of God.
And so we pray, “Lead us not into temptation.” You know
what Luther says: “God tempts no one. We
pray in this petition that God would guard and keep us so that the devil, the
world, and our sinful nature may not deceive us or mislead us into false
belief, despair, and other great shame and vice. Although we are attacked by
these things, we pray that we may finally overcome them and win the victory.”
What god do you
worship? Do you allow yourself to be led astray? Are you seduced by fortune and
glory? Satan twisted Scripture to serve his own purpose to deceive and to
invite doubt in God. When you abuse the Word of God by neglect or malicious
intent, you are guilty of despising God. You don’t “read, mark, learn and inwardly digest” Holy Scripture as you
should; instead you worship your own thoughts and words.
I urge you to
remember the words of Ash Wednesday: “Remember,
you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Yes, you are a sinner, but you
have the hope of new life through the cross. When you were baptized, you had
the righteousness of Christ placed upon you. That deceiver, Satan, wants to
steal it from you, just as he tried to do to Jesus. He attacks you both at your
weakest points of doubt and in the pride of your strengths. But Christ’s
righteousness is stronger; He covers you with it in the blood-washed baptismal
robe He places upon you. He strengthens you for the fight with His own body and
blood. Are you ready to quit? Does the fight seem hopeless to you? Come to the
throne of grace. Return to your baptism. Receive mercy in the body and blood of
Christ freely, given for you in your time of need. In these blessings, God will
“keep you in all your ways.” In the
name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The peace of God
which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus
always. Amen.
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