~~~ First Sunday of Lent ~~~
~~~ Genesis 9:8-15 ~~~ Psalm 25 ~~~ 1 Peter 3:18-22 ~~~
~~~ Mark 1:12-15 ~~~
Forty Days of Lent has deep meaning for us...
God sent a great flood. It rained for forty days and forty nights,
but God saved Noah, his family and pairs of animals of all species.
Jesus is led into the desert to be tried and tempted
by the devil for forty days and nights.
The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert,
and he remained in the desert for forty days,
tempted by Satan.
Jesus was alone in the desert...a time of solitude and torment.
He was being tested by Satan...Satan needed to prove
to himself that Jesus was truly the Son of God.
The Spirit drove Jesus into the desert.
Was this time of temptation part of God's plan?
Was it necessary for Jesus to be put to the test?
Did Jesus need to have a personal encounter with Satan?
Is this what gave Jesus his later power over the Evil One?
After these temptations in the desert the Evil One
knew that Jesus was the Savior.
After the flood God promised to never again destroy
the Earth with floods.
He sends a brilliant rainbow
to spread across the sky sealing his promise.
Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those
who keep your covenant.
God did not abandon Jesus while he was in the desert;
he sent the angels to minister to him.
The angels were not there to prevent the attacks from Satan
they were present to let Jesus know he was not alone.
God has given us our own guardian angel.
In times of temptation it is this angel
that comes to our assistance.
The waters of our Baptism is a reminder
of the covenant God made with Noah.
Through our Baptism waters we are saved.
Forty Days...flood...rainbow...
...desert...Satan...temptation...salvation...
Remember the Blessings of the Rainbow.
It is true there can be no rainbow without the rains.
Jesus overcame the temptations in the desert for our salvation.
Repent, and believe in the gospel.
~~~Peace~~~
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