The Wilderness, part 4

 Luke 4:13

“When the devil had finished every test, he departed from Him until an opportune time.”

Luke tells us that Satan never gave up trying to lure Jesus away from His purpose.  Jesus, throughout His ministry, must have experienced the most terrible temptations that Satan had in his repertoire.  

If the wilderness was any example, Satan probably tempted Jesus time and again when he was exhausted or at a low point such as in the Garden of Gethsemane, or maybe when his disciples deserted Him on the night of His arrest.

We, like Christ, are never above temptation.  But, unlike Christ, there are times that we give in to the temptations of sin.  At those times, we are grateful for our savior, and grateful for His forgiveness of our sins…

and the sacrifices he made for us in the wilderness and on the cross.

“But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”(Romans 5:8)”

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Wilderness, part 3

 Luke 4:9-12

9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’11 and On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” 12 Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Satan begins the third temptation with a conditional “If”. “If you are the Son of God…”  But remember, after Christ’s baptism God, in an audible voice, said,  “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”  Jesus knew that He was the Christ.   Satan knew who Jesus was.  But the world at large did not yet know.

Satan was asking Jesus to subvert God’s plan; to show himself to be the Christ to people in a flashy, worldly way that would not accomplish God’s plan of redemption, but would accomplish only temporary, worldly fame.  

But Jesus knew His purpose on earth. It was not the easy, flashy, way.  His way was the eternal way, the difficult way…

 but the only way that accomplished God’s plan for humanity.

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”  (Matthew 7:13-14)

The Wilderness, part 2

Luke 4:5-8

“5 Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’”

Satan offered Jesus glory and authority over the kingdoms of the earth, things that were not his to give, and which Jesus would shortly possess.  

God never gave Satan authority over the earthly kingdoms.  These would be given by God to Christ after he completed his earthly mission (as we read in Matthew 28:18 “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”).

The world promises us wealth, power, and glory, but as we pursue these, we find they are hollow and temporary.  Only God can give us the wealth of our faith in Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and the glory of our eternal salvation.  

“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Colossians 3:2)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Wilderness, part 1

Luke 4:3-4

“3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.”  Jesus answered him, “It is written, One does not live by bread alone.”

At the end of the 40 days, when Jesus was at his weakest point, Satan tempted Jesus.  He asked Christ to use his power to serve his own personal needs.  

God sent Jesus into the world to sacrifice himself for humanity.  By turning the stones to bread, he would have betrayed God’s plan of redemption for the world.

Sacrifice is a vital part of the Christian life.  Through the sacrifice of our time, our resources, our talents, and our presence we increase and make visible the Kingdom of God on earth.

Let us remember that Christ denied himself the pleasure of earthly bread…so that we might know the bread of heaven.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Looking Back

Ecclesiastes 7:10

“Do not say, “Why were the former days better than these?”  For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.”

We all look back fondly on the days of our youth and think they were better than the days in which we now live.  Married couples like to look back on their earlier years of marriage and think they were the best years. Or parents look at when their children were younger and think those were the best times.  

But, in truth, there are many ups and downs in every period of a person’s life.

If we know God, we know that each day we live is a gift from God.  Each sunrise is another day unfolding in the love and mercy of God.  Each sunset represents another day spent in God’s ever unfolding plan of redemption.

God is the same today as He was yesterday.   

No day spent with God is any better than the next.

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  (Romans 8:38-39)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Seek with God

Ecclesiastes 5:7

“With many dreams come vanities and a multitude of words; but fear God.”

People dream of becoming famous, rich, powerful, educated, having joy in their lives, finding peace, finding happiness, finding love. 

\Throughout our lives we may seek these things.  Some people may find them.  Others search their entire lifetime and never do.

The writer of this scripture warns us that nothing in life is meaningful or lasting without God.  Without God, His love, His grace and mercy, His forgiveness, and His gift of salvation, our dreams evaporate like words spoken into the wind.

Seek your dreams, but seek them in the company of God who so loved the world that He sent His beloved Son to save it.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Gift of Humility

Ecclesiastes 5:1

“Guard your steps when you go to the house of God; to draw near to listen is better than the sacrifice offered by fools; for they do not know how to keep from doing evil.”

Worship is an act of humility.  To truly worship we must humble ourselves before God.  This kind of humility is achieved in the heart and is not an outward act.  

We receive God’s gift of humility when we first realize our sins and our sinful nature; when we first realize that Christ is our savior and that He offers us forgiveness and redemption.

It is this humility that we are to carry in our hearts when we pray, when we worship,  and when we serve.  

Humility is an acknowledgment that Christ is our Lord and Savior and that our souls are lost without Him. It is not a sign of timidity, or fear; it is an indication that we know where our true strength lies. 

When we approach God, we are to guard our steps so that we do not pray, worship, or serve in an attitude of arrogance or selfishness.

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble,” (James 4:6)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Meaning of It All

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

“1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: 2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; 7 a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.”

Without God’s presence, all of life would seem meaningless and tiresome, as it did to the writer of Ecclesiastes, who cried out that all of life was in vain. Without God's presence and sovereignty, everything in life would be without eternal value or significance.  

God gives us eternal values that enable us to transcend the material life into the spiritual, to see value in the ordinary, to see God in other creatures, to see God’s creative hand in nature.

And in each season, there is God…

giving life meaning

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Material Things

Ecclesiastes 2: 4-8

“4 I made great works; I built houses and planted vineyards for myself; 5 I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. 6 I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house; I also had great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. 8 I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and of the provinces; I got singers, both men and women, and delights of the flesh, and many concubines…

11 Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had spent in doing it, and again, all was vanity and a chasing after the wind and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.”

Twenty-five years ago, my father died.  I was with him the last two weeks of his life.  During that time, the meaning of this passage was never more clear to me.

At the end of our lives our bank accounts, our houses, our cars, our properties will have no meaning.  The material world’s grip on us will be loosened.   

The spiritual, eternal things will be the things that matter most to us, such as love; the love of God, the love of Christ, the love for our family and friends.

The writer of Ecclesiastes warns us that the true meaning of life cannot be found in  a life obsessed with chasing things that rust, decay and fade away.  

Happiness found in material things is temporary at best.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal;” (Matthew 6:19) 

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Hope in This Life

Ecclesiastes 1: 14-15

“14 I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun; and see, all is vanity and chasing after the wind.  15 What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted.”

Things in this world often seem beyond our control, or out of control.  There are many crooked roads that will never be straight, and many people who will always be hungry and in need of shelter.

Christ came to us to make the crooked paths straight; to restore us; to redeem us; to transform us into a people of love, mercy and compassion for one another.  

Christ came not only to give us the hope of eternal salvation, but to give us hope in this life; the hope of a better life, a higher life; a life where people live in peace and unity and reach out to those in need, and those who are lacking.

“for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’”(Matthew 25:35-36)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)