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We are told that immediately after his baptism, Jesus was driven out into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit. We do not often ponder how odd this phrasing is. The mystery of the relationship between Father, Son and Holy Ghost is one which led early Christians to formulate the doctrine of Trinity, and we know that after the Ascension, the Father did, as Jesus had promised, send the Holy Spirit to the Virgin and the Apostles; but here, at the start of the mission, we see the Spirit leading Jesus into the wilderness; and as anyone who has been there will tell you, beyond the Jordan it really is a wilderness; by day the sun scorches and the scorpions threaten, and by night the cold freezes the body, and the howls of wild animals the blood. It was there that Jesus was tested.
The Holy Scriptures show God using the wilderness in this way – to test his people – many times. He commands Abraham to go into the wild places to sacrifice Isaac; the children of Israel are led through the wilderness by Moses for forty years, and it is in the wilderness of Sinai that God gives Moses the tablets of the Law after he has fasted and prayed for 40 days; Elijah is is also led into the wilderness and sustained there by God for 40 days. Jesus follows this pattern.
Adam had been placed in the Garden of Eden, and he was tempted, and he fell, and through him, mankind fell; the Devil appealed to his pride and his self-will; he set out before him the idea that God wanted to keep him in subjection and that if he would but reach out his hand, he could soon be like God, equal with him; Adam and Eve succumbed to this, despite the felicity of their surroundings. Now we see the second Adam, Christ, undergo the second temptation of man in a wilderness symbolic of that in which mankind had lived since the fall. Paul tells us: ‘For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive’, and here we see the Tempter defeated where once he was victorious.
Satan’s methods are the ones which worrled for him of old, and work on us now: he tempts us to take a course of action which, in itself, seems harmless enough – in this case to feed himself by turning stones into bread – but which leads us to place our will before that of God. Hence, here, Jesus replies that we live not just by bread, but by the word of God. We, of course, knowing that Jesus is that Word, see a deeper meaning than the Devil could; if we allow ourselves to be guided by the things of this world, we too shall fail to see that the ‘Light which lighteth the world’ has come into it.
That Jesus was tempted reminds us of His true humanity. He triumphs not be the assertion of his own will, real though that is, he does so by renouncing his will and doing that of his Father in Heaven. Luke tells us that he was filled with the Spirit, and he relies upon the stregnth that gives him; unlike Adam, he does not think that the exercise of his will is the way to respond to the promptings of the Devil. Paul tells us that Jesus came to overthrow the Evil One who holds us captive:
Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil
Jesus rejects the Devil’s offers of glory and power and embraces, instead, the Atonement, the path that will lead Him to the agony of Gethsemene and the sufferings of Golgotha. He who was without sin, He who resisted the Tempter, was ‘made sin’ for us so that through his sacrifice we might be made righteous. It is through Jesus that we are saved; His obedience, His humility do that which our own efforts never could do – they make us right with God. As all fell in Adam, so, if we embrace Him, will all rise in Jesus.
So, as we go through this Lenten season, may we so conform our will to His, that we may be worth of the sacrifices He made for us, and may we, through the Spirit, be delivered from temptation – and its results.
All Along the Watchtower 
Brilliant post chalcedon.
Just one query. You say –
“So, as we go through this Lenten season, may we so conform our will to His, that we may be worth of the sacrifices He made for us,”
Did you mean to say worthy? You missed out the Y.
But can we ever be worthy of the sacrifice?
Do we not say before receiving the Body and Blood of Christ?
“Lord I am not worthy that you should come under my roof but speak the word only and my soul shall be healed.
Conforming our will to his is almost impossible. It’s an ideal that for most of us is out of reach. It’s where we have to cast ourselves before the Lord and ask to be touched by him.
Every time I go to confession I’m conscious of failure.
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Thank you, Malcolm – I shall correct it. And you are right about be unworthy – we all are 🙏
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Malcolm, Yes we are unworthy, “…but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” Isn’t that an amazing statement!? (In my human sinfulness I constantly grapple with questions such as “What word?” and “How do I know if I am healed?” but that doesn’t change the fact that the statement is in itself amazing.) 🙂
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I see this as the Church making a remarkable statement here as it draws a connection between the Centurion’s words (Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof: but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed.) and equating the servant with the soul of each of us.
Our souls are our servants and as such act to serve and guide us in attaining our goal of Heaven, lest they pass away and we are left without such service in our life. They need be restored and healed from time to time and sometimes more than others. We are not worthy (and nobody is worthy) to have the Lord enter under our roof (the roof of our physical mouths by the Christ in the Eucharist) but even though our souls seem remote like the servant was from the Centurion, our belief in the ability of the Lord to heal the soul is a great Act of Faith if we allow it to be. So we have hope that our souls will be healed each and every time we receive Holy Communion if our hearts and minds are attentive to the sickness or weakenesses which plague our souls (by going to Confession and receiving absolution) in our small effort to attempt to receive the Eucharistic Christ in a relative state of grace (as best that we each can accomplish).
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Great piece, C.
I think another interesting aspect of the season is the way it can make us aware of our equality with other humans: “For all have fallen short of the glory of God”. A season of discipline, penitence, and reflection will cause us to dwell on Jesus’ message found in so many of his stories: the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant; the Tax-Collector and the Pharisee; the Prodigal Son.
“For I desire mercy and not sacrifice.”
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In a recent book on poetry I was quite affected by this verse from a much longer poem by U.A Fanthorpe.
In her imagination Jesus is speaking.
“‘I am tattooing God on their makeshift lives.
My Keystone Cops of disciples, always,
Running absurdly away, or lying ineptly,
Cutting off ears and falling into the water,
These Sancho Panzas must tread my Quixote life,
Dying ridiculous and undignified,
Flayed and stoned and crucified upside down.
They are the dear, the human, the dense, for whom
My message is. That might, had I not touched them,
Have died decent respectable upright deaths in bed.’
My life is pretty make shift and most of the time I’m conscious of having to make decisions which might be wrong. But I want Jesus to tattoo God on my life.
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We do well to remember that Nicholas
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Bravo, a uplifting reminder to us all and it is the Greatest Story Ever Told.
I have one question…..Who is this Virgin the spirit was given to? Im sure virgin girls got saved. Young and old can come to the Lord. Suffer not the little children. But I don’t recall any virgin being described at pentacost. Thanks in advance.
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Do you suppose Mary not to have been there? A tradition older than the Bible has her there. I wonder what you will say to Jesus to explain your constant denigration of his mother?
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Us humans, by convention, consider good sister Mary his mother. Jesus didn’t consider her his mother. He called her woman.
So, good sister Mary is this virgin? Well, that’s a trivial point. It doesn’t figure into the plan of salvation.
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Oh dear – you think a good Jewish boy always called his mother woman?
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I guess jewish boys call their mom MOM, or something close. But you cant equate the creator with how humans do things. jesus was begotten, not created. He used Mary like you and I use a glove.
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Where do you get such ideas? God is love – but he uses people? You have an odd God you worship. I prefer the Christian God.
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Gosh good brother Chalcedon, one minute youre flying high and the next minute you act like you never heard of the God of. Israel. All thru the old test god is turning the hearts of whom he will. He used pharoe to show His strength. he turns the heart of Kings to do his bidding. He used the Babylonians to chastise Israel for bowing to graven images. Where have you been. But none of that matters. its no crime to hold onto what ever your views are. Just don’t leave earth without Jesus.
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God chose Mary to bear the Saviour of you world; you choose her for abuse – and ask me to believe you are inspired by Jesus? Can’t think why I am sceptical.
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I abuse good sister Mary? That’s news to me. Heck, I adore Mary. I think shes great. But shes just a bit player. I like good brother Jacob too. Never net either of them. Jacob was a conniving idiot. Good sister Mary might have had her quirks. Shes human. But I have nothing against good sister Mary. Shes never done anything to me. You must think I abuse her because I don’t bow down befor a graven image called Mary. Look my brother, you better get off that female deity train and in a hurry. Tomorrow is promised to no man. Just between you and me….mary isn’t going to pray for you at the hr of your demise. She never heard of you and is not concerned about you or anyone else. She is resting from her labors. Time to toss that catholic horse hocky away and ask Jesus to reveal himself, befor its too late, my brother.
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That you persist, in spite of all the evidence. to insist she is treated as a deity is proof of something -whether it is deep prejdice or stupidity, well, the jury’s out on that. You’ve admitted many times that you don’t think I worship Mary, now why would I be a member of a Church that did. My Church does what the Church has done from the time Christ founded it; if your Church doesn’t do that, perhaps you need to consider your options?
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Yeah, you don’t worship Mary, you believe. Good brotherTump doesn’t thinkhe worships money. Thatsnot a problem. As long as youralivethere is hope or one to find Christ. I worshiped music and gibson guitars ,I didn’t think iworshipd them.
“My Curch does what the Church has done from the time Christ founded it; if your Church doesn’t do that, perhaps you need to consider your options?”
Good brother, you forgot to mention what THAT is.
Im having big trouble with my keyboard.
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I forgot you can’t hold a thought across one sentence. To remind you, we were discussing Marian veneration (which you misname worship) and the Church has venerated the Godbearing Mary from the earliest times. You inherit a tradition of iconoclasm the origin of which you don’t even know. Even five years into this site, your ignorance remains bottomless. Are you actually capable of learning, or is your mind so closed that no light or knowledge can enter it?
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I should qualify what I say…..good sister Mary being a virgin or not is trivial to the saved. It seems that the Catholic religion 100 % revolves around a virgin female deity they named Mary. Not to worry…Jesus still stands at your door. Hes there when you want Him. Every unsaved has some ridiculous idea, be it a virgin queen all the way to Jimi Hendrix.
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We all are indebted to all the figures in the gospel. None of them died for our sins but one. But if one is going to join a religion, and that one has even a cursory knowledge of scriptures, one wouldn’t, or shouldn’t join a religion that goes against the grain of scripture. One would think so. The bad news is, the religious all go to the same hell when they die. But why cut any ties that might bring salvation? My protestant upbringing made accepting Jesus as Lord a natural thing…the next step. But this religion of Nimrod, which has a new name….Catholic…. has these saints that are up there somewhere, listening to prayers sent to them and then directing them or acting on them. Like the blood thirsty Tomas More, the patron saint of politicians. Aside from calling men Father and repeating prayer and falling prostrate befor the works of their own hands, the CC has dead people helping the live people. The new testament is a guide to how the saints should act. No where, and I stress no where do any of them pray to a human, dead or alive, for help. Now, don’t twist this around, like you idolatrous cathols are want to do, and say that people ask other to pray for them. That is asking someone to pray to god for them….its not praying to that person. The old test forbids praying to the dead or asking the dead for help. That doesn’t phase the idolatrous cathols.There is one instance of someone asking for help from the dead. Saul asked Samuel for help. Samuel was upset for being bothered. Saul got a sword thru him for his efforts. You know, there are , I think, 30 million and one things that keep men from seeking the Lord. Expecting the dead to help you is just one reason why men don’t seek the risen Lord. Does it matter what kept one unsaved, when you wake up in hell? But at judgment, people will say…haven’t we done things in your name? Then jesus says….I never knew you. That’s what makes religions, and Catholicism in particular, dangerous. The CC promises salvation to its devotees.Prot religions, which aren’t really religions, don’t promise salvation by way of membership. But the preacher assures those in the pews that they are gods own. They have to….it keeps the zombies coming back and donating money. But cathols are told that dead people will help them. and this Mary in particular. So if a witness comes along and tells a cathol that he or she needs to ask Jesus for salvation, the cathols says that he or she has these 7 sacrements and Mary to save them and they don’t need to ask Jesus. Mary will ask Jesus for them. It all sounds biblical, but its actually all forbidden in the bible. That’s how Catholicism kills. It sounds biblical at face value, if you don’t believe the bible. If one believes the bible, one wouldn’t join a religion that has its devotees prostrate befor the works of their own hands. That’s just for starters. cathols do get saved, but its a torturous rout. Prots get saved at the drop of a hat. Do you see where im going? Catholicism bars the way to Jesus. Budhism and Mormonism leave the door open for Jesus. Even though they are false.
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As a comprehensive display of ignorance that’s impressive. You rely on a book which you only have thanks to the Church. You go on to make the extraordinary claim that no one understood it until you came along. So, Jesus founded a church and said it would prevail, you seem to be telling us he was wrong – it did not prevail, and it didn’t understand his words- but you alone do. On the evidence you offer, you understand so little that you think you understand everything.
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Was anything I said inaccurate? The account of Saul was dead on the money. What did I misrepresent?
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This bible that your church gave me says not to pray to the dead.
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Who is praying to the dead?
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You.
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So, when Paul says we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses you believe he was talking about the dead? How can the dead be witnesses? Do you actually think before putting finger to key board, or do you have a script you have to copy out?
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Ill have to get back with you on this cloud of witnesses thing.
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Say good brother Chalcedon, how come you friend doesn’t come in here more often? And if he met Jesus and now has a relation with Him, why didn’t the holy spirit lead him to the Catholic Universal Holy Roman Church? After all , Its the church Christ founded. Why didn’t the Spirit bring him straight to his local Roman Temple? is the Spirit lax? Maybe the Holy Ghost is on vacation, or maybe Hes sleeping.
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Or maybe he is on a journey and trying to learn about the faith – you might follow such an example.
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I did. I sat in my room and read the bible for hours every day. Then I went on a missionary journey and took nothing but was on my back. I was fed and had a place to sleep every nite. I lived by faith and nothing more. I left home with not even a penny in my pocket. I now can witness of Gods power and His ability to make good on His promises. And I can attest to the accuracy of scripture.
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And in all that you took the arrogant modern view that you had nothing to learn from the billions who had followed Christ before you – how very sad and shallow. You are a part of the greatest story ever told, and of it you know next to nothing. It is pitiful really.
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Your friend was transformed by the power of the Almighty God. Lets see, if after his journey to learn the faith, if it leads him across the sewage filled Tiber. Lets take bets. Are you a betting man good brother? Ill bet $100 American that he doesn’t join the Holy Roman Universal Pure and White Catholic Church. Are we on?
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You may presume to bet on the Holy Ghost – seems rather blasphemous to me.
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Come on, don’t be shy…. aren’t you confident that the CC is gods true church? Throw down the cashola.
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Is nothing but money sacred to you, Bosco?
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that’s WHAT I THOUGHT….no confidence. You claim your religion is top dog, but you wont bet on it.
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My church was founded by Jesus and it is in the Bible. Your church – give the me the chapter and verse, and then explain why Jesus was wrong to say his church would not fail. Thanks in advance.
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His church is His body of the saints. Its not a building or a jail or bank to launder drug money. Its people. Saved people.
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So why did Jesus say he founded his church on the faith of Peter. Sorry, Jesus says one thing, you say another.
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Ever heard of castration? The CC used to castrate young boys to keep their voice high. The mortality rate was 80%. 80 % died as a result of the operation. The last one done was in 1903.
Franco took power in Spain and started taking babies from undesireable parents. The hospitals were catholic run, and the nuns would switch dead babies for live ones and give them to catholic orphanages or the babies was sold to human traffickers. This unholy practice didn’t stop until 1987.
Father Murphy molested uncountable boys at a home for deaf dumb and blind boys , of course run by the CC. Word got out and he was not punished in any way. When he died he was buried with full honors.
This is the church you claim Christ founded. I say, which the bible confirms, that His church is the sum total of the born again.
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We have been here so many times. In this mortal world sinners sin – do you belong to a church with no sinners? Are you without sin?
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Lets examine how you, my brother, wound up in the Roman State Run Religion. You weren’t transformed one day from atheist to believer. You simply spun the wheel of religions and it stopped on the Catholic Cult of Personality.
When someone meets the Lord, they are never led to the Roman State Religion. Its just that simple.
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As arrogant statements go, that takes some beating. So, not a single one of the billions of Catholics has ever met the Lord? Where they lying when they said they did, or are y0u lying when you say they didn’t? Let’s see, saints who gave their lives for their fellow men and women in Christ’s name of a blow hard know nothing from California with a semi-pornographic website – that’s so hard isn’t it? Not.
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Are you besmirching my gay porn site that I own and operate
cherrybombcoutour.blogspot.com
Recently, I haven’t been able to post any new and hard hitting journalism, because ive been banned from my own site. Ill let you know when they reinstate me.
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A sensible site 🙂
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The Lord has his people aall over. I wont say there are no saved folks who attend catholic services. Those who know the Lord are aware that some of the beliefs of the CC are just plain wrong. You want me to speculate about people who “gave their lives” wether they were saved or not? I don’t know these people. Catholics and Satan worshipers get saved all the time. Prots too. They always are led away to join groups of fellow saints. Some stay put for awhile and try to talk to fellow members. I did, until I was led to other groups of saints. Heres a test to see if someone in the CC says they met the Lord. Ask if they think there is a queen of heaven and ask if they still use images to direct their prayers. If its a yes, they didn’t meet anybody.
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Again, the arrogance of you assuming to know who is saved would be amazing – if it wasn’t par for the course.
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Do you think the holy ghost keeps his saints in the dark and cant tell who other fellow saints are? Then Paul didn’t know that Stephen or barnabus was saved. Peter didn’t know Paul was saved. They were all in the dark. It doesn’t shock me that people deny the power of god, while they still don’t know god. Its part of being unsaved.
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We were discussing your odd statement that in praying to the saints Catholics pray to the dead.
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These “saints”..didn’t they dies, stop breathing, and were buried, or eaten by lions or something? Id call that dead. True, they are somewhere in the spirit world. But we on earth say that they died. The ones that died in Christ are with him now, and they aren’t taking requests. the catholic love of men has made demi gods of men. Spun lores around them. Well, the unsaved think all kinds of nutty stuff. I should know.
Augustine died..did he not? yet catholics are taught to pray to him and others. How come they never pray to Peter or Paul or Mathew or Luke? Yall always pray to dead cathols. Tell me, what area of lifes endeavors does Saint Torquemada control? Some dead cathol is the saint of lost items. Oh geeze, Catholicism gets funnier by the minute. never a dull moment, except for the adult survivors of child abuse who kill themselves.
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What makes you think we don’t pray to all the saints?
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Good brother Chalcedon….are you a member of a lodge or a Shriner or a Mason?
Im willing to bet that good brother Neo is. Ill ask him one day soon.
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No.
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I have an answer for the cloud of witnesses.
Paul talks of the others that have gone befor us. he speaks of gods people in the Old Test. We know from scripture that they sleep. Paul uses them as witnesses as to how we, the born again, should behave, in trusting god., like they did. Paul didn’t go on to elaborate on how they look down on us, or that we should ask them favors or make images of them and prostrate ourselves befor their images. The subject in the preceding chapter was faith, and in 12 its faith. Nowhere are we asked to pray to anyone other than Christ. Nowhere.
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Everything is going to seed. Even the calvary chapel organization has become an organization, full of a bunch of nothing. Watered down preaching and theatrics. Not the gathering I go to.Its just a little room where people come and hear the Word. Just because the sign says calvary chapel doesn’t mean its on fire for the Lord. There are pitiful few Christians in this world. But the Spirit lets them find each other.
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