Matthew 4:1-11 | Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

DAILY PRAYER REQUEST: Lord, teach me how to listen to you.

DAILY THOUGHT: IN SOLITUDE AND SILENCE
Desert spaces are places of solitude and silence. Without these two things it is nearly impossible to grow a listening life with God. We must remind ourselves that this kind of withdrawal is not escapism or running away from life. Rather, it leads us into a greater and more effective engagement with life. We also begin to live with a far deeper consciousness of God with us through the day. This is one reason why Jesus would regularly withdraw into the desert. Can you see why having some solitude and silence in our own little “desert space” is so important?

DAILY PRACTICE:
Withdraw to your “desert space” at the time you planned. After you have made your prayer request, as suggested above, read the story of Jesus’ desert-temptations a couple of times (Matthew 4:1–11). Then ask yourself two questions: What may God be saying to me through this story? How do I respond to this? Share your thoughts and feelings about these questions with God in prayer.

Devotional from YouVersion Bible App. Contact Pastor Rod Lindemann at RodL@TimothyLutheran.com on how to use the Bible App for additional readings and topics. W

Matthew 4:1-11 | Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Lent is for listening. This is what Jesus did when he was tempted in the desert. In the midst of his temptations he listened to his Father. It was here, alone in the desert, that he experienced for himself what he would teach others. We do not live on bread alone. We live on every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). His whole life and ministry flowed outwards from this listening. This is what we will seek to do throughout this Lenten journey. Learn to listen to the God who speaks to us.

DAILY PRACTICE:
Create for yourself at home your “desert-space” – a sacred place where you can spend time alone with God. It could be a chair in the lounge, the kitchen table after everyone has gone to work, your private study. Make a decision to go there for between five and fifteen minutes daily throughout Lent. So ask yourself today: Where at home can I be alone with God? What time in the day will be best for me? How much time will I set aside each day during Lent? Share with one other person your Lenten commitment and ask them to pray for you during this time.

Devotional from YouVersion Bible App. Contact Pastor Rod Lindemann at RodL@TimothyLutheran.com on how to use the Bible App for additional readings and topics. W

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 | This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Our choices always have consequences. When my children were growing up I would often say to them, “You are free to choose anything you want, but you are not free to choose the consequences.” Lent is a time to face our choices as honestly as we are able and to think about their consequences. The good news is that, when we see that some of our choices have led us to a dead end, we find ourselves in a situation to make different choices.

No matter where we may find ourselves today, no matter how dark it may be, we are being given the opportunity to make a fresh choice for life. Remember the invitation of our God: “Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him.” (Deuteronomy 30:19–20)

DAILY PRACTICE:
Make two lists today: “What brings me life?” and “What takes life from me?” Write down whatever comes to mind. You can add to your lists over the next while. But today ask God specifically to guide you in making those choices that lead you more towards life. Give thanks also that God is always in the business of giving us new life in Jesus Christ.

Devotional from YouVersion Bible App. Contact Pastor Rod Lindemann at RodL@TimothyLutheran.com on how to use the Bible App for additional readings and topics. W

Jesus tells his disciples that the way to pray is to our Father. And by Father, he doesn’t mean just another title, but a relationship. So the context in which we pray is the context of family, where we as children approach a loving father. I realise as I write that for some the word ‘father’ falls as a hollow thud, because your experience of earthly fatherhood was not a good one. However, apart from finding release from the grip of that limitation you can, I trust, at least recognise that there is such a thing as good fathering, and that if the Bible is right about God being a father, then he would be a perfect one.  Fatherhood means access. In other words, I’m invited. It also means acceptance—I’m welcomed. Furthermore, it means attention—I’m heard. Do you see how praying in the context of the child–Father relationship puts the whole thing on a different footing?

Maybe you’ve always wondered how other people manage to pray with purpose and passion. You’ve heard them, seen them, but your prayer life seems rather sterile in comparison. By praying aright, we can find that purpose and passion ourselves.  So here we have opened our hearts to our Father and renewed, as it were, the relationship with him.

When we pray, ‘Our Father in Heaven’, we are talking to one whose power operates from the ground up or the highest point of the heavens down. In other words, there is not one part of the universe we know (and that which we don’t know) that is outside of the involvement and influence of our Father. That must have great bearing on our faith as we pray, realizing that nothing is beyond our Father’s scope.

Notice that there are no singular personal pronouns in the prayer. It’s all ‘our’, ‘we’ and ‘us’. Many of us were brought up with a very individualistic view of faith and Scripture. It was all about me—that Jesus died for me, God has forgiven me, I’m bound for heaven, etc. When we read Scripture in the light of community, we realize that most of it is addressed to us corporately. Obviously that doesn’t take away from the personal, because the corporate is made up of individuals, but it should affect the way we believe, live and pray.

Devotional from YouVersion Bible App. Contact Pastor Rod Lindemann at RodL@TimothyLutheran.com on how to use the Bible App for additional readings and topics.

When my “chocolate” Labrador retriever puppy was three months old, I took him to the veterinarian’s office for his shots and checkup. As our vet carefully looked him over, she noticed a small white marking in his fur on his left hind paw. She smiled and said to him, “That’s where God held you when He dipped you in chocolate.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, but she had unintentionally made a great point. God cares deeply about His creation.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 10:30 that “even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” God takes infinite interest in the most intimate details of our lives. No concern is too trivial to bring before Him. He cares that much!

God not only created us but He also sustains and keeps us. Perhaps you’ve heard the line: “the devil is in the details.” It’s far better to understand that God is in them, watching over even the things that escape our notice. Our wise and caring heavenly Father holds us—along with all of creation—in His strong and loving hands! James Banks

Devotional from YouVersion Bible App. Contact Pastor Rod Lindemann at RodL@TimothyLutheran.com on how to use the Bible App for additional readings and topics.