Lent: Monday, March 6, 2006

Old Testament Lesson

Genesis 37:1-11

Joseph had a gift from God in the ability to have and interpret dreams. We see other stories in his life where this gift from God was of great help to him. Today, he shared a dream he had with his brothers, and they didn't too much of that dream. Two things could be at play here. First, Joseph didn't have a lot of tact to how he told folks about these dreams. That could definitely be part of it. The other could be that the brothers just did not want to hear this news. Sometimes the Lord speaks things to us that we just don't want to hear. Sometimes he tells us to repent. Sometimes he tells us to do something we don' t want to do. To forgive someone we don't want to forgive. To serve someone we don't want to serve. His brothers didn't take this news well. How do we take what God is trying to tell us? Do take His reproval well? Or do we ignore it and do what we want to do? Only when we listen to and obey what God says for us to do can we move into the fullness of life that God longs for us to have.

New Testament Lesson

1 Corinthians 1:1-19

We cannot let our divisions separate us as Christians. Now, I'm a Methodist, it is who I am. As someone once said, "Methodist born, Methodist bred, and when I die, I'll be Methodist dead." That said, I will not let my beliefs as a Methodist separate me from brothers and sisters in Christ that may be Baptist, Catholic, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, or another Christian denominations. Now, we may have disagreements over theology and practice, but it we hold to Jesus Christ as the way to the Father then we can be one.

I do not believe that denominations are a bad thing, for we all want to worship God in the way that is most comfortable, but that said, we cannot let this divide us. For far too long, we have allowed these things to divide the people of God. Every Sunday we affirm the Apostle's Creed, which says, I believe the holy catholic church meaning that we believe in the universal church, open to all that believe in and are saved by Jesus Christ, regardless of denominations or doctrines. We cannot let these things divide those that believe. We can argue, we can discuss, but as John Wesley said in his sermon The Catholic Spirit. "If thine heart is as my heart," if thou lovest God and all mankind, I ask no more: "give me thine hand." If our hearts are right with God, regardless of what denomination we are part of, we can give each other our hand.

Gospel Lesson

Mark 1:1-13

After this great moment, his baptism, Jesus is lead into the wilderness to be tempted. If the devil will tempt Jesus, will you and I not be tempted as well? We should be ready for the coming temptation. We should keep our guard up. None of us can say today that we where not away that Satan may try to tempt us.

That said, we still have choices to make. We can lay our sin upon the devil, for we knew the temptation was coming. We may be tempted, but we still have to made the choice to give into it. Jesus was tempted as we are, yet remained without sin. Today, will you give into the temptation? Or will you strive against it? Will you seek to overcome it? Will, through power of the Holy Spirit, will you vow to be something different today, not giving into the same old temptations.

Friends, we do not have to be captive the temptations of the past, we can rise above. Today, what will you do, and what choices will you make?