Hunger and Thirst for Christ and His Righteousness
If youre trying to beat the devil on your own,
youre fighting a losing battle. And if you give
in to him, youve already lost. Hes crafty and
enticing, savvy and subtle, deceptive and
dangerous. Hes got the sinful world on his side
and a hoard of demons; and your own heart and
mind are perverted by your native sin and
unbelief. The odds are stacked against you altogether.
The good news is that Jesus has defeated the
devil on your behalf and He who is in you is
greater than he who is in the world. The Lord
Jesus Christ, the beloved and well-pleasing Son
of God, has been tempted in all the ways that you are, but He has not sinned.
What He has done, though, is to bear your sins in
His own body, and those of the whole world, along
with all their deadly and damnable consequences,
even to His Crucifixion. Thus, all of your sins
have been dealt with and done away with. The
innocence and righteousness of Christ covers you
entirely, and Satan has nothing left with which he may legitimately accuse you.
Thats why the devil was so desperate to tempt
Jesus away from the Cross and why he is so
frantic, now, in his efforts to seduce you away
from Christ Jesus and His Cross.
When you hide yourself in Christ (by faith in His
Gospel), when you find your rest in Him, then you
dwell in the shelter of the Most High and abide
in safety under the shadow of the Almighty; while
that old serpent, the devil, lies trampled under
your feet, along with sin and death.
In this New Adam, Jesus Christ, God has provided
every good thing for you, and all that you need
for faith and life forever with Him.
Only do not reach for the forbidden fruit, for
that which God has not given but has warned you
against. Do not listen to the voice of the
devil, who lies through his teeth with his forked
tongue, and who calls into question the sure and certain Word of the Lord.
You live (really live) by every Word that
proceeds from the mouth of God, and by the Bread
of Life from heaven, which is the
Word-made-Flesh, the Word of Christ. He is your
Lord, your Savior and your God, and He is your
true Meat and Drink indeed. But know that He
feeds you from the Cross, by the ways and means
of the Cross, often with adversity and sorrow (for now).
In contrast to and competition with this Food of
the Cross, the devil presents you with pretty
fruit that is delightful and desirable, which
appears to be good and wise and advantageous.
So, what are you hungry for? And what do you
choose to eat? Do you reach for the Tree of the
Cross, or for the knowledge of good and evil?
How often do you make excuses for yourself,
rationalizations, and conspire to make or take
bread for yourself that God has not
provided? You suppose that you know better or
that you can handle it (take the heat and manage
on your own) or that you are the exception to
the rules. So you take and eat what God has
forbidden, which brings death and the devil with it.
Repent of your misplaced appetite and gluttonous
idolatry. Hunger instead for God the Lord, for
Christ and His Word. Seek first His Kingdom and
His Righteousness, and all that you need for life
everlasting will be yours (in Him), though it is
given you in, with and under the Cross.
Hunger for God. But receive Him by His grace,
through faith in Christ, according to His Word of
the Gospel, and not by any efforts of your own to scale the heights of heaven.
Works righteousness and self-righteousness within
the church are no better but perhaps even more
perverse than the false belief of pagan idolatry.
The way in which you are to go is not one of your
own design or choosing. Walk within your
God-given vocations in life, whether glamorous or
mundane, tedious or exciting. As a disciple of
Christ Jesus, take up the Cross in faith and bear
it in love for those whom God has positioned in
relation to you. Honor your father and
mother. Love and cherish your own husband or
wife, and be faithful in all things. Serve and
support your neighbors body and life, his
household, home and family. Do your
job. Fulfill your office. Be satisfied with whatever you are given.
Your life is sanctified by Christ, by His Word
and Spirit, by faith and prayer; not by
impressing the world with grand achievements. It
is not what you accomplish, but what you receive
from Christ, that avails before God your Father
in heaven. It is the righteousness and
faithfulness of Christ Jesus that sustains you, unto the life everlasting.
Dont trade that for anything; neither for a bowl
of porridge, nor for all the kingdoms and power and glory of the world.
You should know better. You should know that the
wicked devil, the sinful world, and your own
covetous flesh are lying to you. Why do you fall
for it? Why do you buy into that scam?
Still you keep on reaching for that which God has
told you not to touch. You bend your knee before
the ruler of this world, while refusing to humble
yourself under the mighty hand of God. You bow
down and worship the toys and entertainment, the
frivolity and self-gratification of man, and sell
your soul to the devil for treasures on earth
that will decay and waste away, along with
yourself, if they are not lost or stolen or destroyed even sooner!
Why? Because your heart burns with desire for
that which God has not given (for that which is
not God). Because you want to be in charge and
call the shots and make a life for yourself.
You want to be God.
So you make of the one true God your enemy
(although He is in truth your Savior). And you
harden your heart against your neighbor, as well,
because you make of everyone your opponent and
competitor. Your stomach twists and turns with
envy and jealousy. You resent what God has given
your neighbor (even your brother or sister in
Christ), and, what is worse, you crave that which
your neighbor has acquired by his sins. You love
such things more than you love God.
With such a sinful heart, you are no match for
Satan. It really is a losing battle, and youve
lost already before youve begun. The serpent so
easily beguiles you to sin, and then he stands
the first in line to accuse you and press
charges. You are left naked and afraid, guilty and ashamed.
You try to run, but you cant escape. You try to
hide, but theres nowhere for you to go.
Thank God. Thank God that He searches you out
and finds you, that He exposes you to His light
and speaks His Word to you. You would be lost
and gone forever if He did not. You are not
better off without Him. Though His Law judges
and condemns you and punishes your sin, His Law
is not His last or final Word concerning you. He
crushes the devils head, not yours. And this He
does, He beats the devil for you, by taking all
your guilt and punishment upon Himself!
He has taken your nakedness and shame upon
Himself. He has suffered your death and
damnation in your stead. All of this upon the
tree of the Cross. Even though He alone is
without sin; He has not given in to any
temptation. He suffers and dies in perfect
righteousness, innocence and blessedness; in
steadfast faith toward God, and in absolute love
for God and man (for you!). He goes to the Cross
voluntarily, in humble obedience to His Father for your sake, to save you.
It is from the Cross that He washes you with
tender care, so that you are clean within and
without, in body and soul. It is from the Cross
that He clothes you with Himself, so that you are
adorned all-glorious like a beautiful bride, like
the most handsome Prince (the fairest of them all).
It is from the Cross, the Tree of Life, that He
feeds you with His Body and His Blood. Here is
the fruit that God has not forbidden, but gives
to you freely for the forgiveness of all your
sins and the strengthening of your faith, that you may live forever.
He knows that you are frail, weak and
helpless. He knows that you are weary and worn,
burdened and beleaguered. He is a great High
Priest who sympathizes with you, because He has
been in your shoes, in your wilderness, in your
long hot 40 days, your dark and dreary 40 nights.
He has been there for you, and He is still here
with you. Not simply to help you (though He
does) but to save you. He stands beside you on
the plane with His good gifts and Spirit. It is
no angel, but He Himself ministers to you. He
forgives your every sin, every fall into temptation.
He returns you to the waters of your Baptism, to
the Word and promises of God: You are a beloved
son of God, for Jesus sake. His Father is your
Father, and He is well-pleased with you.
Dont look at your sin and failings; for He does
not. Dont listen to the devil, but hear the
Word of Christ. He will never leave you nor
forsake you; He will not lie to you nor fail you.
You shall not die, but live.
See here, He feeds you. Take and eat. Drink
from His Cup of Salvation. It may not look like
much, but here is true wisdom. It is the best of
foods, the finest of wines. It is given and
poured out for you. As great as your trespasses
have been, this gift and grace of God in Christ
is greater. Here the Lord is your refuge, the
Most High your habitation. Welcome home!
In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
___________________________________________________________________________
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