CAPA Corner: Lent

    We have just begun the Christian season of Lent, the forty day period before Easter Day.  Over the centuries the Christian church has observed this season as a time of penitence, reflection, and self-examination.  It is reminiscent of the forty days that Jesus spent in the wilderness at the beginning of his ministry.  During that time Jesus had an encounter with “the devil” or Satan.  Satan tempted him in three different ways to deny God and pay homage to him.  If you remember the story, you know that Jesus did not yield to those temptations but remained true to his purpose as the Son of God.  
    During this Lenten season, we are invited to examine the ways that we are tempted to wander from the way of Christ – in our relationships with other people, in our relationship with God, and in our relationship with ourselves.  Jesus’ temptations, similar to temptations that we face today, were self-reliance (thinking that we do not need God), power (thinking that we can control the world), and testing God (daring God to do something to prove his power).  
    It is a comfort to me to know that my savior, the one who walked on the earth as a flesh and blood man, lived a life with temptation just like me.  He knew what it was like to experience the lure of evil, yet he was able to not fall into that trap.  As we journey through these forty days of Lent, may we have an awareness about our own temptations and may we find strength to resist temptation,  in knowing our savior’s great love for us.
Marie Williams, Pastor
Blackwater United Methodist Church