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b'(Dt.26:4-10;\\xa0\\xa0 Ps.91:1-2,10-15;\\xa0\\xa0 Rom.10:8-13;\\xa0\\xa0 Lk.4:1-13)\\xa0 \\u201cTo His angels He has given command about you, that they guard you in all your ways.\\u201d Can there be any doubt that the Lord God will bear Jesus up through His temptations in the desert, that He \\u201cwill deliver Him and glorify Him\\u201d?\\xa0 For if \\u201ceveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,\\u201d will the Father leave His Son \\u201cin distress\\u201d?\\xa0 If He has rescued David from \\u201cthe lion and the dragon,\\u201d will He not also \\u201cset [Jesus] on high,\\u201d apart from any danger?\\xa0 If the Israelites say: \\u201cWe cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and He heard our cry\\u201d \\u2013 and so delivered them from the \\u201caffliction\\u201d and \\u201ctoil\\u201d and \\u201coppression\\u201d of Egyptian slavery \\u2013 will the deliverance of the Holy One from Satan\\u2019s clutches be long in coming?\\xa0 Indeed the angels watch over Him, for His name is joined to that of the Father. And indeed it is His name we now call upon in our need.\\xa0 As Paul tells us, \\u201cIf you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.\\u201d\\xa0 And so He who has been preserved from the devil\\u2019s temptation now becomes the source of our own salvation \\u2013 we find ourselves now protected as He, blessed by our faith in the Lord of all. I notice again how the temptations present in our gospel are indicated, and answered, in our first reading and psalm.\\xa0 Of course, the devil himself attempts to use our quote from Psalm 91 to bring the Lord to ruin \\u2013 showing how Scripture can indeed be twisted to perverse ends \\u2013 foolishly failing to see that the quote would prove ultimately true.\\xa0 And the Israelites\\u2019 bringing their tithe to God, saying, \\u201cI have now brought you the firstfruits of the products of the soil which you, O Lord, have given me,\\u201d reveals the sacrifice that verifies that \\u201cone does not live by bread alone\\u201d; while Moses\\u2019 instruction that they then \\u201cbow down in [God\\u2019s] presence\\u201d confirms that \\u201cHim alone shall [we] serve.\\u201d O devil, all your temptations will be in vain; can you not see the fruitlessness of your acts?\\xa0 You cannot harm Him who holds your life in His hands, and so why do you not turn and, as the faithful angels, learn to love and serve the Holy One?\\xa0 Brothers and sisters, it is too late for this \\u201cviper\\u201d to come to truth, but not for any man who will confess that Jesus is the Christ.\\xa0 So let us preach to the ends of the earth by the power of deliverance from sin won by our Lord that \\u201cNo one who believes in Him will be put to shame.\\u201d\\xa0 Oh that all souls would be saved! Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "The Chicken or the Egg" from Cleansing Human Frailty, fourth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, let us bow down before you and serve you alone, and we shall be blessed with your protection. YHWH, bring us out of Egypt by your strong hand; lead us from the desert by your great power.\\xa0 Save us from temptation and bring us with your Son into the Promised Land. We call upon your NAME, O LORD: save us!\\xa0 We believe that Jesus is LORD with you and that you have raised Him from the dead \\u2013 let us not be put to shame.\\xa0 Help us to endure in the face of the devil; your Word be ever upon our tongues.\\xa0 O let us trust in you that we shall be delivered from all trials, trampling down the lion and the dragon by the intercession of your angels. You protect us, dear God, and give us all the food we need to thrive in this land of exile.\\xa0 With you at our side, we shall not be afraid.\\xa0 By the grace upon your Son let us be redeemed from the power of the evil one and enter into your kingdom with a song of praise.'