Voice: Doreen
Today is Thursday, 26th of February. It is the ninth day in the Season of Lent. Let us begin by asking the God to bestow upon us the spirit of prayer:-
O Almighty God, you pour out on all who desire it the spirit of grace and of supplication: Deliver us, when we draw near to you, from coldness of heart and wanderings of mind, that with steadfast thoughts and kindled affections we may worship you in spirit and in truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Psalm Reading
The appointed Psalm for today is Psalm 43:
1 Vindicate me, my God,
and plead my cause
against an unfaithful nation.
Rescue me from those who are
deceitful and wicked.
2 You are God my stronghold.
Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?
3 Send me your light and your faithful care,
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the lyre,
O God, my God.5 Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as It was in the beginning, is
now, and shall be forever. Amen.
Luke 4:1-13
For the Scripture reading and reflection for these three days, we will meditate on the temptations of Jesus in the wilderness. This passage is often preached on during the first Sunday of Lent. We read verses 1 to 4:
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’
The first temptation: The Need for Satisfaction
Today we look at the first temptation.
The devil said to Him,
“If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
Jesus answered,
“It is written: ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’”
The devil challenged Jesus on His need for satisfaction. “If you are the Son of God, you can turn these stones into bread. After all, you are famished. Isn’t bread necessary for survival?”
That is true. Bread is necessary. But human beings do not live by bread alone. We also live by the Word of God.
Jesus had committed Himself to a period of fasting. It would have been wrong for Him to break that fast — even if He could have used His divine power to meet His legitimate need.
The first temptation focuses on our human needs. Our wants and desires can be overwhelming. Imagine not eating for a day or two. By the end of it, hunger dominates your thoughts. It is when our most basic desires are intense that we are most vulnerable to temptation.
This problem is as old as time itself. We are creatures with many wants and needs. These ensure survival and flourishing. Yet we are also social, moral, and spiritual beings. There are boundaries to how our needs are met.
Adam and Eve were free to eat from every tree in the garden — except one. Imagine the most delicious durians, the sweetest mangoes, the juiciest oranges available to them. Yet curiosity and disobedience prevailed. They forgot to heed God’s Word.
Temptation narrows our vision. It makes our needs feel absolute. It tempts us to meet them at the expense of obedience, trust, and mission.
But unlike animals, we are created in the image of God. We are not driven by basal needs alone. Jesus’ reply cuts to the heart of the matter: we live not merely by bread, but by every word that comes from God.
🌿 Thought for Lent
Will you practise fasting during this season?
Try skipping a meal on some days of the week. Use that time to pray or to read Scripture. Let your hunger remind you that your deepest sustenance is not food, but God Himself.
You do not always need to satisfy every bodily desire immediately. In learning to deny yourself, you may discover a deeper freedom — and perhaps even enjoy your next meal more fully. It will not be easy for some of us. But try, by His grace.
This can be a simple step to learn what it means to live a life that is not driven by self-pleasure but to please the Lord.
We close this time by praying this collect written by Cranmer for the 1549 Prayer Book. It draws from the temptations of Jesus, but focuses on the discipline of fasting:
O Lord, which for our sake didst fast forty days and forty nights;
Give us grace to use such abstinence, that,
our flesh being subdued to the Spirit,
we may ever obey thy godly motions in righteousness,
and true holiness, to thy honor and glory,
which liveth and reigneth with the Father and the Holy Ghost,
one God, world without end. Amen.
Be blessed by Ryan Flanigan’s Lord, Lord, Lord.
Lord, Lord, Lord please restore our trust
We’ve lost our way, Lord, we’ve strayed from love
We broken vows, we’ve wasted breath
We’ve stolen life, we’ve tasted death
Lamb of God take away our sin
Have mercy, have mercy
Jesus Christ, holy sacrifice
Have mercy, have mercy on us
Lord, Lord, Lord please restore our trust
We’ve lost our way, Lord, we’ve strayed from love
We broken vows, we’ve wasted breath
We’ve stolen life, we’ve tasted death
We need you now to forgive our sin
Replace our stone hearts with flesh again
Undo the curse, and heal our faith
Unleash your power, Lord, come and save
Lamb of God take away our sin
Have mercy, have mercy
Jesus Christ, holy sacrifice
Have mercy, have mercy on us
℗ 2018 The Anglican Mission
Daily Devotion 
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