2026-02-25 Lent - Day 8 Lent The first full week of Lent Luke 4:1-2 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. Good morning! We have now completed the first full first week of Lent and I hope you are receiving blessings from the experience. The Gospels of Luke and Matthew tell the same story, but from different prospective. The unique piece of this experience and the temptations that Jesus encountered had to have come from Jesus Himself. He was the only one in the wilderness, so only He could have shared what happened. The scripture today describes Jesus’ experience right after He was Baptized by John in the Jordan River. The first line is perhaps the most important. JESUS,FULL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT….. Our prayer should always be that God fill us with the Holy Spirit as well. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we see things differently. We listen differently and as a result, our actions are different as well. For example, we see that He was led into the wilderness where He fasted for 40 days. He was isolated. All alone so there were no distractions. He abstained from food, so the only nutrition He received was the spiritual food of the Holy Spirit. Pretty intense for sure! Now let’s look at what our spiritual ears and our spiritual mind can take from this. How can we learn from His experience in the wilderness. He shared them with us, but why? Consider the fact that He has invited us to join Him in His walk. What were His experiences as it relates to us and our world. He was isolated. In today’s world, loneliness is consuming many people, especially the elderly. What can we do to combat this prolific problem in our part of the world? We can’t change the world, but we can change our part of it. What can you do in your walk with Christ to relieve someone’s loneliness? Is there a loved one that you can call or visit that is battling loneliness? Have you really taken the time to think if there is anyone you know that is lonely? If not, that is the first step. Recognizing a problem is always step one. Once you recognize it, you can take action the fix it. Jesus was hungry. After 40 days abstaining from food, He had to have suffered the hardship the human body would suffer from going without food. Hunger is a major issue in our state. In Oklahoma, 17% of our population experience food insecurity. That means 1 in 5 people in our state don’t know where their next meal is coming from. In Oklahoma 25% of children experience food insecurity every single day! That is 1 in 4 children are facing malnutrition. What can you do to help? Remember, Lent is a time of self-examination, but it isn’t a time to just identify flaws in our character. It is also a time to examine what we can change. In our walk with Christ, we have to open our eyes and see things that need attention. We need to listen for cries for help that the world ignores. We can do this by allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us. When we identify the flaws of the world around us, we then can take action. I remember reading a piece that struck very deep in my soul. It read, “I screamed out to God for the starving child! Then I suddenly recognized the starving child was God screaming out to me”. In your prayer time, ask God to lead you and give you wisdom to fight against the darkness of the world. Ask how you can bring the light and love of Christ into a very dark and troubled world. Blessings,