We say that we are the children of God, that we were chosen from before time, that we are the elect, members of the church invisible, and that our hope relies on him. And that we have not forgotten Christ. But if we forget his commandments, if we have let our conscience be seared, forgotten him we have. And here, I look at my own failures when it comes to temptation and consider if that is happening.

Christ reduced the Law to but two axioms, from which all falls logically: to love the LORD with all your heart and soul and strengths, and to love your neighbour as you do yourself. This was standard Rabbinical teaching by that time, and he endorsed it.

He then added another commandment, that we love each other as Christ did: being prepared to die on their place.

In Christ, it is never about us.

“Take care lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. And if you forget the LORD your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. Like the nations that the LORD makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God.

(Deuteronomy 8:11-20 ESV)

My church does follow the calendar, and yesterday was the start of Lent. We know it is an artificial idea. a tradition, from the scholars, but we are not that afraid of tradition. And the children’s talk was abou temptation… talking about taking sweets. (in a bowl, on the table…. and they would not tempt me because my fillings do not like caramel chews).

But we need to continually recall the state we were in before Christ called us, and ask that his spirit will work within us. So some old quotes, on the wrong day, that should speak to us.

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made and dost forgive the sins of all them that are penitent; Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins, and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O, if my soul were formed for woe,
How would I vent my sighs!
Repentance should like rivers flow
From both my streaming eyes.

Twas for my sins my dearest Lord
Hung on the cursed tree,
And groaned away a dying life
For thee, my soul, for thee.

O, how I hate those lusts of mine
That crucified my God!
Those sins that pierced and nailed his flesh
Fast to the fatal wood!

Yes, my Redeemer, they shall die,
My heart has so decreed;
Nor will I spare the guilty things
That made my Savior bleed.

Whilst, with a melting, broken heart,
My murdered Lord I view,
I’ll raise revenge against my sins,
And slay the murd’rers too.

Hymn 103. (Isaac Watts)

Let the Peoples of this world hate us. Let the nations rage: as the Ukrainian Crisis deepens and the Islamists explore the subhuman depths of their ideology in their fascist Caliphate, we need to recall that we are no better, no more wise, and no more clear-sighted than the liberals and fascists whose errors we can see through.

We need to return to the word of God, and test our traditions and our practices. The lusts we have we need to put away: a continual struggle for us all, but as the Orthodox say, hatred of one’s sins is no sin and is needful.

For we do not live in a perfect world, where we all just get along. In Tasmania, a Scripture Union Chaplain facebooked that homosexuality is not normal… and lost his job: until he recanted, disobeying both the Law of God and ignoring the scientific data — on gheys being victims of violence [1] and having higher health risks. The pagans demand we sacrifice to their idols, and that we cannot do.

This story shows why it is so important for Christians to go for STEM degrees in college, to save their money, and to write under an alias. It is a different world today, and you have to be ready when you get called on the carpet by the other team. I don’t condemn this chaplain for recanting. I might be tempted to do the same, even though I am prepared for it. But I do think it serves as a warning for those who think that God is waiting to save us when we have to stand up for what we believe. Don’t expect him to save you. The world is not a Disney movie, and Christians are not Disney princesses. Do not follow your heart. Do not listen to people who urge you to follow your heart. Especially when you and your advisors have made poor decisions in the past.

Your ability to be who you are in Christ is partially dependent on your ability to survive a financial crisis. Your ability to be who you are in Christ is partially dependent on your debt / savings balance. What you study in school matters. What jobs you take matters. How fast you pay off your debts matters. How well you save your money matters. Your ability to protect yourself, your family, and your friends in the face of challenges to your faith like this one is directly proportional to your past life decisions. If you are guided by your feelings in your decision-making, you are exposing yourself to dangers that could lead to apostasy. That is not a popular message, but it is a true one. The Bible gives no evidence that our lives will be free of confrontation and judgment.

We are all tempted. We all fail. We need to pick each other up, and encourage each other to continue, to stand for Christ on our crutches or with shaking legs. For neither the apostate West nor the Islamist East love God and obey him. But we are commanded to do both, as a witness to the world and a subversion of the powers of this age.

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1. Homosexuality is as human a behaviour as theft. Both will change your brain (any activity will) and both will have conseuqences on your life and ethics. Neither are moral. Both are within the range of behaviour where many are tempted.

However, teh gheys have been drafted as shock troops for the SJW, to subvert all traditions and health within society, and bring the time of peace, not realizing that if men are not masculine women will go to where they are, and they can submit and serve.

At the moment that is not as much being the lover of a butch woman (which is acceptable to the SJW) but either desiring to be the heroine in 50 shades or converting to Islam (which is less so to the SJW).