The Devil Does Not Win

If we have any faith in God at all, we know that the devil does not win.  It is like reading a best selling book and skipping to the end to find out how it ends.  As Christians, we know that God wins.  That does not mean that the devil does not make our lives miserable and tries to turn us every way but loose.  It does not mean that the devil does not tempt us with the objects of our desire - the money the fame, the spouse, the house, the car.  Yet the temptations always come with a catch which is always in the devil’s favor and never in ours.  But it will always be up to us to say no to the temptation, understanding that what the devil offers is always inferior to what God can do for us.
In today’s gospel,  Jesus has just been baptized, and is led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  It seems to happen often that we may have just received a wonderful achievement or honor when the temptations come.  We get offers to swindle us out of our hard earned money with some sort of scam.  College graduates know this well.  Sometimes we may not even have graduated yet, when all the offers for credit cards arrives and offers for new cars with special prices for college graduates.  Money that we have not even earned yet is burning a hole in the pockets of our new clothes.  We are tempted to get into debt.  Some of our so called new friends come out of the woodwork to tempt us with what may sound like a good time that could undo all of the hard work and discipline that was needed to get us to our hard earned achievements.  The devil is always active and the temptations are real.  Thankfully, so is God’s love.
The devil tempts a hungry Jesus who has been fasting for 40 days and 40 nights.  The devil knows the power that Jesus has and tells Jesus to turn the rocks into bread so that he could eat.  Jesus refuses to take the easy way out.  He quotes from Scripture saying that man does not live by bread alone but from every word from the mouth of God.
The devil then tempts Jesus by bringing Him to the top of the Temple in Jerusalem and tells Jesus he can throw himself off of the temple and be saved by angels.  The devil even uses Scripture to prove his point.  Jesus again, quoting from Scripture, refuses the temptation and tells the devil that He will not put God to the test.  
In the final temptation, the devil takes Jesus to the top of a high mountain and tells Jesus that he (the devil) will give Jesus all the kingdoms of the earth and their riches if Jesus will bow down and worship him.  It is as if Jesus has tired of being tempted by the devil and tells him to leave.  Jesus once again quotes Scripture when He tells the devil that He and the rest of us will only worship the one True God and serve only the one True God.  The devil was defeated in this attempt and disappears.  The angels of God came and waited on Jesus.  
Brothers and sisters, if we continue to exercise our faith, the devil never wins.  However, the devil never stops trying.  If he loses one battle, he will start another.  It is up to us to be vigilant and resist the temptations.  We have to know who we are dealing with.  The devil never rests or takes a vacation.  The devil’s sole purpose is to get us to turn our backs on God.  The devil will exploit every weakness we have.  Our best defense is prayer, our faith in God, and our love for each other.  The devil may even look to be winning the battle.  We must pray for the strength, courage, and perseverance to resist the temptations of the evil one.  We will weary of the battle but we must not give up the fight.  
The promises of the devil are only good for life in this world.  The rewards of the devil are only temporary.  God offers us eternal life.  The choice is temporary vs. eternity.  The choice is ours.
The good news of today’s gospel is that Jesus has shown us that we can win.  The temptations of the devil does not have to mean defeat for us.  If we are willing to do everything we can to increase our faith, pray, and love our neighbor, we will have the armor needed to defeat the devil.  The answers are in the Scriptures and our prayer life.
St James family, we are at the beginning of Lent.  Jesus is preparing us for the temptations we will surely face, not just during Lent but for the rest of our lives.  Are we willing to show that we have what it takes to win the battle?  Can we show that God’s will is now and will always be at the top of our priorities?  Nothing in this world can compete with the rewards that God offers. Eternal life with God is to be our goal.  We cannot settle for anything less.  If we are willing to repent this Lenten season, we might have a chance at changing our lives for the better.  We must remember that as long as we are vigilant, and that we pray and stay focused on God, we have a chance live a life that will be meaningful to us and our neighbors.  We will be storing treasures in heaven.  We will be living lives that will be pleasing to God.  This should always be our goal.  God loved us so much, God gave us Jesus.  Let us always remember to turn our faces to God.  Let us always remember to be grateful for all of God’s gifts.  Let us remember that it is not too late to turn our lives around.  A loving God is rooting for us and waiting for us.  God bless us all.  Amen.