The priest shall then receive the basket from you and shall set it in front of the altar of the Lord, your God. Then you shall declare before the Lord, your God, 'My father was a wandering Aramean who went down to Egypt with a small household and lived there as an ailen. But there he became a nation grat, strong and numerous. When the Egyptians maltreated and oppresed us, imposing hard labor upon us, we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and he heard our cry and saw our affliction, our toil and our oppression. He brought us out of Egypt with his strong hand and outstretched arm, with terrifying power with signs and wonders, and bring us into this country, he gave us this land flowing with milk and honey. Tehrefore, I have now brought you the firsfruits of the products of the soil which you, O Lord have given me. And having set them bfore the Lord, your God, you shall bow down in his presence. -Deuteronomy 27: 4-10.
What is it he does say? "The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach). For if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Faith in the heart leads to justification, confession on the lips to salvation. Scripture says, "No one who belives in him will be put to shame." Here there is no difference between Jew and Greek; all have the same Lord, rich i mercy toward all who call upon him. "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Romans 10:8-13
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, 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. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone.'The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours." Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only. The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. For it is written: 'He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.' Jesus answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. Luke 4:1-13.
I think here, the issue is of trust. Temptation comes when were are in a situation where we're forced to decide if we really believe or we really trust. Do we trust that God will save us from tempation? Do we believe that Jesus is Lord? Or do we just depend on knowlege?
It's about the heart, as I said in the past. Lent is not so much about the rituals, but what you are expressing from your heart through those rituals. We may be tempted to drink that soda, or whatever we gave up, but ultimately, you will take that temptation out of your mind, simply as Jesus did: "Do not put God to the test."
More on this later.
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