Read after the Liturgy's Bible

On Wednesday, the Third Week of the Great Lent

Includes an exhortation to be alert to the war of Satan, the enemy of all good.

Inspired by the Bible's chapter "the trial" [Matthew 4: 1-13]

Our master may He be glorified got incarnated for the sake of our salvation, as well as to defeat the desires of the body, the worldly concerns and the satanic trials, so that the believers may imitate Him. Why do we then not care about our salvation and defeating our enemy? Why do we not remember that Christ had started fasting ever since He had gotten out of the water and started fighting the devil so that the believers may know what to do after baptism? They are to stop caring for the worldly matters and start endeavoring with fasting and resisting the devil. The first way to fight the devil is with food, the same way as he did with Adam and Eve before. Comes next the consequences which had resulted thereof, including adultery, drunkenness, and others. For wherever there is fasting and endeavoring, there should be no luxury, enjoyment, drunkenness, singing, or physical desires.

Satan so wishes that humans may be doomed and harmed that he places so many traps on our way. He sets a trap for adultery, one for drunkenness, another for gluttony, and one for the love of money. He sets traps for the love of pride, power and vainglory, seeking worldly statuses, and others. By these doings, he does not want us to be happy and content; it is rather because he knows thathe who leads an easy life in this short period of time, shall suffer for a long time. The one who has a lot of earthly possessions here shall be poor in the Kingdom of Heavens.

Have you seen how Christ defeated Satan when he tried him, once with the love of richness and another time with rankings? Let me tell you about the gullible Job and how he was encouraged to love the Creator of the universe. He put on the dress of patience, tied the belt of honesty around his waist, and took hope as his shield. He hit with the sword of will and left his enemy wounded from these arms, for he first had fought him with the abundance of money, wealth, slaves, plantations and animals that he all destroyed. The righteous man resisted him with fasting, prayers and praising God, as well as presenting sacrifices and having mercy on the needy. When the fighter saw Job's willpower, as well as his purity and the courage of his heart, he asked to steal from him all of his possessions as a way to attract him to the devil's side through atheism and weariness.

How weird was this righteous man! While poor, he appeared even braver than when he was rich? How did the devil manage to steal away from him all of his possessions but not his love of his Creator? His enemy failed to get what he wanted and did not win with this manner, he then went back to his old trap with which he had caught the first man which is the woman. He kept reminding her of how she had been wealthy and how she had become poor and humiliated, so that she may remind her husband of these things and drive him to whining.

As for Job, this courageous conqueror, when he heard her words, he steeled up his heart like tough iron and made it as strong as diamonds in order to break this resistance and end up victorious. He won and gained Eternal Life.

We should then never hear those who wish to drive us away from accepting the orders of our God, even if they are the ones closest to us like a wife, children and siblings. We should obey God and our only love, whether in rich or in poor. We should keep our fasts pure from evil and our thoughts clear of any lowly ideas. We should keep away from the mockers who act like little boys and their silly minds. Some say let us enjoy today and repent tomorrow. Some say give me today and take what you want tomorrow. Some say we only live once and accordingly let us spend it happily while enjoying the bodily pleasures as should be. Those act like animals that only care for their day and do not care for tomorrow.

As for us, we should purify our hearts and conquer our desires, while preparing to fight our enemy so that we may win the enjoyment of our God, may he be glorified forever, amen.