"The Spirit then compelled Jesus to go in the the wilderness."
Mark 1:12
"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit in the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil."
Matthew 1:1
"Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness."
Luke 4:1
Mark 1:12
"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit in the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil."
Matthew 1:1
"Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness."
Luke 4:1
I must ask, "Wonder why John did not give an account of this event in Jesus' life?" OK, let's move on.
Compelled and led, action verbs that describe how Jesus ended up in the wilderness. Compelled, translated as drove in the Greek suggests Jesus was lead away without violence somewhere with a force which he cannot resist. Led in Matthew and Luke have different meanings. Matthew's led gives insight to location, bring up or lead to a higher place. Luke's led suggests that the Spirit lead Jesus by laying hold of him. From this side of scripture we can see the Spirit knew exactly what He was doing.
The Spirit compelled or led Jesus to this wilderness place, right after the mountaintop moment of His baptism. What a moment for Jesus, being baptized and receiving such encouragement from His Father from heaven. Then on the spiritual high of this unforgettable moment, the Spirit lays a hold of Him, leading Him by a force He could not resist.
Sometimes, the Spirit, knowing exactly what He is doing, is compelled to lead us to the wilderness. When I have been led to a place of wilderness after a mountaintop experience with my Heavenly Father, I blame it on the enemy. Until today's reading, it never occurred to me that it could be the work of the Spirit. Hmm? Why would the Spirit do such a thing?
It is my belief that a wilderness encounter such as this can enable us see exactly how strong we really are. It gives us the opportunity to put into practice all that we have learned in training. (Training, i.e.-prayer, scripture study, wisdom-just to name a few) We are co-heirs with Christ, adopted children of God the Father, therefore have the same power to resist temptation as Jesus did in the wilderness. One more thing, defeating temptation in a wilderness experience helps build our confidence and grows our faith.
No matter how we get to our place of wilderness (the enemy or the Spirit) we must remember the wilderness has purpose and we have power to defeat whatever comes our way. It is important also to note the angels were with Jesus and cared for Him while He was in the wilderness. We are NEVER alone and NEVER out of His care. What a loving, compassionate, and caring Father we have!
Thank you Jesus for the incredible gift of the Holy Spirit and for never leaving me unattended.
7 Comments:
"The Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God" (Eph. 6:17b) Jesus modeled this for us in His wilderness experience. Never was He swayed from the truth, He was the living Word of God!
In today's reading I was struck by several things (it was such a rich reading!). Jan, your list of names I'm sure grew quite a bit! In John 3:11 He refers to "us" the triune God:
11 I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony.
This really struck me and so I looked up the cross-references: John 1:18;12:49; 14:24. John 1:18 is the one that twisted my mind;
18 No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.
I wonder what the people listening thought He was saying. Did they think He was putting on airs or just mis-spoke?
The encounter with the woman at the well is one of my favorite stories. It is especially comforting to me to know that Jesus is the living water and that "those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”John 4:14
Bread of Life, Light of the World, I AM, Son of Man, We (the Triune God)... So many names that give us hope and reveal His glory and His Diety!
This was truely a refreshing day, full of food for the soul!
Karen, Basel
Goodmorning all,
My interpretation was leading me along the line of being tried and tested once a person has accepted Christ and has been baptised, it's amazing how many temptations seem to present themselves....
Wendy, I like your interpretation of being tried and tested after having a mountain top experience....I experienced this first hand yesterday. After my mountaintop worship experience, satan (who I blamed at the time)showed his ugly face, who's to say that it wasn't a test from the Holy Spirit!mmmmmm
Be blessed all!
Enquiring mind, Bahamas.
Hello everyone,
I have been vacationing 3 out of the last 6 weeks - yahoo - it has been a wonderful time of reconnecting with family that we haven't seen in decades and rebuild relationships. We prayed that with each stop and connection we would be a light for God in their lives. We have driven over 5000 miles and though we are tired it was a wonderful time. I was in the word and fellowshipping with God everyday, however I did get behind in my chrono reading. I'm picking up here and will go back and read the other later.
Wendy I agree not all rough spots are a barb from satan... God lets us go through things because of our own choices BUT He can and will use them to do wonderful things in our lives.
The woman at the well has so many layers of wonderful. (smile)
First Jews were not to associate with the Samaritan's.
Secondly Jesus reveals to her as a sign, that He knows her life.
Third He reveals Himself (who He really is!) for the 2nd time (the 1st was to Nicodemus)
John 4:26 ..... "I Am the Messiah!"
Forth She goes back to her village and tells her people that she just met the Messiah. AND they Believed her. Knowing her reputation, knowing Jews didn't talk to Samaritans, they believed her.
1 Corinthians 1:26 - 29
26 Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy[g] when God called you. 27 Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 28 God chose things despised by the world,things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 29 As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.
This is evidence that we can all be used to do great things for God. We limit and hold ourselves back believing the lie that because we are not perfect or blameless that God would not use us.
Have a great day!
Lynn - OR
Hello Beautiful Sisters!
Reading through all the comments for the past couple of days has been such a blessing to me. All your wisdom coming together and the Spirit speaking out of you all! I'm so enjoying the Old T. references, too Karen! I'm much more familiar with the N.T., but now w/ the knowledge of the O.T., oh, it's just so much sweeter! Not, to mention, reading it chronologically!
Thank you dear Wendy for your teaching today! Just to let it soak in, we have the power to defeat whatever comes our way! PTL!
Oh, I'd be lost without the Holy Spirit guiding me along!
I've heard the Samaritan story many times, but today new wisdom was revealed to me! I saw so clearly what Jesus saw in this precious woman...she spoke the truth. (John 4:18) She was honest. She was not trying to please man. Jesus showed no prejudice, and took his time to share eternal life with this Samaritan woman.
How many people are in our "circle of influence?" We may be their only hope to eternal life. Today, may those around us, see the "evidence of a changed life," (thank you, Joy!) May we not miss the opportunities to allow the Spirit to speak through our mouths to those around us that are thirsty and desiring something that we can share with them.
Jan, You are coming to AZ at the perfect time! We've been having triple digit temp's and this week we have a cool spell coming! Just for you... mid-80's, and lots of sunny-sunshine! :) Just for your celebration! What a lucky Mama to have her 7 children surrounding her! May your week be full of blessings as you spend time together with your family!
Karen, Praying for a week of productiveness & bliss with your hubby in Switzerland! Also, for the relationship between him and your daughter...Brandee, Loving, loving your healthy example as you seek God & inspire those around you! VICTORY! Living each day in victory as we seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit! Jodie, so glad that you will have some peace and quiet. Take it one day at a time. Do not worry about tomorrow. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5).
Lifting up prayers for Susan, Chanan, Kristen, Diane, Patty, unsaved husbands, and for our whole group, that today we will each seek to know God more through His precious, Holy Word. Praying for you too Wendy! That your eyes will focus on Him, as those darts come flying at you. The enemy does not like you in your role! He's going to do whatEVER he can to get you to slip. But, you've got the power inside you, sister! More powerful than the enemy. God will rule and His Spirit will continue to fill you up, and pour out onto the screen for all of us lucky ladies all over the nation!
Love you all so much! EnJOY this beautiful day that the Lord has made! We are richly blessed, my friends! Hugs, Lori - AZ
Wendy, thank you for being such a great inspiration to me and our little group last Thursday night. God's word is such an exciting place to be and I know God sent you to us to reiterate this to us.
Through the Samaritan woman, the Lord wants us to realize what life is in the Spirit. Victorious!!!
Through His encounter with the Samaritan woman, the door was opened for the Gentiles.
I can only imagine the excitement of the Samaritan woman when she realized that she was the first one to talk to Jesus and He told her first (Yaw, a woman) that He was the Messiah.
Loved your insights today too, Lynn! We were typing at the same time...speaking of vacationing...I have a question to ask you all...We are hoping to visit the beautiful, Forest of Giants, the Redwoods, in a couple of weeks! I'm having a difficult time locating a hotel. Usually with the wonderful web I have no problems locating a place. Does anyone have a recommendation? This area covers over 130 acres in Northern CA. The lady :)in me-- is not looking for a "camping" experience! :) I do long to hike tho with my hubby & 2 teenagers, and even enjoy a day of mountain biking. If anyone has any names of places, you can email me:
princemesa&cox.net
Thanks,
Lori AZ
Hi Girls! It's been a long day today, but had to make time to stop by before heading to bed. I was visiting with dad today then had to take my mom for x-rays as she had a terrible fall and we are concerned about damage to the hip replacement she had done 2 years ago. We find results tomorrow. Praying nothing was broken and she just needs time to heal.
Wendy, so appreciated your post today. Eugene Peterson writes that it's often in the wilderness where we must answer the question, "Who is in control?"
In Hebrew, the word for wilderness is midbar. It is surely interesting that the root of midbar has the meaning of "speak" or "word." God truly does speak to us in the wilderness.
The verse that took my attention today was, “…everyone is going to him instead of coming to us.” John 3:26
Do you hear the envy and jealousy? My Pastor pointed out this exact same lesson yesterday morning using a different passage of scripture.
In Numbers 11:24-30 Joshua was struggling with the same issues as John’s disciples, when two men came forward and began prophesying in the camp. Joshua said to Moses, “Moses, my lord, restrain them.’ But Moses said to him, ‘Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets, that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!’”
This is crucial to learn. There is no place for petty in God’s Kingdom.
As my Pastor explained, in the secular world we are often promoted to positions of success because others have failed, but this is not so in God’s world. We are a body. When one of us wins, we all win. God is the only one who appoints and removes.
How do you feel when someone else is chosen in an area where you are over-looked? Can you truly rejoice with those who rejoice? It’s hard sometimes.
To put it in perspective a question needs asking. Do you view what you’re doing as your work or God’s work? Who get’s the glory? As my Pastor went on to say, there can be no ego, protection of position, competition or self-promotion. There is only One who should receive any accolades, and it isn’t you or me.
When God is our only real satisfaction, we can be successful whatever we do.
John’s response is so beautiful. “I am filled with joy at his success. He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.” John 3:29-30
Lord, I admit to sometimes being insecure about my place in the Kingdom. Father, I invite you to do a new work in my heart. Do not quickly release me from this lesson that You have now repeated two days in a row. May I find my rest in You.
Joy
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