WHOOSH! into the wilderness with you!

I would love to have a conversation with someone about the verses I’m going to share. My mind has been spinning in a good way since reading it this morning. I have this app for my phone from YouVersion named the Bible. It is one of my favorite apps – I have many apps. What I love about this app is

•  It has the Bible if you want to look something up
• It has reading plans
• It has the ability to read the verse or chapter to you,  perfect for driving
• Verse of the day
•  Bookmarks
•  Notes
•  A notification prompt so you don’t forget to read your Bible

It’s probably not attractive to advertise on your blog but this app has helped my family and friends remain in the Word daily and to also begin an important habit of being in God’s Word. There is no better or more helpful habit than to be in the Word of God and to learn about our Lord Jesus Christ and His love for each of us. Commercial over J

My reading today comes from the reading plan – Devotions for Lent from the Holy Bible. I began today reading in Mark 1. One of the things I love about reading the Bible – God’s living Word – is I can read a passage I have read before and have something from it strike me as something profound and new. What struck me this morning in my reading was Mark 1:11-13:

“And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’  The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.  And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan.”

Here Jesus, in an act of obedience and example to the people He came to rescue, gets baptized by John the Baptist. God the Father publically pronounces His blessing and love for Jesus and

 WHOOSHH!

The Spirit drives Him out to the wilderness for forty days to be tempted by Satan, himself. Not exactly the response many of us would expect after such an act of obedience and blessing from the Father himself. After this intense time of temptation, Jesus was ministered to by the angels and His ministry began.

We have no idea what plans Christ has for us. But we do know that His Word promises His presence (Hebrews 13:5), His help (Psalm 46:1), His strength (Philippians 4:13), and His love (Psalm 103:17). I can’t get the  verse from Jeremiah out of my head, I hesitated to use it because it is often misused but I do believe there is comfort here -  Jeremiah 29:11 “I know the plans I have for you… plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

When your life turns in a direction you were not expecting, a direction that is bringing hardship and /or heartache, do not fear. Christ is with you. He has promised to finish the work He has started in you (Philippians 1:6) and we can NOT know how He will bring about that completion. Hang onto His Word and love. He will not fail you! He may confuse you (Isaiah 55:8-9) but remain faithful and true to the One who remains faithful and true to you.

GOING TO BATTLE

Paul describes to us in Ephesians 6 the armor of God. He takes us through each piece of armor that we have at our disposal as believers in Christ. These pieces of armor are strong and powerful making us ready for any attack of the enemy. You get pumped reading this and even studying it as you learn more about the Roman army which he gets his example from. God’s army is powerful and mighty! Let’s go!

But wait. That is not what he instructs us to do. After he has so greatly described this armor, he tells us to STAND FIRM. We aren’t going into battle in the way we are thinking or have watched in movies. We STAND FIRM and then in verse 18

“…praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints…” (emphasis mine)

We are to put on our armor, stand firm holding the ground God gave us and we are to pray. He tells us earlier in verse 12 that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

We go to battle with our spiritual armor, fighting a spiritual battle

• ARE YOU READY'!
• STAND FIRM
• PRAY
• KEEP ALERT
• PERSEVERE
• PRAY

Pray without ceasing

As I’ve been reading and going about my day, the verse 1 Thessalonians 5:17 keeps popping into my mind :

 “pray without ceasing.”

Also I have been following the YouVersion phone app using the prayer plan and in that reading I read through the verses that encourage us to come to the Lord over and over again with our requests and remembering that if a father will give his son a loaf of bread when he asks how much more will our heavenly Father give us.

Remember these things as you pray over our requests. Do not get discouraged when you pray the same thing over and over again for the same person. Jesus honors persistence. His timing is not our timing. What is timely and quick for Him may not be quick for us. Ours prayers are precious to Him, even when He hears them over and over again.