Mark 1:7-11
7 Here is a sample of his preaching: “Someone is coming soon who is far greater than I am, so much greater that I am not even worthy to be his slave. 8 I baptize you with water but he will baptize you with God’s Holy Spirit!” 9 Then one day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and was baptized by John there in the Jordan River. 10 The moment Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens open and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descending on him, 11 and a voice from heaven said, “You are my beloved Son; you are my Delight.”
FOOD FOR THOUGHT!
A
voice from heaven said, “You are my beloved Son; you are my Delight.” When
Jesus was being baptized, a voice from heaven spoke about him and to him these
words. Jesus was declared publicly as God's Delight! However, what came and
always comes immediately after moments of delight is not always delightful. The
verse immediately following these words to Jesus says: “Immediately the
Holy Spirit urged Jesus into the desert. There, for forty days, alone except
for desert animals, he was subjected to Satan’s temptations to sin.”
Yes, Jesus may be God's delight but still he is not spared suffering; he has to go into the desert, where he is all alone, except wild beasts and Satan. In a matter of moments, Jesus moved from delight to plight, from listening to the voice from heaven to listening the voice from Satan.
Do you remember the same thing happening to Moses in the Old Testament? He spent 40 days on the mountain with God. When he came down the mountain with the commandments of God written on two tablets, he was greeted by Satanic voices. Here is the story:
Then Moses went down the mountain, holding in his hands the Ten Commandments written on both sides of two stone tablets. (God himself had written the commandments on the tablets.) When Joshua heard the noise below them, of all the people shouting, he exclaimed to Moses, “It sounds as if they are preparing for war!” But Moses replied, “No, it’s not a cry of victory or defeat, but singing.” When they came near the camp, Moses saw the calf and the dancing, and in terrible anger he threw the tablets to the ground, and they lay broken at the foot of the mountain. (Exodus 32:15-19)
Satan seeks out those who are delightful to God and he is more than ready to unleash the most merciless of trials. The godliest of people endure deep valleys of strife. These people are the greatest threats to the enemy; Jesus was a prime target for the enemy and so are you and me if and when we declare our faith in God.
It has been said, “You should never forget in the darkness what has been revealed to you in the light.” It is easy to have faith when God has taken you to the mountaintop, but what about when God has allowed you to wander into the valley? Will your faith be steadfast? Will you look to God when your life has been thrown into the fire? You can only come “out from the ashes,” when you trust in the One who created you from dust and ashes.
Yes, Jesus may be God's delight but still he is not spared suffering; he has to go into the desert, where he is all alone, except wild beasts and Satan. In a matter of moments, Jesus moved from delight to plight, from listening to the voice from heaven to listening the voice from Satan.
Do you remember the same thing happening to Moses in the Old Testament? He spent 40 days on the mountain with God. When he came down the mountain with the commandments of God written on two tablets, he was greeted by Satanic voices. Here is the story:
Then Moses went down the mountain, holding in his hands the Ten Commandments written on both sides of two stone tablets. (God himself had written the commandments on the tablets.) When Joshua heard the noise below them, of all the people shouting, he exclaimed to Moses, “It sounds as if they are preparing for war!” But Moses replied, “No, it’s not a cry of victory or defeat, but singing.” When they came near the camp, Moses saw the calf and the dancing, and in terrible anger he threw the tablets to the ground, and they lay broken at the foot of the mountain. (Exodus 32:15-19)
Satan seeks out those who are delightful to God and he is more than ready to unleash the most merciless of trials. The godliest of people endure deep valleys of strife. These people are the greatest threats to the enemy; Jesus was a prime target for the enemy and so are you and me if and when we declare our faith in God.
It has been said, “You should never forget in the darkness what has been revealed to you in the light.” It is easy to have faith when God has taken you to the mountaintop, but what about when God has allowed you to wander into the valley? Will your faith be steadfast? Will you look to God when your life has been thrown into the fire? You can only come “out from the ashes,” when you trust in the One who created you from dust and ashes.
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