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Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. Matthew 4:1 (New Living Translation)
Hello friends: I want you to remember that the authorized “Signature” on the life of authentic Christian service and ministry is not in the public image, number of followers, or in achievements, however impressive. The “Signature” is neither in the number of great deeds done, nor found in religious position or prominence. The “Signature” is simply…”was led by the Spirit.” Never head into any spiritual endeavor of service or ministry, and certainly not encounter with the enemy because you feel adequate and ready. Even Jesus was not led by self. If you go off on your own into the best arenas you can choose and run into the enemy, though you may possess great spiritual gifts, talents, and abilities; you will be on very dangerous ground. However, If you are “led by the Spirit” into the worst of the wilderness to face the enemy’s taunts and temptations, you can rest assured that it is the enemy who is on dangerous ground. The enemy knows when he is facing the self-led or the Spirit-led. The former is familiar to him for he is filled with it; the latter is frightening because he possesses none of it. Do not throw terms like “Spirit-filled” or “Spirit-led” around lightly. “Self” may often appear as if it is the “Spirit,” even as counterfeit money or art may appear genuine. The counterfeit of “self-led” has no real value no matter who it impresses because it bears no authorized signature. You can usually identify the “self-led” because they respond to the temptation to demonstrate what they are capable of as opposed to the Spirit-led response of living by every word proceeding from the mouth of God. There is only one authorized “Signature” for a Christian life of service…”led by the Spirit.” May we find that authenticity increasingly written on the portraits of our lives, for it is the Spirit’s signature that brings immeasurable eternal value to our lives in the heavenly market place. No earthly rewards that “self” can obtain compares with our value to the Father when we are Spirit-led. From "your father's heart with love" Matthew 3:1-2 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
John the Baptist proclaimed the life changing revelation of the Kingdom of Heaven (Jesus), arriving…in the wildernessof Judea. Revelation is often in the wilderness. That same wilderness is where John’s own life had been shaped and prepared for what God had designed and called him to be. Preparation is often in the wilderness. In the Greek, (the language of the Scriptures), the meaning of wilderness is desert, lonely or quiet place, or even wasteland. These descriptions seem the most unlikely places for the preparation of a person, and certainly not where one would expect life changing revelations to be announced in. Would not some great university, church hierarchy, or group of elite religious leaders with titles and clothing to match be a greater source and means of preparation and revelation? Yet, was it not in the night fields of Judea where angels met shepherds to reveal the birth of our King? Are you starting to see a pattern here? Have you found yourself before, or even now in a kind of wilderness…a lonely or quiet place? Friends, I urge, I beg you; do not seek to run from it. Perhaps you need to run to it. Jesus by need and leading of the Spirit went to the wilderness. Perhaps in the wilderness distractions are less and definition of voices more clear. Perhaps most important is that the wilderness may go beyond terrain to your environment or where you position yourself. My older brother has a difficult time hearing so there are two things he needs if he really wants to hear me. First, distractions, (like background noise), have to be lessoned or eliminated, and then he turns his best ear towards me so my voice is more defined…then he can hear. Less distractions and more definition are common in the wilderness. The way of the wilderness or the lonely place might be just what God can use to break through the “noise” to yourneed. With love, from "your father's heart" (DWJ) |
AuthorI have a desire to be the physical demonstration of the person of Jesus through all the ordinary activity of my life, and on this site through my "devotionals." My deep desire is to have intimacy with Jesus and the heart of my heavenly Father beating in my heart and impacting my wife and family, and then whoever and wherever God places me. Archives
March 2019
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