Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this new day. We praise the Lord for the mild days of January here in New York this winter. Last Sunday was the Baptism of Lord Sunday. Our Lord came and was baptized in the river Jordan. The Heavens opened and the thundering affirmation came, "This is my well beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased". According to the Gospel of Mark it is written that Jesus was then driven by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness. He was driven, not invited to go. He was not merely encouraged to go, nor permitted to go, but driven, forced, compelled to go because God was mightily at work in Jesus and this confrontation with the powers of evil was central to the whole work.
Jesus was driven out into the Wilderness by God to engage in the testing of the power of Satan. The wilderness was the dwelling place of the demons and forces of evil. The wilderness is the moral and spiritual dumping grounds, that God forsaken place of chaos and abandonment. When we think about the wilderness we conjure thoughts of a place that is lonely and fearful at night, filled with wild and vicious beasts. The wilderness is the place where the Children of Israel wandered in punishment for refusing to trust God. There in the wilderness Jesus engaged in battling the temptations of evil. Satan had home court advantage. Yet, Jesus, the mighty conqueror, defeated Satan, the great deceiver.
Forty days Jesus spent alone in the wilderness. Forty days is a long time. The number forty plays a strong role in Biblical history. Forty days and forty nights God made it rain in judgment. Forty days were the number of days for mourning in Egypt for the beloved Abraham. For forty years the children of Israel wandered in that desert and ate manna. Forty days Moses was on Sinai. Forty years were the days of peace in the time of Gideon. David reigned over Israel for forty years. For forty days Jesus engaged in the testing, there in the wilderness. Jesus endured the testing. Angels came to minister to him. There is a celebration in the Christian faith for each and all of us where we resist the temptation to forsake or betray the destiny that God has given for each of us. There is a sense of joy and victory when we know that we have faced a major challenge to forsake who we are and to remain faithful to our own particular mission and purpose.
Satan left, but that did not mean the battle was over. This is our reality as well as we continue as Christian disciples in the conflict with the evil one, the great deceiver, satan. There is a constant testing of whether or not we will remain true to our calling as disciples of Jesus Christ our Lord. In all kinds of directions there come the temptation to give up on Jesus and go after the world. So much of what we have all around us is the siren call of the testing for us to settle for something less than what God hopes for us to become. So much of the world around us invites us to some easier path which means that we settle for something less than our best. When we continue to struggle and to resist we discover that God is in the wilderness as well, in the midst of the struggle as we remain faithful to Jesus our Lord. "We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" and who still loves us.
Praise the Lord for these mild days of January, as He ministers to us by His angels and brings us more and more into conformity with that image He has given us.
In Christ,
Brown
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Praise and Worship Service
First United Methodist Church, Endicott .
Sponsored by Union Center UMC
6 PM Gathering - Coffee - Fellowship
6:30 PM Worship
Music: Jane Hettinger,
Speaker: Dave Hettinger
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