Shortcut to Glory
Recently while in prayer during one of our Spirit & Truth Awakening Weekends I felt the Spirit lead me to the Gospel accounts of Jesus being led into the wilderness where he is tempted by Satan. I have always been fascinated by this intense story. It follows right on the heels of the beautiful account of Jesus’ baptism. The Spirit descends like a dove. The Father’s voice breaks through from heaven. In the Jordan River Jesus’ identity and calling are affirmed in a striking way.
And then right away the Spirit leads Jesus into a treacherous time of testing. If I am honest about it, this makes me a little uncomfortable. At very least we must wrestle with the fact that in this instance, God is ok with hardship and temptation. He is not the one causing the temptation, but the Spirit leads him to the place where he will face it. I am challenged by the fact that sometimes the wilderness is exactly where God needs us to be so we can learn to actually depend on him fully.
There is so much in this account, but the one part I want to highlight today is the last temptation as recorded in Matthew’s gospel.
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