This is a template my friend Rachel create to help us pray for our church.  

Adoration- 2 Chron. 6:14..."LORD, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven or on earth- you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. 

 

Dan. 2:20-22..."Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his.  He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others.  He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.  He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him..." (What kinds of deep and hidden things had God revealed to you?)

 

Consecration- (Exodus 29= Public consecration ceremony of priests in the Old Testament.  Matt. 3:15-17, Matt 28:19-20, and Gal. 3:27 = Public consecration ceremony of New Testament "priests".)

 

Rev. 1:5-6 To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father- to him be glory and power for ever and ever!  Amen. (What have we been made to be and what is our job?)

 

Rom. 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.  (What are we to offer to God as His priests?)

 

-Consecrate the spiritual gifts God has given you to His service, that they may be used to build up the Church. (Exhortation, Shepherding, Prophecy, Discernment, Service, Administration, Evangelism, Faith, Leadership, Wisdom, Teaching, Mercy, Hospitality, Helps, Giving, Knowledge)

 

1 Cor. 12:4-7, 14:12  There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.  There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.  There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.  Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good... Since you are eager for the gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church. (What is our job as priests?)

 

Confession of sins- Col. 3:5-10 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.  Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

 

Thanksgiving- When the Israelites complained to God about the food He had miraculously sent them, He got angry and struck them with a severe plague and later sent venomous snakes to bite and kill them. (Num. 11 and 21) On the other hand, in 2 Chron. 20 a vast army was marching out to destroy Israel, but King Jehoshaphat humbled himself in prayer before God and all the people, appointed men to lead the army in song and praise to the LORD, and when they reached the battle lines, the entire enemy army was lying there already dead. What can you choose to praise God for today... even in the midst of adverse circumstances?

 

Supplication- Phil. 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 

********************************

Hope Community Church prayer requests:

 

Pray that the church would preach the Word of God without apology

Pray that the church would devote itself to prayer

Pray that the church will boldly share Jesus as the only hope for salvation

Pray that the church will worship God in spirit and in truth

Pray that our leaders will serve humbly as godly examples to all

Pray that the church will labor and strive to present all mature in Christ

Pray that more workers step up to faithfully serve

Pray that our leaders equip the saints for the work of ministry

Pray that the church does not lose its first love

Pray that we will trust Jesus to build His church

 

Hope Community Church prayer request for specific ministries

 

Edlers- commitment to seek the Lord's wisdom and guidance as they serve and lead the congregation; treating one another with love that is patient, kind, selfless and that keeps no records of wrongs.

 

Deacons- wisdom in knowing how to identify and meet the physical and financial needs of the congregation and local community. Donations to help meet member and community needs.

 

Trustees- wisdom to evaluate the replacement and repair needs of our aging building  based upon cost and impact. 

 

Finance Team- wisdom in budgeting, reducing debt, facility improvements, desire to expand giving in regards to missions

 

Hope Student Ministries- (Pastor Kyle, Renee Skaer)  hunger and thirst for righteousness within the hearts of the students as well as a passion and fire to want to know God better.  Prayer to know how to help parents learn how to make spiritual conversations a normal part of life.  Wisdom in teaching students how to love others around them by building genuine friendships as they learn how to reflect God's goodness in their thoughts, attitude and actions.  (Special Trips/ Activities: Serve Week, Weekend Intensive, Harvey Cedars) Prayer that God would empower and enable the leaders in our church to raise up a generation of servant leaders through the guidance of the Holy Spirit via solid Biblical teaching, God honoring examples, and influential service opportunities.  And may supernatural spurts of tremendous growth take place when it comes to learning valuable lessons after making mistakes. Prayer that the students would live out their faith with hearts full of passion, courage and steadfastness.  Prayer that they would experience surprising joy in learning how to work alongside other members within the church family. Supportive prayer and encouragment for the HSM volunteers/ leaders who provide care, guidance, prayer, encouragement and fun to our teens. 

 

Children's Ministries- (Erin Kiefer, Sheryl Creeden, Justina Morrow) VBS day camp: volunteers, protection and provision physically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally...  That God would provide more volunteers in the Children's Ministry so that its faithful servants don't become bitter due to overserving.  Prayer for Sunday session time,  that the heirloom seeds of Biblical truths would fall upon good soil within the hearts of the children. Wisdom in knowing how to spiritually support families. That young hearts and minds would  understand, appreciate the value, and find excitement and great joy in making donations to the needy we support. Prayer that troubled hearts would find rich green living pastures here at Hope to rest in as our teachers and helpers lead them beside the quiet waters of God's Word. May the LORD refresh the souls of the young lambs as He bestows upon  the leaders the ability to teach them how to walk in paths of righteousness for His Name's sake. 

 

Biblical Education: (Pastor Dave)- Pray for the ongoing development of Biblical education within the church that would cultivate a culture of faithfulness through genuine discipleship.  Pray for the growth of both quantity and quality of biblical education as well as for faithfulness toward holding a well- grounded biblical perspective. Prayer that people would carve out space in their personal lives to grow spiritually. Pray for wisdom in regards to the development of our outdoor area (ball fields, walking trails, pavilion) that we would be able to offer the use of our property in ways that could be of great service and benefit to our community, and that many would desire to enter into the gates of the LORD's house with praise in their hearts because of the warm and welcoming atmosphere the Lord's presence radiates through the spirit of His people as we invite the community to pasture in our fields. Prayer for spiritual and physical protection of all property;  land, buildings, vehicles, all servants of God and community members. 

 

Technical Arts- (Pastor Kyle and Matt Strauser) humble hearts that seek to help others worship God in spirit and in truth in order to experience God's presence through worship. Prayer that God would send someone to oversee the worship ministry. Growth in individual roles. 

 

Missions Ministries:  Pray for the spiritual and physical well being and growth of the missionaries and ministry leaders we support. Pray for financial provision, for strength and courage, for peace, rest and spiritual nourishment as needed, for faithful friendships and prayer partners within their home churches and support groups, for supernatural protection and provision.

 

Connections Ministry- pray that the Holy Spirit would flow through the members of this ministry in order to help create a warm and welcoming atmosphere at Hope that would bring hope to those in despair, comfort to the lonely, and peace to the restless as both members and guests walk through the doors of our church. Pray that God would increase the numbers of volunteers.

 

Young Adults Ministry: Pray that God would continue to build up a community of spiritually healthy and blossoming young adults within our church.  May they grow and thrive in steadfast ways as they are invited to participate in solid Bible studies, enriching service opportunities, and fun activities that promote many occasions for quality fellowship. May they desire to clothe themselves with a spirit of purity and faithfulness that demonstrate God's good and righteous ways.  Pray that attendees would take pleasure in inviting their peers into this setting where they can experience God's love. Pray that the Holy Spirit would show them how to engage other young adults who are not currently plugged in, and pray that God would provide opportunities to increase their involvement in service activities so that their spiritual gifts can be exercised and strengthened for the purpose of building up the church. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Insight On the Parables from Mark 4 & 5

This is a teaching my friend presented on the parables of Jesus from Mark 4 and 5.  I hope you will enjoy her insight as much as I did. 

Teachings for Mark 4 & 5-Kelly Berg

2/29/2024

In this teaching, I am going to concentrate on the parables and teachings of Jesus.  When I have read the parables in the past and even as I read them this time, some of them seemed very easy to understand whereas others I did not understand and I sort of put them aside to try to understand them later.

 A general idea about Jesus’ parables.  The teaching in the parables is more than just religious truth – It is always related in a dynamic way to Jesus’ message and mission.

Parable of the Sower – (4:3 -4:9)

This parable begins and ends with the call for careful attention – vs 3 and vs 9. This suggests that its meaning may not be self-evident – Alert minds are needed to comprehend its truth.

Practical piece – in first century Palestine, sowing was done before plowing –(this was mind-blowing to me…) so the consequences (for the seeds) that Jesus mentioned could inevitably happen. 

In the details about the soils, the diversity of response to the proclamation of the Word is evident.  That statement means in real English – that each of us respond to the Gospel differently.

The final thought for this parable is although difficulties face God’s kingdom, it grows and ultimately produces an abundant harvest.

Ref Jn 15:5 – I am the vine and you are the branches.  If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing

Col 1:6 – the gospel is bearing fruit

A secret (from 4:10-12) refers to something that God has revealed to His people.  The secret (that was previously unknown) is proclaimed to all but only those with faith will understand - those who don’t believe are referred to as the outsiders.  In this passage the secret is that the Kingdom draws near in the coming of Jesus Christ.

Ref Mt 3:2 – Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near

Col 4:5 – Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.

1 Th 4:12 –act so that your daily life will win the respect of outsiders.

1Ti 3:7 – he must have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and the devil’s trap.

I am sure that I have read these verses previously but now I know what an outsider is.

Also in 4:12 – Jesus likens his teaching in parables to the ministry of Isaiah, from which He is quoting, and while Isaiah’s ministry gained some disciples it was also used to expose the hardhearted resistance of the many to God’s warning and appeal.

Lamp on the lampstand –( 4:21-4:22)

The present hiddenness of Jesus will not always be – hidden things are meant to be brought out into the open.  God intends that Jesus will someday be manifested in all His glory.  But who Jesus really is – is now hidden.  It is therefore of utmost importance for us to be careful hearers and to have spiritual perception.  The more that one listens to the Word of Jesus with spiritual perception and also uses it, the more about Jesus will be revealed.  Also one who studies the Word now, the more one will receive in the future,and whoever does not lay hold of the Word now, even the little spiritual perception he has will be taken from him.

 

Ref, Jer 16:17 – My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes.

Mt 10:26 - … for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed or hidden that will not be made known.

-These verses also say to me that those things that we think that we are hiding – usually sins – are not hidden at all from God.

 

Parable of the Kingdom of God (4:26 – 29)

Here the mysterious power of the seed to produce a crop is

emphasized.  The gospel message contains its own power.  As seedtime is followed in due time by the harvest, so will the present hiddenness and ambiguity of the Kingdom of God be succeeded by its glorious manifestation.

Personally, I find it interesting that there are 4 teachings about the coming of the Kingdom within 1 short chapter in Mark.  It also is amazing that I have read this chapter many times and never saw that there were 4 teachings in 1 short chapter about the coming Kingdom of God.  Geez may be it is important!!

Ref. Rev. 14:15 - … “take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.|

Ref. Mt 13:24 – The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.

 

Parable of the mustard seed – (4:30-32)

The main point of this parable is the Kingdom of God.  I had always been taught and I continued to think that this parable had to do with the size of our faith – which can be small. 

My grandmother gave me this pendant, and though it is special to me because she gave it to me, it also always felt like a representation of my faith – it is small but according to this parable, I thought anyway, it could command a tree to be uprooted!  Actually, I thought that it said that with faith the size of a mustard seed you could move mountains.

But the commentary I looked at said the Kingdom of God has insignificant and weak beginnings, but a day will come when it will be great and powerful.  The example of the mustard seed should prevent us from judging the significance of results by the size of the beginnings.

 

 Also a postscript to this story – apparently the mustard seed is not the smallest seed on earth – the black orchid is the smallest -but it is thought that Jesus used the mustard seed as the audience was familiar with that seed.

Have You Seen The True Jesus?

Intro

There was a popular television show in the 50’s and 60’s called To Tell the Truth.  My grandmother and I used to enjoy watching reruns on Saturday afternoons when I visited her.  There were four celebrity panelists who must identify which is the "central character" whose unusual occupation or experience has been read aloud by the show's moderator/host. When the panelists question the contestants, the two impostors may lie whereas the "central character" must tell the truth about themselves. The celebrity panelists would then have to try to identify the true central character by placing faith in their testimony and trying to identify the lies spoken by the other contestants.  The object of the game is to try to fool the celebrities into voting for the two impostors. For every wrong guess made by a panel member, the contestants win money. Fooling the panel completely earns big money.

Jesus however was not playing a game of To Tell the Truth.  Jesus came to proclaim the truth.  The prize for accepting this truth would not amount to earthly riches.  Instead, the prize would be the gift of God’s kingdom or Christ himself.  But, to receive this prize, one must see and believe in the true Jesus and his message.  

At the time of Christ, there were several self-proclaimed Messiahs who came before and after His incarnation. The problems was, the people of Israel and their leaders misunderstood the Bible’s definition of the long awaited "Messiah” often fell hook line and sinker for these false Messiah’s.  Why? Because they weren’t looking for the true Messiah.    Instead of looking for a Messiah to come and deliver them from eternal sin, the crowds were looking for a “divinely appointed king” to save them from Rome.  While some of these false kings claimed to come from God and used old testament prophecies in their deception, none ever come close to fulfilling the prophecies and miracles of Christ. 

It was Christ’s mission to help the people see he was their true, long-awaited Messiah.  Jesus was their true anointed king.  But to see the true Jesus would require faith on the people’s part.  For Seeing the true Jesus requires true faith.

In our narrative this week Mark 6 addresses several settings in which Jesus is either rejected or received in faith.  In each interaction, we see both the people’s response to Christ’s identity and then we see Christ’s response to the people.  Jesus even today is teaching us through His Word how we may see and respond to the true Jesus.   Seeing the true Jesus requires true faith.

Setting #1:  Nazareth, the home town of Jesus.

?     How do the people of Nazareth See Jesus? 

·      Vv2-3 They question who this man is?  Where did he get his wisdom?  How can he do these mighty works?  Is he not the carpenter, son of Mary?  (illegitimate son of Mary)

·      V3 says the people took “offense at him”

o   Skandalizamei (to take offense)

o   Skandalon (noun-offense)

o   English translates to scandal. 

o   “The people were scandalized by Jesus”. 

o   Skandalon: refers to a stone that is rejected by masons. 

Jesus is the rejected son of Mary, who will later become the rejected son of Israel.  Jesus will experience rejection on many fronts by His own people.  Jesus will experience the ultimate rejection on the cross at Calvary. His own people will accuse him of being a false Messiah and they will demand the sentence of death.  God’s own people will not see the true Jesus.  For Seeing the true Jesus requires true faith.

In response to Jesus’ rejection in Nazareth, he proceeds to teach his own disciples how they too should respond to rejection.  Jesus gives his 12 disciples authority from God to heal the sick and cast out unclean spirits.  But he also gives them permission in v 11 to reject “any place that will not receive you and will not listen to you”.  

?     What message do the disciples proclaim to the people in  v 12?   Repent 

?     What is missing from the original proclamation from Christ in 1:15?  Repent and believe in the gospel

?     Why do you believe their proclamation didn’t include the message of believing ?

The disciples did not yet see the true Jesus.   For Seeing the true Jesus requires true faith.

Setting #2:  Palace of King Herod Antipas

?     What do we know about King Herod?

o   He is a puppet King, appointed by Rome to rule over the people of Judea. 

o   He feared John the Baptist because he saw him as a “righteous and Holy man”.

o   He worried more about his own reputation and pride than he feared John and his message of repentance. 

o   He executed John the Baptist to preserve his own reputation. 

?     How did King Herod See Jesus? 

o   The ghost or resurrection of John the Baptist (v14).

o   If Herod feared John, he most certainly had to fear Jesus. 

?     What does Mark’s account of John the Baptist’s death serve in his narrative?

o   It points to the growing threat to Jesus and his ministry. 

o   Herod, the puppet king of Judea did not see the true Jesus, because he didn’t have true faith. 

Setting #3:   Near Bethsaida, close to the Sea of Galilee. (Luke 9:10)

         Jesus and his disciples were exhausted from their ministry work and they searched for a “desolate place” where they could “rest for awhile”.  But, the crowds once again gathered.

?     How did the crowd of 5,000 + along the Sea of Galilee respond to Jesus?   “Recognized” Jesus and his disciples. 

?     How did Jesus respond to the great crowd? 

o   (v34) “he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd and he began to teach them many things”. 

o   He recognized the crowds hunger and he feed them with five loaves of bread and 2 fish. 

?     How did the crowd respond to Jesus? 

o   (v42) “they ate and were satisfied”

Jesus responded to the crowd’s spiritual hunger and their physical hunger.  This was a monumental miracle on a very grand scale.  Mark end’s his account of this miracle by describing the people as “satisfied”.  John’s account of this miracle however, describes the crowd’s response like this:  John 6:14,15: “When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”  Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself”. 

John’s Gospel account sheds more light on how the “satisfied” crowd truly saw Jesus.  They saw them as their king.  They saw power in Jesus, which is good.  But they saw his power as a liberator from Roman oppression.  Not as a liberator from their sin.  The large, satisfied crowd did not see the true Jesus, because seeing Jesus requires true faith. 

 

 

Setting #4:  Takes place in a boat on the Sea of Galilee.

         As Jesus heads to the mountain to pray, the disciples head across the sea to the other side of Bethsaida. They all attempted to get the rest they deserved, but God had other plans.  Once again, the disciples found themselves struggling to stay alive in a boat during a great storm at sea.  This time, Jesus isn’t in the boat with his disciples fast asleep.  Instead, Jesus comes to them by walking across the sea. 

?     How did the disciples initially respond to the sight of Jesus walking on water? 

o   V49 “they thought it was a ghost and they cried out, for they saw him and were terrified”. 

?     How did Jesus respond to his disciples when he reaches them? 

o   “Take heart.  Do not be afraid” and the wind ceased.

o   V52 “they did not know about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened”. 

Jesus just performed an incredible miracle.  He showed the disciples his glory thru the theophany of him walking on water and Jesus proclaims He is the “Great I AM”.  Jesus tells his disciples he is Yahweh, the God of Jacob, the God of creation and yet they still don’t see the true Jesus.  Their hearts were still hardened.  For Seeing the true Jesus requires true faith.

Setting #5:  The “shores of Gennesaret”. 

         Our final setting in this week’s narrative is in a small Jewish fishing community.  Immediately after the disciples and Jesus get out of the boat the crowds begin to gather.  This crowd saw Jesus as a healer of the sick, for they ran about the whole region to bring the sick so that they might be healed by touching just a “fringe of his garment”. 

         I’m exhausted just thinking about the whirlwind of activity Jesus and his disciples encountered in our narrative this week.  At the center of all his ministry loomed the mounting threat of the leadership in Judea.  King Herod was just one of many threats that could potentially hurt Christ’s true mission to reach the cross of Calvary.  However, the even greater threat was the growing crowds of people who sought to make Jesus their king.  Judea was not happy with their puppet king.  Herod proved he cared more about his own interests and earthly desires.  He indulged in pagan festivals like birthdays and he clearly enjoyed sensual entertainment.  Herod also didn’t care about God’s law.  He promised to give away ½ his kingdom to a young girl who gave him great pleasure with her dancing.  

         We know however, God the Father expressed his pleasure in His Son at Christ’s baptism.  God, the Father entrusts his entire kingdom to His Son, Jesus Christ.   With the coming of Christ, the kingdom begins not in the coronation of a mighty king but with the birth of a baby. Yet as Jesus’ ministry begins in Mark, he announces, What Israel had long awaited, Christ had now inaugurated. “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Jesus not only declares the kingdom with his words but also demonstrates the kingdom in his works by casting out demons, healing the sick and controlling creation and life & death itself. 

Application

Ladies….how do you see Jesus?

Is he your teacher, full of wisdom and truth?

Is he your good shepherd who guides you to green pastures?

Is he your healer, who comforts your afflictions?

Is he your king, who rules over your heart?

Jesus is all of these truths.  But if we don’t see the glory of God in Jesus, we don’t see the true Jesus.  The disciples failed their test in the boat when the Glory of God came to them.  They didn’t see the true Jesus then and we can’t fail this test now. 

Jesus is our true king.  Jesus encompasses the full glory of God.  It is the pleasure of our King Jesus to give us the keys to his entire kingdom on earth as in heaven.  The key to this kingdom is for all people who believe in the true Jesus with true faith.  Jesus is God's very person and presence, his character and nature, in flesh and blood and Spirit. John 1:14 tells us: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth”. 

To see Jesus is to see God and His glory embodied in Jesus.  It takes faith to see the true Jesus.  It takes a heart that is prepared to see the true Jesus.  Have you seen the true Jesus?  If you have, then you have seen His glory through true faith and you shall receive His kingdom. Amen. 

 

 

 

Trapped in the Wilderness (from Mark 1)

What comes to mind when you think of the wilderness?  Is it a place where you find lions, tigers and bears?  Or perhaps it is a dense forest, surrounded by trees.  If you live in Arizona, the wilderness may be the open dessert or in Florida the wilderness is swampy bogs populated by alligators.   

In Hebrew, the word wilderness (midhbar)  represents a desolate region suitable for pasturing sheep and cattle ( Psalms 65:12 ; Isaiah 42:11 ; Jeremiah 23:10 ; Joel 1:19 ; 2:22 ); The word itself comes from the Hebrew root ד-ב-ר, dhbar, which means, “to speak”.  Put together, the Hebrew word for wilderness would mean the place where God speaks to His sheep.  In the Bible, the wilderness was often the place where God spoke to His prophets. 

Moses encountered the burning bush of God’s presence in the Sinai wilderness.  It was here Moses received God’s instructions to deliver the Hebrew people from their slavery in Egypt.  Moses would ultimately lead the Hebrew people from Egypt into the wilderness, where at Mount Sinai Moses would spend 40 days and nights, receiving God’s Law.  God would lead Israel in the wilderness for 40-years before arriving safely to the Promised Land.  The people would hunger for food and thirst for water like sheep in the wilderness.  It would be shepherds grazing their sheep in the wilderness, who would hear of the Messiahs birth from God’s messengers, a herald of angels .

It is no surprise God’s messenger who would proceed the Messiah would come out from the wilderness in the Spirit of the great prophet Elijah.   God was speaking to the sheep through John the Baptist.  John, the cousin of Jesus was obedient to God and labored to prepare a way for the Messiah, the spotless lamb of God. 

Christ’s baptism is one of the earliest accounts we have of Jesus identifying Himself with His sheep.  For Jesus to qualify as our redeemer, it wasn’t enough for Him to just go to the cross of calvary and suffer death.  If this was the case, there was no reason for Jesus to be born and live as a human.  Jesus had to identify himself with sinful humans and He had to identify with John’s Baptism. 

For there in the wilderness, God spoke to His son for all to hear.  “And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.”  In the wilderness, God speaks to His sheep. 

After God speaks to His son, the Holy Spirit immediately drove Jesus into the wilderness.  When God commissions His people to a specific task, a period of testing usually follows.”  We can trace this early theme of testing in the wilderness all the way back to Eden.  After God instructs Adam to His role as overseer of creation, God proceeded to place two trees in the Garden of Eden, both of which were forbidden to Adam and his helper Eve.  God provided for his image bearers everything they needed to survive.  They could eat from any tree in the garden, except these two trees.  God’s test of their obedience as we know resulted in devastating consequences.  After obeying the Serpent rather than God and partaking of the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil, Adam and Eve suffered the consequences of their sin.  They were thrown from their garden paradise into the wild and dangerous wilderness.  They no longer enjoyed perfect fellowship with God. God in his grace and mercy did not banish them without first giving them animal hides to clover their sin and offering a message of hope.  Genesis 3:15, God curses the Serpent and Mankind, to the Serpent God says, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise His heel”.  We know Adam understood this message of hope, when a bit later in v20 he names his wife, Eve, which “because she was the mother of all living”. 

Adam, the first man, was in a lush and fruitful garden when he was tempted by Satan. He failed the test, plunging all of humanity into sin and death (see Romans 5:12). In contrast, Jesus, the Second Adam, was tempted in a dry and barren wilderness.  The temptation of Jesus by Satan was no accidental encounter.  Satan would have been familiar with the prophecies about the suffering servant who had to come and die to save God’s people from their sins.   Jesus was in the wilderness, surrounded by wild beasts, who no doubt these beasts were at Satan’s bidding. So what does Satan tempt Jesus with?  Things that would make him comfortable and powerful at a time of His physical weakness.

Matthew’s account provides us a picture of Satan’s attempts to keep Jesus from suffering.  He begins by tempting his physical needs.  Are you hungry Jesus?  Well turn these stones into bread.  Well, that didn’t work.  How about giving the people a demonstration of your power and identify right now.  Jump off the temple in Jerusalem and come out of it unharmed.  Jesus declined Satan’s offer again, preferring obedience to God’s Word.  Then Satan offers Jesus a short cut, skipping His journey to the cross entirely, by exchanging His love for the Father in exchange for worship of Satan.  Finally, Jesus had enough and banishes Satan by using God’s Word against him. 

    Jesus is able to be among the wild beasts without harmful consequence, because he had the presence of the Holy Spirit. This idea may seem small to us but this is what Isaiah prophesied about his coming.

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.” (Isaiah 43:16–21 ESV)

Throughout his wilderness testing, Jesus is showing himself to be the Beloved Son whom the Father loves.  Jesus succeeds against Satan because he obeys God’s Word.  Jesus hears the Word of God speaking in the wilderness, because he knows God’s Word, for He is God’s Word.  The Apostle John begins his gospel this way, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.” Jesus is the son of God who came to crush the head of the Serpent.

It’s important to understand that God does not tempt anyone to sin (James 1:13). But He does allow us to be tested and evaluated (Hebrews 11:17–19; 2 Corinthians 13:5; James 1:12; Psalm 17:3; 139:23; Malachi 3:3). God tested our Savior’s character through adversity in the wilderness, and He applies the same initiative in our lives today.

Through trials and temptations, we grow in faith and understanding of our mission as servants of His kingdom (Deuteronomy 13:3; 2 Chronicles 32:31; James 1:3; 1 Peter 1:6–7).

Jesus not only came to earth to die for us; Jesus also came to live for us.  His death on the cross is meaningless without his perfect obedience.  If you are feeling trapped in the wilderness and perhaps feel there is no way to escape the wild beasts tempting you, turn to the Word of God.  Your obedience to God’s Word does glorify Him, but your obedience alone won’t secure your salvation.  Only the perfect obedience of Christ can do that.   Let the Word of God speak to you in the wilderness of your life. 

Should We Fear Death?

The fear of death and dying is quite common.  The way people approach death varies from one person to another. While some fear is healthy because it makes us more cautious, some people may also have an unhealthy fear of dying.  This explains why we go to such extreme lengths to delay death.  We are obsessed with our health.  Christians are no different.  We spend thousands of dollars on diet plans, vitamins, gym memberships and countless visits to the doctors.  All in the name of “good health”.    Our prayer requests reflect that truth about us and I’m not much different.  We fear death.  Christians and non Christians alike.  When you lose someone or something dear to you, it's natural to feel pain and grief. The grief process is normal, and most people go through it. It’s part of our human nature.  And when the inevitable does happen, and death takes a loved one away from us, we often respond immediately with anger. 

Years ago, churches were built with cemeteries on the property.  People were reminded of death every Sunday as they arrived for worship.  It isn't until recent times that we can confidently enjoy a longer life expectancy.  A hundred years ago, nearly 50% of all children died before reaching adulthood.  Family members were cared for in the home and when death arrived, the services were held there in the home as well.  My husband's grandmother recalled the Spanish flew epidemic that swept through her home country of Norway.  The church bells were run to announce each death.  The sound of bells was so often, the bell ringer remained in place at the church.  Today, Covid has claimed the lives of people across the globe.  Few families have escaped untouched by this modern pandemic.  

Jesus was familiar with death.  Except, He called death, “sleep”.  In the Gospel of John chapter 11, Jesus raises a dear friend named Lazaarus from the dead.  Jesus tells us Lazarus has fallen asleep” and Jesus wants to wake him up.

Jesus knows his friends fear death.  They see death as the ultimate winner.  It’s why the disciples didn’t want to go back to Judea, where the religious leaders tried to stone Christ.  Jesus views death differently.  He sees it as sleep.  We don’t fear sleep do we?  I actually welcome it. 

But doubting Thomas doesn’t buy it.  In verse 16 he says, “We might as well go and die with him”. We aren’t any different than Thomas.  We are often tempted to believe only the facts.  We believe when the conclusion has been established.  I can’t help but wonder how often our need for logic, for science gets in the way of seeing something so beautiful and miraculous from God?

Both Mary and Martha knew Jesus could have saved their brother from dying.  They saw Christ’s earlier miracles.  But Jesus in verse 23 tells the sisters “their brother will rise again”.  They know the grave is not the end for Lazarus.  Mary and Martha however were so focused on the event of resurrection happening in the distant future, that they still had not completely put their hope in the person of Jesus being the resurrection and the life. 

We see how Jesus in his humanity responded to his friend’s death.  He wept. Romans 12:15 says we are “to weep with those who weep”.  We are called to join in with another’s suffering, but we don’t really see this happening much today.  I spent 15 years working in busy emergency rooms and ultimately working as a nurse practitioner in long term care facilities.  I saw my fair share of death and dying.  I wish we responded more like Christ when another person is grieving or facing death themselves.  Instead, we worry more about how uncomfortable we feel that we often neglect those who need us the most.  I too experienced that myself.  Alone in a hospital room.  Recovering alone at home for weeks and months on end.  It was difficult to say the least.  When my mother died, 18 years ago next month, I too was angry at first.  I believe Jesus was angry there in the company of Mary and Marth and the friends of Lazarus.  Why?  Because death reminded Jesus of his mission. 

We all deserve death.  We all have inherited the sins of Adam and Eve.  When they disobeyed God and ate from the tree of knowledge and good and evil, God’s sentence was death.  He told them ahead of time what would happen if they disobeyed his law.  Sure enough, we all have paid the price for their sin.  Death is what we all deserve.  Romans 6:23 says the price for sin is death. 

Up to this point in our story of the Bible, death always won.  But soon Jesus would gets the last word and Jesus would conquer death.  The raising of Lazarus from the dead assures us the power Jesus has over death before he goes to the cross to die.  Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.  Jesus called himself the “resurrection and the life’ for all those who believe.  Even after Martha verified her faith, she still wasn’t 100% in.  As the stone was about to be rolled away from Lazarus’s tomb, Martha was concerned about the decaying stench of her brother’s flesh.  Jesus responds in v. 40, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God”? 

If only we would stand in awe of such love and power that Jesus demonstrated for Lazarus and his family.  If only we would not fear death more than the number of times we fall to our knees to glorify the one who has conquered death.  If only we would worry more about how God sees us rather than what others think of us.  The religious leaders wanted to kill Jesus because it benefited them.  They cared more about protecting their reputations that they justified themselves to commit murder.  What the chief priest Caiaphas didn’t know, was God already knew their intentions.  Caiaphas would use Christ’s death for evil, but God had already ordained Christ’s death.  The death of Jesus was no accidental tragedy.  Christ died to fulfill God’s plan of redemption.  The penalty for sin is death. This was the judgement God gave Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden after they had disobeyed God and ate from the tree of knowledge of life and death.  Romans 6:23 says the “wages of sin is death”.  Jesus would die, but he would die for us all.  Jesus would eventually fulfill his role as the Lamb of God, the final sacrifice offered for sin.  Jesus would pay sin’s debt once and for all, for God’s children, for those who choose to believe that Jesus is the life and the resurrection. 

The death of Christ would gather all His sheep into one-fold, into one flock.  Gentile and Jew would come together to follow one shepherd, the Good Shepherd.  Jesus may have been angry at death and the separation it caused between God and his flock, but Christ’s death would remedy that.  Jesus already proved he had victory over death with Lazarus.  But it would be Christ’s own death that we celebrate and it is through Christ’s death and resurrection that we can claim victory over death ourselves.  Death is the ultimate enemy of God.  It was the enemy Christ would face and it is the enemy Christ would conquer on the cross.  Death is the reason Jesus wept with Mary and Martha.  Death was the means by which God was glorified through both the resurrections of Lazarus and ultimately Jesus. 

Our story of Lazarus raising from the dead is a picture of what Jesus had done for you and for me.  Before we knew Jesus as our Savior, we were all dead in our trespasses and sins according to Ephesians 2:1.  But Jesus is the One who is the resurrection and the life.  Jesus is the one who has power over life and death.  Jesus is the One who calls us from spiritual death and makes us alive, together with Him for all eternity. 

We don’t need to fear death anymore.  We need to be on our knees in humble gratitude for the gift of our salvation.  When is the last time you got on your knees and glorified God for the gift of eternal life?  It may be my fight, but it is for God’s glory!