Desert

Down Time in the Wilderness

/ pastorpete51 / 6 Comments

And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. Luke 4:1-2 KJV

We missed our connecting flight in Chicago once and spent five hours till the next one was available. While my wife was happy to walk around, shop a bit and spend the day content until our flight, I shamefully stomped back and forth around the terminal repeating more times than I would like to recall, “This is stupid! I can’t believe we missed our flight!” Dealing with down time has never been my strong suit though, because God has orchestrated multiple occasions like this in my life I have learned to go with the flow far better than that day in Chicago. Did you ever wonder what Jesus did with all His “down time” during that 6 1/2 weeks in the wilderness? It is easy to fast forward through these verses to get to the action scenes with Jesus crushing Satan by the word of God and heading out of the wilderness to His ministry. But forty days and forty nights is a long time. Of course we can be pretty confident that Jesus spent many hours in prayer, but what else could he have been doing from sunup to sundown?

But maybe Jesus could leave that wilderness in power, not simply because He defeated Satan, but also because He had learned the secret of rest. He had not worried what people thought about Him back in Nazareth, He rested in God’s plan. He didn’t try to start planning the ministry that lay before Him He simply enjoyed the peace and quiet. Maybe Jesus passed time watching birds and heard His Father explain how He cared for them. Maybe He watched seeds sprouting up by a stream in that desert place and saw how tiny beginnings could grow into trees able to bear fruit for hungry travelers. When it was time for breakfast and His stomach growled like every other man’s, maybe He just quietly thanked His Father for the living bread of His word to give Him strength. We will never know till heaven the answer to all these questions but it might be instructive during our next down time, to pause and ask Jesus what He did and then ask Him how to be more like Him during our own time of waiting in the wilderness.

Desert Temptations

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Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. Matthew 4:1

The great temptation that we face is to seek help and hope and honor from men instead of being satisfied with what God Alone provides.

A desert is an empty and dry place where little survives and what grows there is gnarled or covered with thorns. But the Spirit led Jesus there and He will certainly give to us seasons to be there also. It is not a place we would have chosen but it is necessary, because there we learn to depend on daily bread baked in our quiet time with Him, rather than the seemingly spectacular loaves that the world’s advertisers insist we must buy.

There on the rocky paths He sends His angels to guard us along a plain pathway. That protection covers us as we brave necessary dangers of obedience not the thrill of showing off our freedoms and rights for everyone to see.

He doesn’t require us to gain worldly fame instead He simply gives us fruitfulness as we obey His command to love those around us.

If we want to find God’s joy and peace and love then we need to look for them where Jesus did. Only there, out in the wilderness can God faithfully show us His way. In that place Jesus was satisfied that the Father was completely pleased when He trusted in His word. If Jesus had to live in humble surrender rather than by insisting on His rights then how much more should we?

My Easter Miracle

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments

This is the first of two parts of how one young lost hippie (Me) came to know Jesus as my Lord and Savior. In a nutshell you could summarize the events as how my plans became God’s. Though almost 46 years have passed and not all of them have been a “And He lived happily ever after” thing – but I can truthfully say that it has been a “He was changed for ever after” life that God has given me. Enough of introduction. I pray you will be blessed.

 Part One – How I found Easter

In 1971 I was just another 19 year old hippie trying to figure life out. That night I found myself along a lonely stretch of desert on the highway between LA and Phoenix. My tentative goal was 2,800 miles away with my grandparents the only people I was certain would take me in. All day I had been hitch-hiking and my last ride dropped me at a highway rest area just before their exit.  Night was beginning to fall and I reasoned that the top of one of the picnic tables was probably the safest refuge from snakes and scorpions. So I rolled out my sleeping bag and struggled into it trying not to fall off the edge of the table. There I lay looking up into a vast sky filled with stars wondering where I belonged as I fell asleep.

arizona asphalt beautiful blue sky

Photo by Nextvoyage on Pexels.com

In spite of the occasional tractor trailer roaring by, amazingly I slept soundly and woke feeling refreshed just as the sun began to rise.  Though my wallet sheltered just two one dollar bills keeping each other company I didn’t waste time worrying, instead I began looking for someone willing to give me a ride into the next town. That is when I met Barry. He looked to be just a couple of years older than me and judging from the happy look on his face I figured he might be willing to help.

“Hi, my name’s Peter and I wondered if you might be willing to give me a ride towards Flagstaff” I asked trying to sound relaxed.

“Not going that way till tonight.” Barry answered. “We’re headed into Phoenix to go to church right now. If you want to come with us there’s a free lunch and then tonight we can take you as far as we are going.” He said as he headed towards his car.

(Wow a ride and free lunch: what could be better than that?) I thought.  “Sure that’d be fantastic!” I answered smiling as I piled into the back seat of Barry’s car. “This is my friend Kathy.” Barry said as he started the car. She turned around with a friendly smile and waved as we sped up the entrance ramp back out onto the highway.

First we stopped for breakfast at a little dinner and then we headed into North Phoenix. The desert gradually disappeared being replaced by wide avenues lined with homes, palm trees and heavy traffic. I was amazed at how friendly these strangers were towards me but besides asking me a few questions about where I was going they didn’t pry into my business so I relaxed and began to eagerly look forward to whatever lay that day.

Once we pulled into the church parking lot at the church people Barry introduced me to a few of the other young people who were milling around outside the door of the small church. Most of them quickly moved inside and up towards the front, while I found a safer looking seat as far in the back as I could. As I listened in on the conversations around me it suddenly dawned on me that this was not just any Sunday; it was Easter! There I sat feeling like a visitor from a distant star system wondering where I had landed. All around were people smiling and talking to me as if I was some expected guest or long lost relative…. 1547284597980_image.jpg

Come back tomorrow for the rest of the story Part Two  How Easter Found Me