He Ate Nothing - Luke 4:1-2

Luke 4:1-2 ESV 

​And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry.

When we receive the Holy Spirit we embark on our own wilderness journey. The span of our new life is represented in the forty days. It is then we face the temptations of the devil. Jesus ate nothing in the wilderness, relying instead on the word of God. Unlike Adam, Jesus did not eat the fruit offered by the hand of the devil. 

He was hungry at the end, but found food and ministrations from heaven. His needs were met. He is more than able to do the same for us. Be not of this world.

The Final Victory - 1 Corinthians 15:53-57

1 Corinthians 15:53-57 ESV 

" For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: 

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

“O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

The power of sin is the law. The law distinguished the Jews from the other nations and was a source of pride for a chosen people. It was a privilege and onerous burden, for that very law was the sting of death. In this way they participated in the death of the Savior Who would come from this small and weak people. They were part of the new thing that God was doing. 

From their line would come another chosen one Who would fulfill the law and thus conquer death. 

First, He had to put on the mortal and perishable to show us the way to victory. He took back to heaven a changed earth, a new creation. These are the "rooms" in His Father's house that He prepares for us. The gift of life results for all who choose that way, immortal and imperishable. The victory is ours. Thanks be to God. 

Our Final Image - 1 Corinthians 15:45-49

1 Corinthians 15:45-49 ESV 

" Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven."

The seed of immortality was sown in the earth, in the living man who enjoys the natural along with the other living creatures. 

The word of life is sown in the earth of man and finds various soils. The seed finds various levels of receptivity and room to grow, but the seed is the same. 

We become the soil of our choosing and we choose our final image. 

The One - John 21:20

John 21:20 ESV 

Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?”

Who is it that Jesus loves? The one that follows and leans on Him. That one will eat with Christ. Be the one. 

Our Garden

The heart is the Garden of our earth. Light is brought into the darkness and the earth begins to take shape. Christ enters our world, into the garden of our hearts, breathing the life of God into inert bodies that walked in a world apart from the divine. He walks in the garden as the wind of the Spirit moves in the cool of the evening. 

The Peacemakers - Matthew 5:9

Matthew 5:9

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

The desire for peace is evidence of our being made in the image of God. We long for something the world cannot offer. Peace is our home and our home is not of this place. We are the peace in this world, for we have the Holy Spirit as a light and guarantee of the peace which is now and to come. 

Peace on earth. 

Transcends Creation

Faith does not offer metrics that quantity God or measure Him in terms of human understanding. Faith takes us to a higher and heavenly place. It transcends creation and brings us into the presence of the Creator through the Spirit of truth.