pathoflifedevotions Devotions, January 18

January 3 “Kingdom”

Kingdom

Jesus emerged from the wilderness with great power and purpose.
He had a Kingdom to declare. “The time is fulfilled.” The way to keep up was to repent—“The Kingdom of God is at hand!” It was no longer a theme of history; it was the present reality. It was no longer the stuff of metaphor and imagination; the kingdom was now in flesh, to be seen and heard, touched and handled. This Kingdom had a King.

The bad news was that John had been arrested by Herod.
Now Jesus was alone in declaring the Kingdom and the need for repentance. He was in Galilee preaching the gospel when he saw two brothers attending to their family business—fishing. With a simple invitation they dropped their nets to follow Him. The invitation contained a promise. From now on Andrew and Peter would be fishers of men. Two more brothers, James and John, partners in their father Zebedee’s fishing business, were only steps away mending their nets. Another call and another set of abandoned nets and their father with his hired servants would have to carry on without them.

To Capernaum
His team now five in number, Jesus was no longer alone. He marveled at the ease of this calling process. It was as if the men He needed were planted in this path. Things like that happen in a Kingdom such as this. On the Sabbath at Capernaum they went to synagogue together. The two sets of brothers heard Jesus teach and were amazed. His authority stood in stark contrast to the normal mumblings of a village Rabbi or the theatrical monologues of the Jerusalem scribes. The ancient words came alive in His mouth. People were moved, impressed, intrigued.

Among them was a demon-possessed man. The demons residing in the man were more than intrigued; they panicked and screamed in protest. They knew who Jesus was and whatever His mission might be they knew it would be bad for them. Jesus shackled them and sent them away. In the ensuing silence people began to whisper to themselves and to each other what kind of man this might be. His authority went beyond the oratory of men to the hidden world of demons. These synagogue worshipers would be the ones to initiate the fame of Jesus throughout Galilee.

A Healing at Home
Seeing this display of authority prompted Peter to invite Jesus into the home of his wife’s mother. She was terribly ill with a fever. When He entered the home, Jesus could see that no one had taken up the woman’s work. He was sure the cluttered, dusty house was the result of her disabling illness. Embarrassed, people rushed to explain about her. Jesus and his four helpers went to her. Jesus took her by the hand and lifted her to her feet. Immediately the fever left her and strength returned. She looked for a long time into Jesus’ eyes. So this was the man her son-in-law would follow. She had been against the whole idea but now she could see that it must be done and would be a great honor. She shooed the people out of her house and starting cleaning the place.

Scriptures:
Mark 1: 14-31 NKJV
Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him. When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him. Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are — the Holy One of God!” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him. Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee. Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, like those four fishermen I have heard Your call. I have ordered my life around it and still today seek to hear Your call and obey. Make me a fisher of men. In Your name, I am healed. By Your authority demons cannot take up residence in my redeemed heart. I can sense Your authoritative voice when I read Your Word. Indeed, the Kingdom of Heaven is here! The time is fulfilled. I will rejoice in Your joyous Kingdom, here and now, and there in heaven to come. Rejoice the Lord is King! Amen.

Song:
Rejoice the Lord Is King!
Words: Charles Wesley; Music: John Darwall

1. Rejoice, the Lord is King: Your Lord and King adore!
Rejoice, give thanks and sing, And triumph evermore.
Lift up your heart, Lift up your voice!
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!

2. Jesus, the Savior, reigns, The God of truth and love;
When He has purged our stains, He took his seat above;
Lift up your heart, Lift up your voice!
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!

3. His kingdom cannot fail, He rules o’er earth and heav’n;
The keys of death and hell Are to our Jesus giv’n:
Lift up your heart, Lift up your voice!
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!

4. Rejoice in glorious hope! Our Lord and judge shall come
And take His servants up To their eternal home:
Lift up your heart, Lift up your voice!
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2018 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

TheJesusStory Devotions are also available at KingdomWinds.com.

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, January 18

January 2 “Wilderness”

Wilderness

In wild places, powerful things come about.
Far from the safety of home and the comfort of the routine, Jesus sought His Father’s heart in the desert. For 40 days he prayed and waited before God and did not eat or drink. Why? He was without sin. Surely He could “ascend the Hill of the Lord and stand in the Holy Place.” His hands were clean and His heart was pure.

The Spirit
No longer acting as a gentle dove, the Holy Spirit “drove” him into the wilderness. This was no gentle prompting, no sweet wooing of the soul. It was a demand to seek the solitary place, to flee from the distractions of everyday life and commerce, to retreat from normal interaction with people, even those He dearly loved. There was work to be done in this wilderness.

The Flesh
Years later in a garden, green and lush, Jesus revealed a mismatched contest within Himself: “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” Now in this desert, the spirit must subdue the flesh. The risk of the incarnation was that the flesh might win the contest. With fasting and deprivation the flesh was disciplined. Jesus’ body was strong and lean, that of a man who did hard work with his hands and the strength of his back and legs. There was no storehouse of calories packed anywhere on His frame. Fasting soon weakened these strong limbs and drained His stamina. Thirst stiffened his joints making the slightest move a painful ordeal.

The Beasts
Mark adds a dangerous detail. He “was with the wild beasts.” Desert predators can sense the weakness of a prey. They found him long before the 40 days were up. Perhaps like Daniel before Him, angels stopped the beasts and shut their mouths. Imagine that every night was filled with the hungry red eyes of wild beasts and every day the sky was patrolled by winged scavengers. This desert was no place of ease.

The Temptation
Mark gives no record of Satan’s temptations leaving those details to other evangelists. He reports only that Jesus was “tempted by Satan.” Jesus endured temptation as none of us ever have or will and He did not yield to sin. Therefore He can help us in our times of testing. The New Testament gives us details of how this happens but it is because of this victory in the wilderness. The same Jesus who went without food and water is with us in our privations. This same Jesus who turned away from pride, position, and false worship resides in us by the Spirit to enable our humility, servanthood, and true worship.

The Angels
How long the 40 days seemed for the guardian angels of Jesus! We marvel at their restraint. Jesus would not need their assistance. When the testing was done and Jesus proved victor, we can imagine the angelic rush to His aid. Wild beasts scattered before them. Perhaps manna, the bread of angels, was brought to Him, as well as the living waters He would promise to others. Strength for the tasks ahead returned to Him—God in the flesh, tested in the wilderness, ready to touch and heal, teach and deliver.

In wild places, powerful things come about.

Scriptures:
Mark 1:12-13 NKJV
Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.
Hebrews 4:14-16 NKJV
Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 2:14-18 NKJV
Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.
1 Corinthians 10:12-13 NKJV
Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I cannot not imagine Your agony in the desert. You explored the depths of physical weakness to make me strong. You endured the extremes of loneliness in the wilderness to have fellowship with those who would come to love You. Help me enter into and flourish within that fellowship today. You went face to face with the devil and defeated him on his own ground. Let me share that victory today in my thoughts, my words, my actions, and in compassion to those around me. Help me feed on manna and drink deeply of living water so I can be strong this day and meet its demands. For Your Glory! Amen.

Song:
Yield Not to Temptation
Words and Music: Harold R. Palmer

1. Yield not to temptation, For yielding is sin;
Each vict’ry will help you, Some other to win;
Fight valiantly onward, Evil passions subdue;
Look ever to Jesus, He will carry you through.

Refrain:
Ask the Savior to help you,
Comfort, strengthen and keep you;
He is willing to aid you,
He will carry you through.

2. Shun evil companions, Bad language disdain;
God’s name hold in rev’rence, Nor take it in vain;
Be thoughtful and earnest, Kindhearted and true;
Look ever to Jesus, He will carry you through.

Refrain

3. To him that o’ercometh, God giveth a crown;
Through faith we will conquer,Though o ften cast down;
He who is our Savior, Our strength will renew;
Look ever to Jesus, He will carry you through.

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2018 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

TheJesusStory devotions are also found at KingdomWinds.com.

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, January 18

January 1 “Dove”

Dove

The Dove never flew away from Jesus’ shoulders.
When Jesus and John exchanged smiles and the great rush to repentance began, Jesus slipped away unnoticed. The Dove, always a visible manifestation of something invisible, faded from view. The inner reality of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit did not fade. In fact, the voice within Jesus was sounding louder than it ever had, insisting on one thing, “The Desert.”

Just as Mary pondered things in her heart, Jesus had much about which to think and pray. The booming voice from heaven that everyone heard served to signal to the repentant crowd and the doubting skeptics that events beyond their imagination were about to unfold and this Jesus would be at the center of them. Long after the sound had echoed through the farthest hills, the truth still sounded in Jesus’ heart:

“This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”

The strong compulsion to leave Nazareth and the carpenter shop to Mary and her other children and seek out His cousin, John, was justified by this surprising declaration. Jesus had made it! He had emerged from childhood unharmed, from the teen years unscathed, and from young adulthood unmarked by sin. His Father in Heaven was pleased. Whatever lay ahead, Jesus would be surrounded by the love of the Father. Angels would always be standing by if needed. The hosts of heaven so accustomed to worshiping Him were now assigned to guard Him from earthly harm or hellish device. The dangers of His Mission would be many and ominous.

The Dove Within
Though the lovely white Dove was gone, the Holy Spirit abided within Jesus. The Spirit could do this because Jesus had never sinned. The Holy Spirit will not dwell in an unholy place. This was to be the chief difference between the Old and New Covenants—this abiding presence of the Holy Spirit in the clean vessel. In the Old days, the Spirit would come upon a person for a specific task and then depart. The New Covenant Jesus would establish changed all of that. Sins, confessed and repented of, will be forgiven and cast away! The Holy Spirit, the beautiful Dove of Heaven, would come to dwell in each believer making us victorious witnesses to the Jesus Story.

The Call of the Dove
Gently but with great insistence, the Spirit whispered one word to Jesus, “Desert.” There was important work to be done there. The crowds would come later in the villages, the countryside, on the highways and in Jerusalem but now isolation was required. This was to be a new level of testing, of temptation, of proof of the calling. The flesh, already mastered in the routines of life, must now be disciplined at a new depth. Fasting, prayer, isolation and communion with the Father as the Spirit led, were now in order for the One who had come so far to do so much for so many.

Scriptures:
Mark 1:1-13 NKJV
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the Prophets: “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.” ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.'” John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, “There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.
Scriptures on the New Covenant Ministry of the Holy Spirit:
John 14:15-18; 25-26
John 15:26-27
John 16:5-15

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank for the Abiding Dove of the Spirit within me! This Spirit Baptism, so long ago promised by the prophets and recorded by the New Testament witnesses is a current reality. Cleanse me, O Lord! Refiner’s Fire purify this son of Levi that I might offer acceptable worship to You. O Launderer’s Soap, clean away even the particles of leftover wickedness that may linger in the fibers of my heart so that Your likeness can go as deep as possible into me. Empower me, O Holy Spirit to be a witness to this world of hope and love and peace and redemption flowing from You to all who will respond in faith. O sweet Dove of Heaven, abide in me! Amen.

Song:
O Holy Spirit
Words: Michael Schirmer; Music: Philipp Nicolai

1. O Holy Spirit, enter in,
And in our hearts Your work begin,
Your dwelling place now make us.
Sun of the soul, O Light divine,
Around and in us brightly shine,
To joy and gladness wake us
That we may be Truly living,
To You giving Prayer unceasing,
And in love be still increasing.

2. Give to Your Word impressive pow’r,
That in our hearts from this good hour
As fire it may be glowing,
That in true Christian unity
We faithful witnesses may be
Your glory ever showing.
Hear us, cheer us By Your teaching;
Let our preaching And our labor
Praise You, Lord, and serve our neighbor.

3. O mighty Rock, O Source of Life,
Let Your dear Word, in doubt and strife,
In us be strongly burning,
That we be faithful unto death
And live in love and holy faith,
From You true wisdom learning.
Your grace and peace  On us shower;
By Your power  Christ confessing,
Let us see our Savior’s blessing.

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2018 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

Mark’s Gospel Devotions are also available from KingdomWinds.com