March 4, 2014: Wilderness Challenge, Day One

Mark 9:1-29

Amplified Bible (AMP)

9 And Jesus said to them, Truly and solemnly I say to you, there are some standing here who will in no way taste death before they see the kingdom of God come in [its] power.

2 Six days after this, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves. And He was transfigured before them and became resplendent with divine brightness.

3 And His garments became glistening, intensely white, as no fuller (cloth dresser, launderer) on earth could bleach them.

4 And Elijah appeared [there] to them, accompanied by Moses, and they were holding [a protracted] conversation with Jesus.

5 And Peter took up the conversation, saying, Master, it is good and suitable and beautiful for us to be here. Let us make three booths (tents)—one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah.

6 For he did not [really] know what to say, for they were in a violent fright (aghast with dread).

7 And a cloud threw a shadow upon them, and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is My Son, the [most dearworthy] Beloved One. Be constantly listening to and obeying Him!

8 And looking around, they suddenly no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus only.

9 And as they were coming back down the mountain, He admonished and expressly ordered them to tell no one what they had seen until the Son of Man should rise from among the dead.

10 So they carefully and faithfully kept the matter to themselves, questioning and disputing with one another about what rising from among the dead meant.

11 And they asked Him, Why do the scribes say that it is necessary for Elijah to come first?

12 And He said to them, Elijah, it is true, does come first to restore all things and set them to rights. And how is it written of the Son of Man that He will suffer many things and be utterly despisedand be treated with contempt and rejected?

13 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and [people] did to him whatever they desired, as it is written of him.

14 And when they came to the [nine] disciples, they saw a great crowd around them and scribes questioning and disputing with them.

15 And immediately all the crowd, when they saw Jesus [returning from the holy mount, His face and person yet glistening], they were greatly amazed and ran up to Him [and] greeted Him.

16 And He asked them, About what are you questioning and discussing with them?

17 And one of the throng replied to Him, Teacher, I brought my son to You, for he has a dumb spirit.

18 And wherever it lays hold of him [so as to make him its own], it dashes him down and convulses him, and he foams [at the mouth] and grinds his teeth, and he [falls into a motionless stupor and] is wasting away. And I asked Your disciples to drive it out, and they were not able [to do it].

19 And He answered them, O unbelieving generation [without any faith]! How long shall I [have to do] with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to Me.

20 So they brought [the boy] to Him, and when the spirit saw Him, at once it completely convulsed the boy, and he fell to the ground and kept rolling about, foaming [at the mouth].

21 And [Jesus] asked his father, How long has he had this? And he answered, From the time he was a little boy.

22 And it has often thrown him both into fire and into water, intending to kill him. But if You can do anything, do have pity on us and help us.

23 And Jesus said, [You say to Me], If You can do anything? [Why,] all things can be (are possible) to him who believes!

24 At once the father of the boy gave [an eager, piercing, inarticulate] cry with tears, and he said, Lord, I believe! [Constantly] help my weakness of faith!

25 But when Jesus noticed that a crowd [of people] came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, You dumb and deaf spirit, I charge you to come out of him and never go into him again.

26 And after giving a [hoarse, clamoring, fear-stricken] shriek of anguish and convulsing him terribly, it came out; and the boy lay [pale and motionless] like a corpse, so that many of them said, He is dead.

27 But Jesus took [a strong grip of] his hand and began lifting him up, and he stood.

28 And when He had gone indoors, His disciples asked Him privately, Why could not we drive it out?

29 And He replied to them, This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting.

I love reading this account of Jesus being transfigured before the disciples. They had no clue what was happening. In fact, they were clueless a lot. Even though He was with them in the flesh, they walked with Him by sheer faith. Many thought Jesus was insane, going around claiming to be God. And I'm sure the disciples were considered insane by many as well. Leaving their jobs and families to follow this crazy man was pretty out there.

I'm going to digress and I'll come back eventually.

I have ongoing regret and shame in my life that needs to be gone once and for all. This is distracting me from keeping the main thing the main thing. I often awaken in the middle of the night with the dull ache of deep regret. Instead of an ache to win as many people to Jesus as possible before He comes back for His church. I am an old wineskin that needs to be restored. 

Matthew 9:17

Amplified Bible (AMP)

17 Neither is new wine put in old wineskins; for if it is, the skins burst and are torn in pieces, and the wine is spilled and the skins are ruined. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.

I keep thinking about Jesus being driven into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by the devil.

Matthew 4:1-11

Amplified Bible (AMP)

4 Then Jesus was led (guided) by the [Holy] Spirit into the wilderness (desert) to be tempted (tested and tried) by the devil.

2 And He went without food for forty days and forty nights, and later He was hungry.

3 And the tempter came and said to Him, If You are God’s Son, command these stones to be made [loaves of] bread.

4 But He replied, It has been written, Man shall not live and be upheld and sustained by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

5 Then the devil took Him into the holy city and placed Him on a turret (pinnacle, gable) of the temple sanctuary.

6 And he said to Him, If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, He will give His angels charge over you, and they will bear you up on their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone.

7 Jesus said to him, On the other hand, it is written also, You shall not tempt, test thoroughly, or try exceedingly the Lord your God.

8 Again, the devil took Him up on a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory (the splendor, magnificence, preeminence, and excellence) of them.

9 And he said to Him, These things, all taken together, I will give You, if You will prostrate Yourself before me and do homage and worship me.

10 Then Jesus said to him, Begone, Satan! For it has been written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone shall you serve.

11 Then the devil departed from Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

I continue to feel the Holy Spirit drawing ME into a wilderness experience. Who, ME??? Whoa!!! I don't want to, on purpose!, go into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. I always feel SORRY for Jesus when I read about His wilderness experience! Never once have I considered doing something like this on purpose. No way! And He is calling ME to do this??? 

How would I incorporate a wilderness experience into my schedule, anyway? Different types of fasting for 40 days, maybe? I have been throwing some ideas around. This leads me to... drumroll please.. 

I actually started this 40 day wilderness challenge yesterday. How did it go? Well, my first day was a little disappointing. My alarm went off at 3:50 and I fell back asleep. Because I went to bed at 11 the night before. So I will have to figure this out. Because it's impossible for me to get to bed at 8:30 every night due to my current schedule that I can't change much. What I'd like to do is get up at 4 a.m. and if needed on some days, take a nap from 6 to 7. I've actually done this many times and felt great the rest of the day. 

So anyway, when I awakened the second time at 6:30ish, I read my daily scriptures, blogged, then went to work. I was only able to pray for 30 minutes in the sanctuary at church. (I have a nice arrangement because I work at a church. =)) I'd say my first day of the wilderness challenge was less than great. But I'm trudging onward and not looking back!

Today, as I'm reading about my dear Jesus, I'm realizing that there are reasons He was able to be such a blessing to so many and perform all those miracles. Why, other than the fact that He was God in the flesh? He fasted and prayed a LOT.

I sometimes wonder, as the disciples did in Mark 9:28, why I'm not seeing more miracles in my own life and ministry. I think I've found the answer. 

So anyway, here goes day two! I'm pretty aprehensive about this whole thing and I'm wanting it to be over. 

"Jesus, I'll be honest here. I'm scared. Not of the devil. Not at all. He is just stupid. So stupid that he with the little "h" got himself kicked out of Heaven. The perfect, beautiful place. That's literally extreme stupidity in its highest form. What I'm scared of is failure. What If I strike out into the wilderness and fall flat on my face? And never move from where I am right now? Longing to be done with the junk that plagues me and hinders my ministry from moving forward? I need You more than ever before. Help me! I am weak and undone without You! I long to be a mighty warrior! 39 days to go and I can't do this without You. No way. I'm begging You. Please help me, Jesus. AMEN."