Remember Who is on Your Team

Posted on by Pastor Lou

Read
Luke 4:1-2 NIV  
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. 

Reflect 
Have you ever run up against an opponent that was just too strong, too big, too much for you to handle? His nickname was “Little John” and he was anything but little. He played for the opposing high school football team and he was playing directly opposite me. At the end of that game I was exhausted and entirely defeated. I am not sure I was successful in even one play of that game. But not all was lost. My battle on the football field ended in victory because I did not play the game alone. A good team effort gave our team the victory. 

It certainly seems like Jesus was overmatched in his battle against the devil. For one thing, he was in the wilderness – a place where he was isolated and all alone. Nobody was coming to his aid. He was on his own and he was on Satan’s turf. And while he was out there, he was fasting. Physically, he was drained. 

You know how that feels, don’t you – to be spiritually overmatched? You feel like you are on your own and the devil keeps on coming. He tempts you with doubt: “If God really loves us, why did he let this virus happen and kill so many?”  He must not really mean what he says in his Word, “For God so loved the world …”  Sometimes it feels as if the devil and evil are winning the battle. Lord help my unbelief (Mark 9:24). 

Like my battle that day, which I just could not win and like the battle the world is facing against a virus, we are not alone. There is a world-wide team hard at work. Additionally, believers also have Jesus on their team. The one who faced the full onslaught of the devil and his schemes and was totally victorious. He stands with us in every battle including this battle against COVID-19.  

Remember Jesus! He went to battle for you. He crushed the devil and defeated all our enemies. Do not let fear and uncertainty push you down to defeat.  He gives you the weapons to defeat the devil in your daily life. As Paul declares to the Ephesian church, “Put on the whole armour of God…… and having done all, to stand.”  (Eph. 6:13). We may be in a difficult battle, but we know we will win the war against evil. 

Pray
Dear Jesus, thank you for defeating Satan for me. Thank you for equipping me with your Word that I might stand in the midst of trial, temptation and difficulty. Amen. 

Prepare

Posted on by Pastor Lou

This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
 make straight paths for him.'”
– Matthew 3:3-6 (NIV)

John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.  People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan.  Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

Reflect
God gave John the Baptist to prepare the way for the Lord’s first coming by preaching that people should “make straight paths for him.”

Prior to the late 90s the roads in Mwanza, Tanzania, even in the city, were all dirt or gravel. There was no asphalt to be found. Then one day in 1990 the road from the airport and coming into town was being paved. Asphalt eventually covered the road all the way to the Catholic Cathedral in the city. Shortly afterwards I learned that the Pope was coming to Mwanza. The city was preparing for the coming of the Pope.

Prepare is still an important message for us today. We prepare ourselves for Christ’s reign in our hearts and for seeing him at his second coming by believing his Word. We focus each and every day on Christ and are filled with the peace that he paid for our sins. God gave John the role in the first century. From the time that Jesus died and rose again he has called his followers to be the ones to prepare the way for his second and final coming when he comes to rule and reign forever more.

When people came out to hear John’s message, they were moved to confess their sins and they were baptized. The baptisms that John performed were “for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4). The Bible says, “Be baptized and wash away your sins” (Acts 22:16). Christians can look back on their baptisms and be assured that God has washed away their sins. If you have not been baptised it is a great milestone in your Christian life and a reminder of God’s promise to forgive you and bring you into His family.

Pray
Lord God, thank you for giving us your Son. Preserve us as loved ones of your family and help us prepare our hearts every day for you to live there and bless us. Amen.