Life Capsule for Today Date 1st May, 2023
Theme: Appreciating wilderness experiences (2)
Memory Verse: Isa 43:2 When you go through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not go over you: when you go through the fire, you will not be burned; and the flame will have no power over you.
Topic: God’s love pushes us into the wilderness
Today’s Reading: Mat 3:16 -17
16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Mat 4:1-2
1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
Words of the Ministry:
Yesterday we saw that we are God’s most cherished creature and some of the wilderness experiences we have is not borne out of hatred from God but love. We saw that they are classes arranged by God to bring the best out of us. God arranges such situations to make us like his son Jesus Christ (Rom 8.28-30). Today, I like to further comment in the wilderness experience of Jesus as we would be applying it to our lives in the course of the week. Although in Jesus case it lasted for 40 days and it preceded his ministry one would realize that the experience was initiated by God himself and the goal was to ensure Jesus conquers the lust of the eyes, flesh and the pride of life as an example to us and a victory to humanity. The tempter came and we would even notice that the temptation and his actions seemed to occupy better part of the episode but notwithstanding, the Holy Spirit was there to grant him victory.
Yesterday we saw that God allows his children to pass through the wilderness and like in the case of Jesus, the devil may seem to be at the forefront occupying better part of the episode and events but I like to encourage us that just as the Holy Spirit led Jesus and was with him, God is also with us in our trying time. Regardless of our experiences, God know about it and his goal is not to destroy us or to make us a laughing stock rather it is to build us and make us master the flesh such that the things of this world would not control our lives. We see in the case of Jesus, he was hungry, that was normal after 40 days fast but hence the offer came from the devil, he chose go bear hunger than to get instant sinful gratification. What that means is that as we learn from our challenging situation, we must look out for traps that seem to be a breakthrough but are indeed a pit and a snare from Satan.
Dear saints, just like in our contemporary world, a test comes before a promotion and such test is to ensure we have mastery of the subject matter. So are our organic lessons, it is never assumed, we must pass through certain tests to be sure we have mastered our situation. As a result of God’s love, he allows us to encounter such situations that makes it seem as though we are alone, God is not with us, the brethren have taken sides with the devil etc. At such times, we may even talk carelessly, act wrongfully and argue the reason behind scriptural promises. That has led many to have erroneous believes about God and the bible today because they never learnt the wilderness experiences we face at various times in our live us part of the Journey. Join us tomorrow as we consider when God is silent in our wilderness. Christ is our life.
Bible in One Year: 2 Kings 1-3
For further fellowship send us an email on info@godman.org.ng or visit our youtube channel: @godmanmedia, our website is www.godman.org.ng. You can also interact with us by dropping your comments on our facebook page. Our physical meeting (PENIEL) comes up once a month, every last Sunday of the month from 4pm to 6.30pm at Embraze Event Center, Opposite Tipper Garage, Before the Train Station, Byazhin Kubwa Abuja