Immediately after Jesus was baptized, “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” Now what kind of a Spirit would lead you into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil? While being tempted is not necessarily a pleasant feeling, there is something of deep, spiritual value to be found in being tempted. Learning how to deal with temptation is a necessary part of our spiritual journey. If we do not deal appropriately with things like self-destructive tendencies and lust for power ~ we will not be spiritually mature enough to live and act according to such principles as, “Thy will, not mine, be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Fear is our most primal response to the wilderness experiences we all occasionally encounter. Imagine if we replace fear with faith as our primary and primal response. Imagine if we give-in to the temptation to be as loving, supportive and positive toward the church of Jesus the Christ as we would be toward Jesus himself? Let us be as forward-facing, hopeful, supportive and faithful as we possibly can be as we embody the spiritual journey of Jesus the Christ ~ and our church ~ as we set our feet on the path that leads ~ where? ~ to resurrection!