Good Thursday January thirteenth as we learn together from God’s Holy Word.
Immediately-
You hear skeptics say today if I can touch, talk and hear from God I will then listen and maybe believe, but from where I stand God neither speaks nor makes His way known to me. Once many of us made such statements and even today we may still have unanswered questions, but if we are wise meaning we seek to know truths we must all start at the beginning. Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Philosophers were told to present reasoned facts truths not just beliefs and opinions, so in science the examination of all the facts was birthed to test beliefs and with this system to process and work things out by taking all data that would come to a scientific answer. Today we have somewhat an agreement that something outside an intelligence has designed what we have. Now here is where we add philosophy back into the process, some say aliens left ooze or slime and over millennia time’s life as we see it transformed from ooze to our world. The Word carefully says that our world was created to support life as we know it by God who spoke life into existence. Gen. 1:3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.” Gen. 1:6a “Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters.” Gen.1:26a “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” Not a mistake rather the plan from our creator. Mark speaks to the church and documents that God not just created this world but is responsible for His creation. Because sin rebellion exists God Himself entered this world to remove all sins and make the pathway to become sinless before God. Mark begins his gospel by first documenting that Jesus, as He was baptized, that the Father spoke as He did at creation and declared Jesus to be the One that would bring salvation to the world and the Holy Spirit appeared as a peaceful Dove in the air where the voice was speaking. Let’s read together from Mark 1:12-13 “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.” Mark will use the word immediately along with the word straightway some eight times just in this opening chapter of his gospel. What this shows is the speed that Mark shares the gospel message. Other gospels give more details about Jesus in the wilderness where Satan tempted Him, Matthew 4:1 “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” Mark speeds past saying that Satan tempted Jesus and just after being baptized and announced as the savior of the world Jesus is taken to the wilderness by the Holy Spirit where Jesus would break the chains of Satan. Satan offered everything to Jesus if Jesus would submit to him. Matthew 4:9-10 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” 2 Pet 3:8b “that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” The forty days were as the years the Israelites were in the wilderness. A master plan, are you in His plan? Remnant
