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"But hope is like a windowpane to the future."


A thought by Charles R. Swindoll, from his book, Jesus: 09 (Great Lives Series) (p. 64). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

That is a great way to put it, isn't it?

Charles says, "It’s clear enough, but you can see only a reflection of what’s behind you if your focus isn’t
right. The people of Judah made the mistake of thinking the Messiah would merely recapture the glory days of King David and merely turn the world into a Jewish empire. In other words, they hoped the Messiah would bring them the same power and prosperity they once enjoyed, only magnified and multiplied. Given their exclusive worship of God, that’s not a bad wish, but compared to the reality that lay before them, it was a wispy, unsubstantial likeness of former glory. That was the old covenant; God had a new covenant in mind. The new would build upon the old in order to provide God’s people much more than mere temporal power and material wealth. It would be a new kind of abundance."

He goes on, "Before officially beginning His public ministry, Jesus would figuratively retrace the steps of the Hebrew people through the wilderness. There, in the rugged Judean hill country, He would also face the temptations that cause kings and their kingdoms to fail so miserably. After a brief time with some potential disciples, He departed for the desert for an extended period of solitude and fasting. Matthew states emphatically that Jesus went there specifically 'to be tempted by the devil' (Matthew 4:1). The Greek verb rendered 'tempt' means 'to try to learn the nature or character of someone or something by submitting such to thorough and extensive testing.' In other words, Jesus went into the desert to confront His enemy and throw down the gauntlet. He would prove Himself to be the legitimate shepherd of Israel by overcoming the temptations that had undone all of Israel’s previous kings, including His mighty ancestor, King David."

He continues, "After Jesus had spent forty days with only water to drink, Satan confronted Him with a proposition: 'If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread' (Luke 4:3). On the surface, it was a reasonable suggestion. The time had come for Jesus to break His fast, He was hungry, and the power of the Almighty was, after all, His to use. So why not use that power to meet a legitimate need? But Jesus came to earth to be the man all other men failed to be and to become the king Israel had always needed, a king who would depend upon God completely and serve Him consistently."

He then says, "Though His stomach growled after forty days of hunger, He enjoyed abundance. Jesus came to establish a new kingdom based upon complete trust and dependence upon God, not the kind of abundance that can be eaten for nourishment or traded for gain."

And that is what we really need to see. We too need to depend upon God completely and serve Him consistently, don't we? Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning


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