“The Spirit then compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness, 13 where he was tempted by Satan for forty days. He was out among the wild animals, and angels took care of him.” Mark 1:12 NLT
“Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.” Luke 4:1-2 NLT
“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.” Matthew 4:1-2 NLT
Lord God Almighty,
I cannot imagine a 40 day fast though I have heard of people who have tried it with some medical supervision. I am glad we are called to have faith and not have to try to be anything but human! And Jesus shows us how to handle difficult situations. Like temptation. Jesus said, “There will always be temptations to sin, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting!” (Luke 17:1) It is not all answered prayer and peace when we become Christians, but there is a way to get peace back. Jesus proved he knew His scripture when in the wilderness, Your Words, He was the Word! He silenced the devil with Your truth. “People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4 “You must not test the Lord your God.” Matthew 4:7 “You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.” Matthew 4:10.
How often after a spiritual high, comes a low or an attack or a temptation or even a fellow Christian letting us down. Jesus said that was to be expected. We live in a fallen world and the devil has not been finally silenced yet. But let it not be us causing trouble! Jesus suffered physically, mentally and emotionally in the wilderness and showed us how to turn to You Father. To survive as more than a conqueror (Romans 8:38-39) and to come out stronger.
You feed us truth to counter lies. You ask us not to try to be You but to ask, seek and find You in all our situations for our best. To check that nothing else has taken the place of You in our hearts and lives and cast it out if it has. No-one said it would be easy being a follower of Jesus and our faith is not a prop as some people think. It is a way of to live in love, in hope and in trust.
In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
Worship Tuesday 21st October 2025
This is a sobering hymn. But we have Jesus with us.
Jesus walked this lonesome valley;
He had to walk it by himself.
Oh, nobody else could walk it for him;
He had to walk it by himself.
We must walk this lonesome valley;
We have to walk it by ourselves.
Oh, nobody else can walk it for us;
We have to walk it by ourselves.
You must go and stand your trial;
You have to stand it by yourself.
Oh, nobody else can stand it for you;
You have to stand it by yourself.
Lyrics: Although listed as an American folk hymn in most hymnals, it appears that its origins may be found in a conflation of the Appalachian folk song tradition and the African American spiritual. The song, known as part of a group under the theme of “journey songs,” appears in The Faith We Sing as one of many variants, much simplified and adapted both in text and melody.