Refuge in the Word

Dear Weekly Readers! 

God’s Peace be with you! 

I am sure many of you have heard of the terrible storm that has hit the USA.   Many people have died, and billions of dollars of damage has been caused.   Millions of people are without power, and the weather is now cold.  There is much suffering.  In my area, the storm was not too bad.  We lost electricity for about 24 hours, but otherwise not much damage was done.  

Please pray for all the people suffering due to this storm.  Also, please pray for the elections that we have coming up next Tuesday.  We need Godly leaders.

May God Bless your week! John R. 

Refuge in the Word

Jesus is a pattern for us in everything.

We learn about Him in the natural and spiritual things of life. After Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, He immediately came up out of the water, and heaven opened to Him and the Spirit of God descended like a dove and rested on Him. The voice of God came from heaven saying, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased."

This voice is the Holy Spirit that lives within us. "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased"

is our spiritual foundation for both this life and for eternity, and was the introduction to what the Spirit was going to do next in Jesus' life. After He was baptized, the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. The Spirit of God may also lead us into a lifeless, barren and empty wilderness.

 In Matthew 4:2 we read: And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. Jesus spent this time thinking prayerfully about the meaning of the foundational words, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." God is able to reveal the meaning of those words. In fact, all Scripture is revealed in that statement. It is the great grace of God and the Holy Scripture that reveals why we are beloved and why He is well pleased with us.

As we are strengthened in the knowledge and understanding of those words, we become better prepared to meet the tempter (devil) when he comes against us. Like he did with Jesus in the wilderness, first he tempts us with bread (earthly things), saying, "Eat, and you will become fulfilled and satisfied." We know things won't satisfy. Jesus directed Satan to the Living God, and Satan immediately gave up.

Next, Satan brought Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple and stated, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down and the angels will come to Your aid." Again Jesus said, "It is written, thou shall not tempt the Lord thy God." Finally the devil offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if He would bow down and worship him. Jesus again directed Satan to God's Word: "It is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and Him only shalt thou serve."

Satan fled from the Word of God. You and I take refuge in the revealed Word of God. Our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is strengthened when we spend time in prayer and meditate on the Word of God. While preparing for service in the kingdom of God, we must first learn to live in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let us grow in faith by learning more about the Living Lord Jesus. Then He will be best able to use us in the service of His kingdom.

May the Lord bless you, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

Pastor Ansten Tretten