Yesterday I was fishing with pops. Now, sure the thermometer was dipping below the -35 degrees Celsius mark, but hey with a flat-screen t.v. and a satellite, you can still be on the Manitoba prairie in southern Texas at the same time. Arm chair fishing and hunting has been my new past-time as of late.

At the end of one of the shows the most interesting thing happened. A passage of scripture flashed across the screen during the end credits. So as curious and free for time as I am, I checked it out. There was nothing biblical about the show except that it was in the Bible Belt of the south. But I though maybe God was trying to say something, so I listened.

The passage was Hebrews 2:18. Which reads, “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

 

So as per usual, I’ve been searching and pondering what the Lord has been trying to say; and this is the revelation I have seen this week…

My first instinct is to look at it in the plain and white context of the words….he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted….Sure I’ve been tempted in the past (currently as well), and I know many people in the places I was at. Maybe I need to step out and reach more to these people I thought. Maybe there is some truth here, that’s for time to tell as the Lord reveals more. I’m patient.

But the other side of me also convicted me to hold on a minute and dive into the context a little bit deeper. Okay, so let’s look at the Book and the chapter. So I dove in. Jesus….he’s talking about Jesus! Makes sense, New Testament and all, but what is he saying?

Here’s my notes I took and wrote on my heart;

Jesus was made like his brothers, made just like me. In the flesh. Sure he was God, and that’s what I always knew deep down. He’s Jesus, he can handle anything…..but there’s more. Sure he can handle anything, but he’s 100% human. Okay move over intellect and open up more heart. 100% human. Tempted with comfort, fame, fortune, and release from the pain. Jesus didn’t budge. He didn’t give in to the temptation. He had power…as a human remember. And he overcame everything this world threw at him. The pressure was relieved when he didn’t even live by the standards of the world. He never had the worries of the world. That’s because he never worried about the things that the world was.

Jesus overcame. He left a story, a testimony. He’s saying, see look at it from my perspective and you’ll see a different picture. There IS more to this life. Life isn’t about what others think. Life isn’t about what you did in it. You’ll always be disappointed. Always failing yourself and others. You’ll never be good enough, ever.

 

Jesus is screaming; “But remember why I came…to bring you to a place where you can meet with God. A way that you may see him. You can feel him. Touch him. And understand him. Just look at the path I created through the desert of your desolate world. Lives surrounded by death and debris of hurt. Walk past it all. See it for what it is. All the simple pleasures are temporary. I say look deeper and face the temptations head on. Sure you have fallen once, twice, or even a lifetime full. Keep going. It’s about the here and now. Walk in MY footsteps. The path is laid out, it’s small. Only my footprints are visible. Look for them. When you seek with all your heart, you will find them.”

Christ left so the Spirit could come. And it hasn’t changed. The Spirit of God is here among us. We must desire it with all our hearts and walk in step with it. We must fill our hearts with praise and goodness so that we may be filled with the Holy Spirit. Then when temptation comes we can resist. We can walk in righteousness. We can walk in glory of overcoming the things of this world.

 

Give it a try. You can never fail God and he will never fail you. Desire Him. Learn to walk with Him. Learn to find Jesus’ footsteps. And don’t just desire it, step out and walk into the unknown. Step into FAITH. You’ll never be disappointed. Walk in the Glory and the fullness that is of Christ. Everything else WILL FALL SHORT. Why do you think we hurt, we feel pain in little and large things. Why do you think we have so many”issues” all around us. We’re living by the standards of this world.

Jesus Christ didn’t bring a new radical concept of what God wants. He’s always wanted a relationship with each and every last one of us. Each and every last one of His beloved children from Iraq, Canada, Myanmar, India, Mozambique, Russia, China, New Zealand. Jesus Christ was different and still is different than this world thinks, that’s why he’s so crazy.
But deep down in the Father’s Heart, God’s heart; that passion and desire for a relationship so personal and intimate with each and everyone of us hurts him so deeply everyday. He is the pursuer with his lover walking away every moment of everyday. How deep the Father’s love for US.
 
Christ was everything God is saying as he reaches out to us. It’s up to us to stop rejecting him and actually listen to what he has to say.

 

Because I guarantee you that the hurts and pains around us will be NOTHING once you see the EVERYTHING that Jesus IS!!