The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness where He was confronted by the devil. Some render this merely a psychological exercise for Jesus, but the plain reading the text does not support that position. Jesus was tempted by the devil not by Himself. Jesus never had a problem of accepting the reality of satan.

Upon the heals of the wilderness encounter, Jesus is led by the Spirit to begin His ministry in Galilee where in enters the synagogue at Nazareth. There He reads Isaiah 62:1,2 and applies it to himself as the fulfillment of the prophecy.

¹⁸‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, ¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour’ (Luke 4).

Jesus knew his purpose and mission in life. In this inauguration of his ministry he clearly states why his Father sent him into the world. The rest of his earthly ministry would be the fulfillment of the divine design of him. All of this culminating in the cross.

If Jesus conformed to the plans that God had for him, how much more I need to open myself up to his divine plan and sacrifice my plans for his.

When I was a child my parents often visited my Grandparents in a small town about 20 miles from our home. There was a standing rule established by my grandparents: If you visit us on Sundays come before church and attend with us, come during church and wait for us to return from church, or wait until church is over. I remember as child attending church with my parents and grandparents in their small, village church...it was the "law"!

This single act of my grandparents has stayed with me throughout the years. Their faith was the most important possession in their lives and they made it clear to everyone else that it was so! Their attitude permeated through my parents generation and, to me. Attendance at church, though not legalistically dictated, is essential for me. As the writer of Hebrews posed it: ²⁴²⁵

Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching (Hebrews 10:23-25 nrs).