Take a few deep breaths to center your heart and your mind as you prepare to meet with God.

Meditation on God

The end of Matthew 28:20 says, “behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Take a moment and think about how God is always with you, even when you don’t see or feel Him.

Lesson

"One day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River. As Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.” The Spirit then compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness, where he was tempted by Satan for forty days. He was out among the wild animals, and angels took care of him. Later on, after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee, where he preached God’s Good News. “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” (Mark 1:9-15)

After a mighty display of Jesus’ power and authority in the 8 verses before, this passage shows us Jesus, the God of the universe, actually needing to prepare for his upcoming ministry. We don’t see him gathering supplies or making lesson plans to lessen his workload later–we see him go through relational preparation. If Jesus were just another appearance of a God who was one person, it wouldn’t make sense that God would be praising and consoling himself. Instead, Jesus is the Son of God the Father, and his strength, comfort, and confidence come from knowing that the Father is with Him by the power of the Holy Spirit. Like us, Jesus is going to have to go through a lot of really hard stuff in his life, but unlike us, He never sinned and never did anything to deserve any of it. He is going to have to deal with religious elites who think they know better than what God is telling him, with an oppressive government who does not value or care for him, and for stubborn people who just will not get what he is preaching about in his lifetime. Through this, what helps Jesus keep his head up and put one foot in front of the other is his relational closeness with the Father in the Holy Spirit. This is why the Spirit drives him out into the desert. There, his relationship with the Father and his reliance on the Holy Spirit is forged and tested to the limits. Only after this do we see Jesus step out into the public spotlight and start preaching that “The Kingdom of God is near: repent of your sins and believe the Good News.”

Examination

Take a moment and ask yourself this question: When in your life did you feel closest to God? Do you feel like you are close with God now? Do you feel like God is close to you?

Memory Verse

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me…no one will snatch them out of my hand." (John 10:27, 28b)