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| "Now!"
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 There
were years—no, decades—of shaping and trying, of testing and
forging. There was a perfection of timing, a perfection of
obedience, a specific millisecond that had been ordained since the
foundations of the universe, that had to be waited upon, and
waited upon, and then waited upon some more. But suddenly, He
was there, kissing His mother goodbye, packing a modest satchel,
walking away from every companionship and security He'd ever known,
and exploding like a rocket of magnificence from the muddy waters of a
Jordan baptism. "At once, the Spirit sent Him out into the
desert . . ."
Forty
days. It must have felt like 40 years. No food, no water,
no shelter—alone. Cold, wind, sweat—and time. Time to
think, time to reflect, time to long for the sweet warmth of His
Nazareth yesterday and tremble at the ordained horror of His Golgotha
tomorrow. Time to collapse at His Father's feet and cry out for
something—anything—to eat, to drink, to shield, to protect, to give
Him the strength to make it through the next day—no, the next hour,
the next five minutes. And when given the opportunity to satisfy
Himself and deny the humanity that would spit in His face just a few
short years later and for generations upon generations, He looks
earthly goodness in the face and triumphantly belts, "Away from
Me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and
serve Him only.'" It
was then that the devil left Him. It was then that His Father
smiled a smile that engulfed the very cosmos and magnificently
whispered what He'd longed to whisper for centuries upon centuries: "Now!"
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Text and photo taken from
Jesus...Yesterday, Today, Forever, by Bruce
Marchiano (p. 27-29). In Jesus...YTF, you'll taste what only a
handful of people tasted 2,000 years ago as Jesus walked among His
most treasured, beloved creation: people. Filled with
breathtaking color photos from The Visual Bible™'s "Matthew."
Jesus...Yesterday,
Today, Forever. Copyright © 1999 by Bruce Marchiano. Published by Harvest House
Publishers, Eugene, Oregon 97402 and Visual
Entertainment, Dallas, Texas 75248. Used on www.LoveLavished.org
by permission.
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