Scripture
At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, and he was in the desert forty days being tempted by Satan.

Observation
Jesus goes to the Jordan River to be baptised by John. As He comes out of the water, the Spirit comes on Him and a voice comes from heaven confirming Jesus is God’s beloved Son.

At once the Spirit drives Jesus into the desert where He is tempted by satan for forty days. Then He goes to Galilee proclaiming that the Kingdom of God is here.

Application
Jesus goes straight from being baptised in the Holy Spirit into temptation, fasting and spiritual warfare. In fact, Mark says “At once the Spirit sent Him.”

Our spiritual experiences, including the baptism in the Holy Spirit are not about making us feel good. They are to make us strong to defeat the enemy.

Having defeated satan, Jesus sets out on His mission. We don’t have to completely overcome every temptation in our life and get everything perfect before we start working through God’s plan for our lives, but we do need to make progress away from serving satan and towards serving God.

Prayer
Lord give me strength to defeat the in in my life. Show me how to move towards your purposes and direct my steps in following you. Amen.

Scripture

His clothes became dazzling white, far whiter than any earthly bleach could ever make them.

Observation
Jesus takes Peter, James and John up to a high mountain. There, Jesus’ appearance is transformed and his clothes become whiter than any bleach could make them.

Elijah and Moses appear and talk with Jesus. Peter talks about building shelters. A cloud comes over and God speaks from the cloud.

Then it’s over. Jesus tells them not to tell anyone until after He has risen from the dead. They don’t tell anyone but they do wonder about what Jesus means by “rising from the dead.”

Application
The heavens break into a normal day.

Peter, James and John go up a mountain with Jesus expecting to get some extra teaching, maybe to pray. Instead heaven breaks in.

The veil is lifted and they see for the first time the true glory of Christ. Then God the Father speaks from a cloud, “This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to Him.”

Heaven is always just literally a footstep away; the presence of the glory of God constantly surrounds us.

In a sense nothing changed on that day, except that the disciples’ eyes were opened to see true reality.

Christians are charged with bringing heaven to earth, the kingdom of God present in the affairs of men.

We need to pray for an unveiling of our eyes to see what God is really doing around us.

Prayer
Open my eyes Lord that I might see you as you really are. Amen.

Scripture

So Jesus healed many people who were sick with various diseases and he cast out many demons. But, because the demons knew who he was, he did not allow them to speak.

Observation
Simon’s mother-in-law is sick with high fever, so Jesus goes to her bedside and He heals her.

That evening many sick and demonised people are brought to Jesus and He heals them.

The next morning Jesus rises before daybreak to go to a lonely place to pray. Then He sets off travelling throughout Galilee preaching and casting out demons.

Application
Jesus was a man of action and not just theory. He preached, “The Kingdom of God is here” and demonstrated it with healing and casting out demons.

In the midst of the ministry, Jesus always took time out for prayer. In this passage He goes off before dawn to commune with the Father. At other times we read of Jesus drawing away to pray or spending whole nights in prayer.

I am sure that the two biggest reasons that we see so few healings in Australia are lack of faith and lack of prayer. By and large we don’t seek the Father enough. And we don’t believe that He will heal us or our friends who need healing.

Prayer
Lord I believe; help my unbelief. Build in me the faith in you that moves mountains, heals the sick and raises the dead. Amen.