The Wilderness Chronicles; Day 10

When the tempter speaks...

After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the son of God, tell these stones to become bread". Jesus answered, "It is written: Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' Matthew 4:2-4

My phone rings, the display unit shows 'Private number', I hesitate; I like knowing what to expect before I pick! "Hey dearie, please let me in, forgot my keys at work",I smile, check the door and let my sister/friend/neighbour in, I don't recognise the number but I know the voice. The voice determines the response, if I don't recognise the voice, the door does not open.

Jesus was hungry, the Bible acknowledges it and he hears a voice that tells him to turn stones to bread, it is in His power to do so for He has spent the last forty days in the wilderness in preparation for the ministry His father has given Him and yet through the cravings for food, He recognises this voice, it is not the Father, it is the tempter. It makes me wonder, why I do the things I do, when I do the things I do, am I listening to the Father or am I listening to the tempter?

Do I recognise the voice of God as clearly as I do my mum or dad's, for 2010 to be the best year yet I realise that I must first recognise the voice of the Lord and then heed it. Recognition comes with intimacy, sometimes I try to play pranks on my friends by pretending to be someone else on the phone but they see right through it because they know my voice. 2010 is about being led by the Holy Spirit, my sheep hear my voice and obey. What would have been the lot of Jesus if he had thought that the voice of the tempter was the voice of God and he obeyed!

So how do I recognise the voice of the tempter? Work hard on recognising the voice of 'real McCoy', bank workers are taught to identify genuine bills, there are too many counterfeits out there, energy is wasted learning about the fakes, focus on knowing the real article so much that warning signs ring when the fake stuff comes up. 2010 has to be a year of spending time with the Father, learning His ways, walking His paths. When the tempter speaks, speak the Word back to Him. The tempter is sly, he knows the Word so we must know even more of the Word, the voice of the Lord will never contravene the Word. When in doubt, pray and seek spiritual counsel but I want to cultivate an even deeper relationship with God so when He speaks it's the obeying bit I have to work on and not who is this?

We cannot be successful without hearing and following the voice of God. He speaks but am I listening? Help me Lord, I'm tuning my ears to the right frequency.

Remain blessed and highly favoured. 2010 is our year of 'The Lord has done this' and rise of the eagles, which includes you.