We were always meant to play this part…

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. ~  Matthew 4:1-2

It’s been ten years since I was led of the Spirit, away from my comfort zone and into the wilderness of sorts. Oswald Chambers writes of Jesus’ Transfiguration, “And when by obedience He had transformed His natural life into a spiritual life, earth had no more hold on Him.” In Friday’s P&FW, inspired by Maxwell’s GROWTH = CHANGE, I wrote, “Sometimes it takes 40 days in the wilderness…”

And now, ten years later, He is leading me away again, on this the fourth day of forty. The point of GROWTH = CHANGE is that there is no growth without change, and people unwilling to grow will never reach their potential. And, as Christians, our potential is nothing less than the sons and daughters our Creator has made us to be. Now, place yourself in the Matthew 17:1-13 sandals of Peter, James, and John as they beheld the radiant glory of the supernatural transformation before their very eyes…and ponder His promise to us in John 14:12, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

Now, I need to switch gears here in order to set the stage for the bigger picture. King Theoden from Lord of the Rings, who sits on his throne paralyzed, is bound to his seat by lethargy and passivity. He’s kept there by Grima Wormtongue, a weaselly servant who whispers dispiriting cowardly lies in his ear. Too many people on our screens, on our newspapers, in our schools and colleges, have been modern-day Grima Wormtongues who pour their cowardly lies in our ears and those of our children (loud applause). ~ Konstantin Kisin speaking at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship Conference in the UK ~ Konstantin Kisin’s HILARIOUS and INSPIRATIONAL Speech at ARC

In the UK!!! Where they are imprisoning people for “liking” a Pro-Life comment on social media. God, for the second time in ten years, has called me to the wilderness again. The last time it was 14 days; this time it’s 40 days because something massive is coming that I am nowhere near prepared for. And, brothers and sisters, if I am nowhere near prepared, I fear I am far from alone. What Konstantin Kisin so brilliantly described above is exactly what has been done to us  here in America as well, with one glaring difference; we are protected by our 2^nd Amendment, which they are desperate to eliminate, along with the rest of our Bill of Rights, our Constitution…AND US!

The Constitution is the bedrock and founding document establishing the construct, the rule of law, and the civilization we have built as Americans. Those who wish to undermine the Constitution, and strip away the rights enshrined therein, have aligned themselves against a stalwart group that has taken an oath to defend the Constitution against those very actions.  As military members we are used to thinking about enemies of the Constitution as being some sort of foreign threat. However, the battle lines have shifted, and domestic threats, including some from within our own government, are now coming after our inalienable Constitutional rights. ~ Naval Commander Robert A. Green, Jr, Defending the Constitution Behind Enemy Lines

There are three Biblical 40-day fasts in the wilderness I know of: Moses, when he ascended Mt. Sinai to receive man’s first instruction guide to life on earth. Elijah, unto a cave in Horeb the mountain of God, fleeing the persecution of Jezebel where God gave him his “new commission” which led to the prophesied end of Jezebel. And finally, our LORD Jesus upon receiving his new commission, the test of His mettle, and our ultimate salvation. Pivotal moments, each and every one.

I see us in an even greater and more desperate pivotal moment now because the spirit of Jezebel is very much alive and well, our own government, as Commander Green points out, has out-grimed Grima Wormtongue, and our churches who have disenfranchised themselves from the harsh realities of everyday life, are Theoden; paralyzed and bound to their pulpits and pews by lethargy and passivity. As Kris “Tanto” Paranto warned the ill-fated security team responsible for protecting the life of Ambassador Stevens in Benghazi in 2012, “I hate to rain on your parade ladies…but you’re not ready!”  

The wilderness, in my case, is a metaphor for unplugging and disconnecting. When I think of the profound revelation an unsaved man received on the Wyoming mountaintop in 2015, and how it has prepared me to climb higher to the next, I am filled with a wonderful spirit of adventure, as I shared with Pastor Mark just last night. I apologize in advance to those who look forward to the Sunday Morning Tune-ups (today’s will be the last until 3/30) and Prayer & Fast Wednesday INVITES, although I would urge you to continue the routine. In the meantime, I would encourage you all to find your own wilderness in the days ahead. Deception relies on noise.