I'd like to share this wonderful gift of wordsmith with all who are in the midst of their Lenten journey. It's taken from the devotional "A Slice of Infinity" and was written by the talented Margaret Manning Shull.

The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to him.(1)

The Gospel of Mark begins with this intriguing narrative of the Spirit compelling Jesus into the wilderness to be tested and to make his home among wild beasts. The original Greek language is so forceful as to imply that the Spirit literally expelled Jesus into this land of wild beasts and satanic attack. It is even more striking when compared to Matthew and Luke’s gospels, which both suggest that Jesus was “led by the Spirit” who accompanied him into the wilderness.(2) Despite Matthew and Luke’s gentler version, the point is still the same: the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tested and tormented by the devil. It seems natural to ask why the Spirit would compel Jesus into the wilderness.

The history of Israel and particularly the Exodus from Egypt gives some perspective on this question. After four hundred years of oppression and enslavement, God sent Moses to deliver the people and to lead them into the Promised Land. A great drama ensues between the “gods” of the Egyptians and the God of Israel. Ten plagues fall, the sea is parted, and the Egyptian army is swallowed up by the raging waters. And then we read: “Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water…. and the whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.”(3) Israel would spend the next forty years, the text tells us, wandering in that wilderness of lament and bitterness with God being put to the test. Would God provide for their needs or would they come out of Egypt only to die in the desert? From the narrative’s perspective, what began as a great deliverance stalls in the wilderness of the Sinai.

Like Israel before him, Jesus’s story, as recorded by Mark, begins with great drama. John the Baptist announces the Deliverer: Israel’s exile was over, for the Messiah had come. The Deliverer is baptized by John and in front of the crowds declared “the beloved Son” of God. What a tremendous beginning to his earthly ministry. And yet, like Israel, Jesus begins that earthly ministry not with healings and miracles, or with fanfare and great teachings, but by being “immediately cast out into the wilderness.”

As many biblical commentators have suggested, Jesus was re-enacting the great history of Israel in his own life and ministry. He was Israel’s Messiah, their deliverer, just as Moses had been. Yet, like Israel, Jesus would be tested and his test had to precede entry into the Promised Land. Jesus would be put to the test—would he provide for his people as their Messiah, their deliverer? Counter to the expectations of the people, this Deliverer would be crucified and offer his life as the means by which salvation was offered.

For Christians, Lent is a season in which the journey through the wilderness precedes Easter morning. Of course, what is enacted in the season is very much a part of lived experience of many in our world. Many dwell in wilderness spaces of suffering, disappointment, doubt, or sin. Promised lands of hope, fulfillment, and healing seem far off and foreign. In these lands, what do we do? Who will we turn to? In what, or in whom, do we place our trust? And, when put to the test, have the ‘gods’ we have chosen to save us prove to be true?

The journey of life is a journey that inevitably runs through the wilderness. We cannot escape it, nor can we go around it. And yet, in the life of Israel God brings bread from heaven and water from a rock in their wilderness sojourn. God was with them in the desert. Moreover, the gospels present a God who in Jesus Christ did not seek to escape the wilderness either, but was compelled into it. In his own testing, Jesus reveals that a new kind of life can be found even in those seemingly deserted places—God provides even there. While we will often wander in the wilderness, with God’s help we can indeed be transformed by it.

Margaret Manning Shull is a member of the speaking and writing team at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Bellingham, Washington.

(1) Mark 1:12-13.
(2) Matthew 4:1; Luke 4:1.
(3) Exodus 15:22; 16:2.

"Mother Teresa once gave an interview to Hello! magazine. She was asked the question, 'Is it only the affluent who give?'

She replied, 'No, even the poorest of the poor give. The other day a very poor beggar came up to me and said, "Everyone gives to you and I also want to give you twenty paisa" - which is about two pence. I thought to myself, what do I do? If I take it he won't have anything to eat, but if I don't take it I would hurt him so much. So I took, and he was so happy because he had given to Mother Teresa of Calcutta to help the poor. Giving cleans the heart and helps you get closer to God. You get so much back in return.'

Generosity is not just a nice character trait that people have. It is right at the heart of what our faith is all about. C.S. Lewis defined Christianity as 'a kind of giving'. God has poured out his generosity to you in Jesus (John 3:16), and you are called to respond in faith and generosity to others. The key to blessing is generosity - 'the righteous give generously' (Psalm 37:21)."

How do we give? Better yet what are we to give? Time? Money? Talent? Love? Wisdom? Patience? From our hands to our hearts give generously. And you will be blessed.

I borrowed this generously from Alpha's Devotional "Read the Bible in One Year 2017" from the Bible app.

Consider a relationship you are in. Your marriage, a team at work, a new or old friendship, or maybe with a doctor or contractor. Unless you're a hermit or recluse, you are always faced with being in a relationship. Some are more intimate than others.

Because we only have control over the way we enter and behave in our relationships, it is not possible to judge their success accurately. Yet we do. What does "a successful relationship" look like to you?

Again, consider a relationship you are in. How would you define it? Or what goals have you set for it? If it's a personal relationship, is it safe to say that one of the goals is to become closer and more intimate? Perhaps its a business partnership, is your goal to lesp up the ladder and make lots of money? Or maybe to grow the company to be the best in its field?

We can work hard, put in the long hard hours, make the money and grow the business and still not be content or feel successful. We can be fully committed and fully present in a marriage, and it can still fall apart. Why is this?

Relationships are tricky, and the more you want them to be successful the more likely they are to harm you or let you down. Why? Maybe it's in the way we define what success is, what it's suppose to look like and how it's supposed to act. Yet one person's definition might be different from the other. And that is where the problem begins.

Mother Theresa, the newly daunted and probably the most famed Roman Catholic nun and missionary in our lifetime said, "I do not pray for success, but instead I ask for faithfulness." This prayer can go two ways: our faithfulness to God and God's faithfulness to us.

Faithfulness (or unfaithfulness) is what defines us and our place in relationships, be it with others or with God. It not only makes us vulnerable but also gives us strength. Best of all, it keeps us honest, focused, and always moving forward towards a better goal.

Jesus puts faithfulness alongside of justice and mercy (Matthew 23:23). In Galatians, Paul writes, Faithfulness is the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22). It has and is the power to transform relationships to be more fruitful and loving.  

The success of God at work in our life, and in the world around us goes back to the covenant promise God made to humanity and to all creation. The world, in my opinion, would be in worse chaos if God was not faithful to the grace and mercy of pure divine love. And it is in that faithfulness that still defines the bar we set as we enter into every relationship.

God's faithfulness towards us gives us the examples to follow and teaches us how how we are to be and behave with our Creator. As the product of such faithfulness begins to grow, it also begins to overflow in our daily lives; our marriages, friendships and partnerships, from the most intimate to the most benign.

By following God's example, asking to be faithful and not merely successful, we begin to live fully and freely in the grace and mercy that is given to us in perfect love by God. It is here, fully alive in God through Christ, we become more faithful to ourselves and to our call to love and care for others.

As St. Teresa demonstrated so well, harder we work towards being faithful to God, the easier it becomes to be successful in all we set out to do. Our relationships begin to flourish, love and trust begins to deepen, and fear (I.e., of failure) dissipate allowing us to live fully and freely as God intended.

Take a moment to think about how faithfulness can redefine your relationship with a loved one or a stranger.

At the last funeral I officiated, the cousin who spoke of the deceased said this, "Kevin had a philosophy that there are some things money can fix, and somethings it just can't."

There are those who have the financial means to fix the stuff that breaks down in their lives; a car, an old termite ridden fence, worn out wardrobe. Most people who are lucky enough to have the cash on hand often discount themselves as being "blessed." And in many ways they are.

But what does that say about those who are unable to keep their head above water when things aren't broken in their life? Are they "less blessed?"

As I write this thought, I am sitting outside in the warm sunshine while others I know are stuck indoors escaping the freezing cold. I am also sitting in the backyard of my home while less than a mile away from a makeshift "skidrow" where men and women and families who have lost everything do their best to survive. Am I really more blessed than them? I, like them, have no job, no income coming in.

And as I sit in the warmth of my fenced in backyard, I begin to see wasp nest forming on my tattered roof, I see a fence that is held up by rope, and spots along the deck where the termites have returned. I see these things and fear begins to overtake me. The sun no longer feels warm but angry...like it's going to make my grass wither and die if I don't spend money to water it.

Have you ever felt that fear? Whether you are one with money or one without or somewhere in between, I'm sure you've experienced that heavy weight that living in this world places on us. I struggle with this, moreso now that I am not working. What will we need to sacrifice in order to fix the fence? What will one child have to go without because another needs cleets for softball? These are legitimate concerns for many in this world. But it doesn't mean we are any less blessed.

How do you see the blessings in front of you?

Looking back at Kevin's philosophy, there are some things money can fix. Money can fix termite damage, broken fences, wasp nest and bad roofs. But money can't fix me. I am broken and in constant need of repair. And yet, there is God...with a set of God wrenches in hand...ready to repair and redeem me. Free of charge. The repair bill has been paid for. A blessing that levels the field so all can participate in life, restored and renewed.

What money can't fix, God does. In fact, God already has. That is the Blessing we are given. Blessed are those who are called children of God.