People will claim, “We obey the Bible.” We follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, showing forth a spirit much like his. Yet, this couldn’t be further from the Truth.
One important act of Jesus Christ was his journey into the Wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights, where isolation connected him to Reality. No phones. No computers. No people. No Religion. No Church. Nothing but the Wilderness to appease the senses, in a lonely, but necessary environment where Humans can return to their origin. We also find this act in the Old Testament, where people spent time in isolation, deluging in Creation.
Today, we are living in much different times. The Christian ideal comes from a Building, Group, and an overwhelming schedule of Religious responsibilities. By the end of a work week, we’ve not only given a majority of our time to our employment, we are also inundated with Church, fundraisers, out of town meetings, and a host of other activities that can leave us empty in understanding and truth.
Can you imagine spending 40 days in the Wilderness, alone? What would happen to us and our ideas about life and faith if we were to totally disconnect from our daily woes, while connecting with only what G-d can create? Many wouldn’t be able to get through the first day, as the addictions of Society beckon the heart with great power to come back for more. We would realize how shallow our faith really is, and how in bondage we really are even though we claim liberty in our faith.
Instead, we run back to our buildings, our comforts, and our manmade inventions. Our phones have become the “Lifeline”, our jobs have become our “Security”, and the modern Society we live in is nothing more than a “Noose” around our neck. We don’t take the time to stop everything, put the brakes on, and find a mountain where we can experience the Wilderness to the point of a life changing experience.
How can we be the Children of "Light", when we don't even understand the basic element of where we came from; Dirt?
People will claim, “We obey the Bible.” We follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, showing forth a spirit much like his. Yet, this couldn’t be further from the Truth.
One important act of Jesus Christ was his journey into the Wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights, where isolation connected him to Reality. No phones. No computers. No people. No Religion. No Church. Nothing but the Wilderness to appease the senses, in a lonely, but necessary environment where Humans can return to their origin. We also find this act in the Old Testament, where people spent time in isolation, deluging in Creation.
Today, we are living in much different times. The Christian ideal comes from a Building, Group, and an overwhelming schedule of Religious responsibilities. By the end of a work week, we’ve not only given a majority of our time to our employment, we are also inundated with Church, fundraisers, out of town meetings, and a host of other activities that can leave us empty in understanding and truth.
Can you imagine spending 40 days in the Wilderness, alone? What would happen to us and our ideas about life and faith if we were to totally disconnect from our daily woes, while connecting with only what G-d can create? Many wouldn’t be able to get through the first day, as the addictions of Society beckon the heart with great power to come back for more. We would realize how shallow our faith really is, and how in bondage we really are even though we claim liberty in our faith.
Instead, we run back to our buildings, our comforts, and our manmade inventions. Our phones have become the “Lifeline”, our jobs have become our “Security”, and the modern Society we live in is nothing more than a “Noose” around our neck. We don’t take the time to stop everything, put the brakes on, and find a mountain where we can experience the Wilderness to the point of a life changing experience.
How can we be the Children of "Light", when we don't even understand the basic element of where we came from; Dirt?
I think that wilderness experiences can be metaphorical. In my case, God moved me across the country, away from all my friends and family, away from my happy church bubble, and a job that I loved, to a place where I only knew my (ex-)husband, and he spent every waking hour playing video games.
For years I asked over and over again "Why, God, Why?" until finally he told me:
Deuteronomy 8:2-3
New International Version (NIV)
2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
__________________
“There's such a lot of different Annes in me. I sometimes think that is why I'm such a troublesome person. If I was just the one Anne it would be ever so much more comfortable, but then it wouldn't be half so interesting.”
I think that wilderness experiences can be metaphorical. In my case, God moved me across the country, away from all my friends and family, away from my happy church bubble, and a job that I loved, to a place where I only knew my (ex-)husband, and he spent every waking hour playing video games.
For years I asked over and over again "Why, God, Why?" until finally he told me:
Deuteronomy 8:2-3
New International Version (NIV)
2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
And you needed to learn all that? And that was the best way God knew of to teach you?
__________________
Hebrews 13:23 Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty
And you needed to learn all that? And that was the best way God knew of to teach you?
Ehh...I don't know that I looked at it that way. I don't know that I subscribe to the "God makes these things happen" as much as I believe that he uses the things that happen to teach and strengthen us.
I don't think that I ever would have had the courage to question the things that I had been taught, if I hadn't felt I had nothing left to lose.
__________________
“There's such a lot of different Annes in me. I sometimes think that is why I'm such a troublesome person. If I was just the one Anne it would be ever so much more comfortable, but then it wouldn't be half so interesting.”
People will claim, “We obey the Bible.” We follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, showing forth a spirit much like his. Yet, this couldn’t be further from the Truth.
One important act of Jesus Christ was his journey into the Wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights, where isolation connected him to Reality. No phones. No computers. No people. No Religion. No Church. Nothing but the Wilderness to appease the senses, in a lonely, but necessary environment where Humans can return to their origin. We also find this act in the Old Testament, where people spent time in isolation, deluging in Creation.
Today, we are living in much different times. The Christian ideal comes from a Building, Group, and an overwhelming schedule of Religious responsibilities. By the end of a work week, we’ve not only given a majority of our time to our employment, we are also inundated with Church, fundraisers, out of town meetings, and a host of other activities that can leave us empty in understanding and truth.
Can you imagine spending 40 days in the Wilderness, alone? What would happen to us and our ideas about life and faith if we were to totally disconnect from our daily woes, while connecting with only what G-d can create? Many wouldn’t be able to get through the first day, as the addictions of Society beckon the heart with great power to come back for more. We would realize how shallow our faith really is, and how in bondage we really are even though we claim liberty in our faith.
Instead, we run back to our buildings, our comforts, and our manmade inventions. Our phones have become the “Lifeline”, our jobs have become our “Security”, and the modern Society we live in is nothing more than a “Noose” around our neck. We don’t take the time to stop everything, put the brakes on, and find a mountain where we can experience the Wilderness to the point of a life changing experience.
How can we be the Children of "Light", when we don't even understand the basic element of where we came from; Dirt?
Hello NotforSale,
Tell us more about your own 40 day wilderness experience. What was it like? What did you learn from it? Thanks!
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