And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. How would it feel if the God of the Universe said to you, "Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased"? I cannot think of a truth more important than the knowledge that I am God's child. While I may not hear God's verbal approval, I can know that God is pleased with me when I feel the Spirit in my life. Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be with God. Near the end of his fast, Jesus went into the wilderness. With all the distractions around us, the wilderness is a place where we can feel near to God. Going into nature, we only hear and see the sounds and sights of God's creation.
The verse states that Christ was led "up" into the wilderness, suggesting he went to an area of high elevation. Since the days of Adam, prophets have gone to mountains to commune with God. Moses spoke face to face with God on a mountain. (See Moses 1:27-30.) Traveling to a high mountain is "symbolic of leaving Earth and approaching heaven itself." (See http://www.ldsphilosopher.com/blog_posts/temple-preparation-class-lesson-1/.) Despite being led by the Spirit up to the wilderness, Christ was tempted by the Devil. Even when we are trying to do the right thing--trying our very best to follow the Spirit--we will face the Devil's temptations. However, each of us has the ability to follow Christ's example and resist the temptation. "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." (1 Corinthians 10:13.)
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For anyone interested, I have a professional blog titled The Instructional Designer's Toolkit where I share tools and inspiration for instructional designers and e-learning developers.
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