Two days ago, right before sunrise, I had a waking dream. There was no vision and everything was dark. I heard a voice say, "Matthew 4:1-4." Then, I heard “Luke 4:1-4.”
I asked, "Lord, which is it?" He repeated the same words, "Matthew 4:1-4" "Luke 4:1-4.” Upon waking, I reached for my phone to put the verses in my Bible app. I was shocked when I saw that both verses said the same things. Both scriptures were about Jesus being tempted in the wilderness. Almost right after I read them, another verse came to mind, Romans 8:38-39: "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Once again, I sat in awe at the Lord's magnitude. His Holy Spirit is truly alive and active. As I laid there in reverent speechlessness, I knew there was more to the message. There is always more. I used the Blue Letter Bible to look up the word for "word" in Matthew 4:4, "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God" The Greek word for "word" in this scripture is "rhema." I was surprised because I thought for sure that it was "logos." While I have a difficult time explaining rhema, rhema is how the Lord talks to me most. I have a hard time explaining to people what the difference between logos and rhema are, so let me just put the definitions I found on Google that made it easy for me. According to the Institute of Basic Life Principles (IBLP): iblp.org/questions/what-rhema. Logos—The Word of God There are two primary Greek words that describe Scripture which are translated word in the New Testament. The first, logos, refers principally to the total inspired Word of God and to Jesus, Who is the living Logos. Rhema—The Spoken Word The second primary Greek word that describes Scripture is rhema, which refers to a word that is spoken and means “an utterance.” A rhema is a verse or portion of Scripture that the Holy Spirit brings to our attention with application to a current situation or need for direction. This morning I wrote a poem to honor God for sharing with me his utterance. Here it is: It was the Holy Spirit who led Jesus into the wilderness, a land of bliss it was not. Desolate and in despair, with sand everywhere, it was a dry land full of bones. There was no care to bring forth life. It's only mission was to choke on strife. Without water there's only the ocean's floor. The land of living was no more. Jesus stepped in and entered this land. This is where he made his stand. He and Spirit followed the Father’s voice. They walked for 40 days and 40 nights. Body depleted from its own energy He held on tight to Spirit’s might. Hungry within, Jesus prepared his mind to withstand sin when it tried to enter in. It was in this place the enemy approached, promising grace from reproach. Satan took out his sword and wielded his lies; He offered hope instead of demise. “If you are the true Son of God, then turn these stones into bread.” Jesus's identity was attacked with hopes to appease the flesh. This is the place the enemy starts, he cuts to the chase and attacks the jugular of death. If he can get you to doubt who you are, then you will be decapitated from your true Father. You will walk around, looking to the wind, desperately seeking trying to find him. This is the seed that enemy plants, in the souls of parched men. But Jesus the man was also God. He knew how to fight with law and command. “For it is written that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.” Spirit swelled up so FULL of POWER. He shot down the enemy who came for devour. The enemy continued three times in a row, to entice the Lord by showing him how his power could grow. But Jesus responded the same way every time. With Logos and Rhema, combined into one. I know who I am, I am the true Son. “The scriptures say”, declared with a powerful command. “Get out of here, Satan.” “I will only serve him.”
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