Fearlessly Courageous

Desk of Dennis Piller

2/17/2021

Jesus Spent 30 Years Preparing for Ministry

Jesus prepared for 30 years for 3½ years of significant ministry. It has been said, that people today go to Bible College for 3½ years to prepare for 30 years of ministry. I believe it is still true today, anything significant is preceded by intensive and thorough preparation. The Lord gave me an encouraging word Sunday about the direction I should take this week in our devotionals. He said to me, “Stay at it my son. Yours is the responsibility of the call.

I have responsibility for the rest. It is I who will stir their hearts to repentance and holiness.

You stay faithful and I will continue to surround and bless you. I equip the called. I fund my endeavors. Stay strong, vigilant, bold, and forward-moving. Trust my voice and direction. Your covering encompasses your children. I have them by name. Be encouraged, stay faithfully teaching them. The connection is mine. The spirit is mine, The Victory you are striving for is from Victory to Victory is mine.

You weep because they are your children but all these you speak my word to are my children and so too yours. Weep for them…interceded for them…war in the spirit for them, as your own”.

I thought what an encouraging word the Holy Spirit gave me. I seriously wept when he mentioned my kids but was so touched when he said all that I touch, and I take that to mean… we touch… are ours too. Because they are his and we are part of the same family.

“Weep for them…interceded for them…war in the spirit for them, as your own”.

I believe that word is true for all of us. It is what is supposed to happen when we pray in the spirit. When we intercede to God for his will to be done. Our prayers touch our family, our street, and our community along with our state and our nation. God sent John the Baptist to “prepare the way of the Lord” (Luke 1:11-17, 76-80; 3:1-6) So he also sends us! The son of God spent 30 years in preparation for His ministry. Can we not dedicate a little time each day to intercede and prepare for the day and lay seeds for the days ahead? One time each week to call our family together to pray? 10 times in Mark alone it says how the Holy Spirit moved powerfully and quickly. I think we have heard about the power of covenant in what we are freed from. But I believe there is another dimension of what we are called to possess. As the Israelites were called to follow the covenant, so our call and our command is to follow Christ, our high priest. That is where the realm of the supernatural becomes not just a distant mystery but rather the abiding place, the “Promised Land” for his New Covenant People! It seemed supernatural to me that today lent begins. And although I am no longer a Catholic, we, as a family, still believe in giving something up for lent to draw closer to God. Pope Francis calls on the faithful to “renew our faith, draw from the living waters of hope, and receive with open hearts the love of God.” God’s word to me was a call to family prayer and fasting for “The Storm” that is forthcoming. I believe Lent is a time to help us to be humble, repent from our self-direction, and cry out for God’s forgiveness and revival. He goes on to say that the journey of conversion, through fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, “makes it possible for us to live lives of sincere faith, living hope, and effective charity.” https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=l8pCbtLeXzc&list=RDAMVMl8pCbtLeXzc. Shane and Shane. I will wait for you. Psalm 130