Day 11 - Am Gonna Learn Ya Summut

Hymn - What a friend we have in Jesus

Scripture - Luke 4:1-2

1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. (NIV)

Prayer – Father, may your Holy Spirit guide me and help me to understand more fully what Jesus endured for me – amen.

Am gonna learn ya summut. (Translation – Come over here because I would like to share something which will be to your advantage.)

Those words still reverberate through my soul even though they were last uttered almost 50 years ago. These five words were the playground rallying cry for young boys who wished to impose their will on others. To be honest, it was more of a threat than a request. You were expected to listen and obey. If not, then you would learn the hard way. Yet, despite the aggressive overtones there was a certain warmth and affection and transfer of advice from the alpha male to someone lower in the food chain. You know, experience being passed on. Happy days, and happy memories.

Similar memories and associated feelings came flooding back once I started keeping my fresh style journal. Gone are the formal structures of written appointments, lists, categories, sub-categories, and reminders. These have been replaced by vocal recordings, photographs, drawings, painting, prayers, poems, and personal expressions. What a joy. My life feels so much more enriched and expressive. My journal has become a feast for the senses, and an extension of my reflective prayer life with God.

Back to the hymn, What a friend we have in Jesus. Verse two begins, ‘Have we trials and temptations?’ and later followed by,’ take it to the Lord in prayer.’ And why can we do this? We take it to the Lord because he has suffered trials and temptations. Let us not forget that Jesus was tempted for 40 days and 40 nights (See Mark 1:12-13, Matthew 4:1, and Luke 4:1-2 above). And that is what lent should be all about, sharing in Christ's suffering.

How are you sharing with Christ during lent? Are you spending time in prayer and communicating with and through the Godhead? Are you asking whether Jesus was both hot and cold, how strong was the wind, did the Sun play havoc with his skin? Are you sharing your experiences in glorious technicolour, with emotion? Are you actively seeking the Holy Spirit to help you share more fully and personally with God? Do you spend time just listening, and waiting for God to speak? I often find the periods of silence more refreshing than when I rabbit on. What works best for you? Please let me know, as I would love to hear from you.

Prayer

Lord, you suffered in the wilderness, and later died for me. Please help me to be more like you.

This is on my heart right now [just open your heart and pray] ..............

Thank you for listening. Amen.

Michael Rolton