Wilderness Training
on How the Temptations of Jesus Expose the Gospel of Self
The wilderness has always been God’s proving ground, where Moses was called, Israel wandered, Elijah heard the whisper of God, and John the Baptist thundered. And when the Spirit descended upon Jesus, he was driven not to the palace, not to the temple, but to the desert.
The wilderness strips away illusions. No crowds. No applause. No distractions. Only hunger, silence—and the hiss of the Enemy. Jesus entered that barren place carrying the weight of Adam’s failure and Israel’s rebellion. In the place where bread once became complaint, golden calves were built from fear, and prophets once fled in despair, he would stand.
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Mark Carrara has served as senior pastor of Highpoint Church in Port St. Lucie, Florida, since 2000, and is founding pastor of Foundations Christian Academy. He writes on faith and culture with a pastoral voice shaped by decades of ministry in the Assemblies of God.
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