“HE PRAYED MORE EARNESTLY!”

Luke 22:39-44                                     (ESV)

“39 And HE (JESUS) came out and went, as was HIS custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed HIM.

40 And when HE came to the place, HE said to them, "PRAY that you may not enter into temptation."

41 And HE withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed,

42 saying, "FATHER, if YOU are willing, remove this cup from ME. Nevertheless, not MY will, but YOURS, be done."

43 And there appeared to HIM AN ANGEL FROM HEAVEN, STRENGTHENING HIM.

44 And BEING IN AGONY “HE PRAYED MORE EARNESTLY”; and HIS sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”

The CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSES, the CREATOR of my life, was nearing the time of HIS betrayal by Judas, and a time when nobody would stand with HIM.  HIS arrest would occur in minutes, yet HE was still instructing the disciples to “Pray that you may not enter into temptation."  HE was about to face a death where HE would be brutalized, yet “HE PRAYED MORE EARNESTLY”!

Why did JESUS dread HIS journey so greatly?  What about the next three days troubled HIM so?  Could it be that defeating the enemy could be scarier than HE thought?  Could it be that HE was scared that HE would fail?  Me being a Spiritual novice, when GOD turned HIS back on the my sins, which were IMPUTED on JESUS, HE had to not look upon them because of HIS HOLY nature.  JESUS did nothing to warrant rejection, except HE took on the sins of the whole world!  Knowing HIS time was near, JESUS was an “angel from heaven” ministering to HIM, literally strengthening HIM.  

Luke 23:44-45 says “It was now about the sixth hour, and THERE WAS DARKNESS OVER THE WHOLE LAND until the ninth hour, while the SUN’S LIGHT FAILED. And the curtain (veil) of the temple was torn in two.”  As JESUS was “offered up” as the ULTIMATE sacrifice for our sins, the LIGHT OF THE WORLD was darkened, and THERE WAS DARKNESS OVER THE WHOLE LAND!  JESUS had never experienced being alone before, and only now HE knew what it felt like.  We are BLESSED beyond measure that the DARKNESS only lasted for three hours.  Can you imagine the panic IF the SON (sun) had not ever shone again???

COVID-19 has caused a lot of panic, and the devastation could be far worse, save for JESUS being on HIS THRONE!  One day SOON however, HIS patience with us will be over and our time to repent will be past. Right now “HE PRAYED MORE EARNESTLY” can still be felt.  One day soon the SON will return to claim HIS OWN and the ones that rejected HIM will receive their just rewards.  In John 17:9, JESUS prays to the FATHER “I am praying for them (YOUR PEOPLE). I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given ME, for they are YOURS”. Are you one of HIS PEOPLE, the people “HE PRAYED MORE EARNESTLY” for?  Just as JESUS knew HIS time was near, the church should likewise know HIS appearing is upon us!!!

“YOU ARE MINE!”

Isaiah 43:1-7                         (ESV)

“1 But now thus says the LORD, HE WHO created you, O Jacob, HE WHO formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, “YOU ARE MINE!”. 

2 When YOU PASS THROUGH THE WATERS, I will be with you; AND THROUGH THE RIVERS, they shall not overwhelm you; WHEN YOU WALK THROUGH THE FIRE you shall not be burned, and THE FLAME SHALL NOT CONSUME YOU. 

3 For I am the LORD your GOD, the HOLY ONE of Israel, your SAVIOR. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. 

4 Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. 

5 FEAR NOT, for I AM WITH YOU; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you. 

6 I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, 

7 everyone who is called by MY NAME, whom I created for MY glory, whom I formed and made."”

Does GOD “cause” evil in our midst?  Did HE allow Stomach Cancer to take my younger sister out of this world in 1996?  Did HE allow Breast Cancer to escort my mom into Heaven in 2008?  Did GOD orchestrate the Brain Hemorrhage in 2007 that I experienced?  These are all “bad things” in our earthly view, but GOD used  them for HIS GLORY!

JESUS says in John 8:12 “I am the LIGHT OF THE WORLD. Whoever follows ME will not “walk in darkness”, but WILL HAVE the LIGHT of life." LIGHT is most prevalent when it exposes darkness.  Our LIGHT contrasts darkness wherever we go.  Since JESUS will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), we can rest assured that wherever HE leads us, HE is with us.  

In the above verse seven, Scripture says “whom I created for MY GLORY”!  So THAT is why we were created, not to build a bigger house, or amass vast wealth, or look down our noses at those around us!  We were Created to GLORIFY HIM.  If that means my brain needs to hemorrhage, or my heart needs to be adjusted, or I just need to LET GO AND LET HIM BE GOD, that is what I need to do.  

Can GOD “cause” evil things to happen to us?  When we experience “darkness“ we can be Glorifying HIM by shining in that darkness?  We are created FOR HIS GLORY.  As long as we are in “this world”, we will SHINE BRIGHTEST when we are surrounded by darkness.    It is an honor and privilege to be used to GLORIFY my CREATOR, for HIM to declare “YOU ARE MINE”, wherever we are placed by HIM!!!

“NEVER TO PUT A STUMBLING BLOCK!”

Romans 14:13-19                                               (ESV)

“13 Therefore let us NOT PASS judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide “NEVER TO PUT A STUMBLING BLOCK” or hindrance in the way of a brother.

14 I know and am persuaded in the LORD JESUS that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.

15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom CHRIST died.

16 SO DO NOT LET WHAT YOU REGARD AS GOOD BE SPOKEN OF AS EVIL.

17 For the kingdom of GOD is not a matter of eating and drinking but of RIGHTEOUSNESS and PEACE and JOY in the HOLY SPIRIT.

18 Whoever thus serves CHRIST is acceptable to GOD and approved by men.

19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for MUTUAL UP BUILDING.”

 “This world” has devolved into a society where people are moving at such a pace that our message is limited to a certain amount of characters to keep things interesting, where we try to inform enough to educate without being involved, and we refuse to admit that there is NO ONE HOLY, NO NOT ONE!

“The enemy” attempts to keep our sights on the faults of others rather than the TRUTH that PEACE and PERFECTION will never exist outside of JESUS CHRIST.  Doubt and confusion, turmoil and strife, are tools used by the god of this world to tear down.  A devotional that I have studied says “Patience is one of the fruits of the Spirit. That is why you see many people without patience these days.”  Some people can’t exhibit these traits because they are NOT of the SPIRIT!  

I’m verse 14 above, Scripture states “I know and am persuaded in the LORD JESUS that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean”, so eating your favorite meal, or drinking your favorite beverage, or whatever it is that causes your brother to stumble, and we KNOWINGLY do it in spite of that, we are creating a stumbling block for others!  I am almost 60 years old, and I am afraid that my haughty spirit has caused a lot of people to stumble.   The Holy Spirit can overcome my weaknesses, but I am CHOSEN and I don’t want to continue living like “this world”!

The Word is very clear, “NEVER TO PUT A STUMBLING BLOCK” or hindrance in the way of a brother.  Is this something that I practice?  Or do I live the way I choose and pray for others to be CLEANSED and SAVED?  GOD, please help me to “NEVER TO PUT A STUMBLING BLOCK” in the way of others coming to know you!!!

“TESTING!”

Romans 12:1-2                              (ESV)

“1 I appeal (demand, call, plea) to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of GOD, to present your bodies as a LIVING SACRIFICE, HOLY AND ACCEPTABLE TO GOD, which is your spiritual worship.

2 DO NOT BE CONFORMED (comply, harmonize) to this world, but be TRANSFORMED by the RENEWAL of your mind, THAT BY “TESTING” you may discern WHAT IS THE WILL OF GOD, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

So often I hear it said “Well, that’s the way GOD made me” as an excuse for the actions of a person.  These two verses implore is to PRESENT OUR BODIES to GOD, for the purpose of being TRANSFORMED (made over) into what GOD has CALLED US TO BE.  You might say “I would do what GOD wants me to do, if I ONLY KNEW FOR SURE what HE desires?  1 Corinthians 2:11b says “...So also NO ONE comprehends the thoughts of GOD EXCEPT the SPIRIT of GOD.”  We don’t get to decide on our own how GOD is going to use us.   

To KNOW WHAT IS THE WILL OF GOD, we must go through “TESTING”!  Sometimes that may take longer than we want, it might cost us more than we wanted to pay, it might be something that is TOTALLY different than what we had planned.  Proverbs 16:9 says “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.”  GOD routinely has HIS CHOSEN doing things entirely outside of their comfort zone, where HE gets all of the GLORY.  Moses, Paul, and Peter are just a few names that come to mind.

When we go through a time of “TESTING”, we have to experience discomfort most of the time.  Getting out of OUR COMFORT ZONE demands that we give up “the way we’ve always done it”, and turn to doing it the way GOD is CALLING us to do things.  The very word “TESTING” means “to prove” or “verify”.  GOD already knows how strong our FAITH is, just as HE already knew that Abraham would obey on Mount Moriah in Genesis 22:12.  In Genesis 22:1a GOD says “After these things GOD TESTED Abraham...”.  If GOD already knew Abraham was going to obey, why then the TEST?  

My belief is that GOD puts us through “TESTING” so that we can grow our dependence on HIM.  None of us are WORTHY of being used by the SPIRIT OF GOD, but we are CHOSEN to be put through our “TESTING” so HIS NAME will be magnified to a lost and dying world!  Our “TESTING” is not to elevate us, but to GLORIFY HIM!!!

“FREE GIFT!”

Romans 6:20-23                            (ESV)
“20 For when you were SLAVES OF SIN, you were free in regard to righteousness.
21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? FOR THE END OF THOSE THINGS IS DEATH.
22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become SLAVES OF GOD, THE FRUIT you get leads to SANCTIFICATION and its end, ETERNAL LIFE.
23 For the WAGES OF SIN is death, but the  “FREE GIFT” of GOD is eternal life in CHRIST JESUS our LORD.”

The movie entitled THE ULTIMATE GIFT impacted my life in that a rich, spoiled brat inherited great wealth, but only after he have away all that he had for a hospital to be built in memory of a girl who had befriended him while he was lost in his privilege.  Keep in mind that he inherited the money.  He didn’t earn it.  Basically, it was a “FREE GIFT”!

As Believers in the work that JESUS CHRIST performed while on the earth, we didn’t do anything to earn it.  We are not worthy of the fruit of being a Believer.  What we DO DESERVE is DEATH!  The lives that we live, even the best of us (of which I am certainly not!), DESERVES eternal separation from GOD!

SLAVERY is something we are born into.  Since we know nothing but SLAVERY, it can seem almost NORMAL to be ENSLAVED, because “everybody else is doing it”!  Continuing to follow “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4) is without a doubt the easiest way to go.  But the enemy does not have our best interests at heart.  He has already been defeated and is trying to carry as many people into hell with him as he has already been sentenced to an eternal fate!

1 Peter 2:9 says “But you are a CHOSEN RACE, a royal priesthood, a HOLY (set apart) NATION, a people for HIS own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of HIM WHO called you OUT OF DARKNESS out of darkness into HIS MARVELOUS LIGHT.”  We can CHOOSE to reject the “FREE GIFT” of being CHOSEN by our CREATOR, but why would we CHOOSE to have the WRATH OF GOD displayed against us for all eternity???  I CHOOSE THE “FREE GIFT”!!!

“FOR AM I IN THE PLACE OF GOD?”

Genesis 50:15-20                        (ESV)

“15 When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him."

16 So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, "Your father gave this command before he died:

17 'Say to Joseph, "Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you."' And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the GOD of your father." Joseph wept when they spoke to him.

18 His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, "Behold, we are your servants."

19 But Joseph said to them, "DO NOT FEAR, “FOR AM I IN THE PLACE OF GOD?”

20 As for you, YOU MEANT EVIL against me, but GOD MEANT IT FOR GOOD, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

I was BLESSED to be hospitalized 6 of the first 8 days of the shelter-in-place order in our area, so I didn’t have any choice but to comply.   Staying at/near home can be boring and stale, but from recent experience, being hospitalized (especially when you are 6’6” tall) is anything but comfortable.  Thanks be to GOD that my two visits were abbreviated without lingering questions. 

The prism we view the trials in our lives through can determine how GOD uses us for HIS GLORY.  Joseph went from the bottom of a well to the throne room of Pharaoh, ultimately glorifying GOD all the way!  No, GOD did not HIMSELF literally throw Joseph into the well, but GOD was in control the entire time and Scripture states that Joseph would go onto become second in command in Egypt.   Being enslaved has to be one of the most difficult things I can imagine, but being second in command in Egypt and feeding the multitudes during a famine made the price paid by Joseph seem insignificant.  GOD used his brothers sinister deeds to eventually elevate Joseph to a place where he could be a valuable tool for HIS GLORY!

Just because our surroundings become clouded by circumstances does not indicate that OUR GOD is weak or capable of making a mistake.  Isaiah 55:8-9 says our ways ARE NOT HIS ways, and HIS THOUGHTS are not our thoughts!  We don’t know where GOD is leading us, but we can know that “FOR AM I IN THE PLACE OF GOD?” AND THAT IS THE BEST PLACE FOR ME!!!

“YOU MUST ALSO BE READY!”

Matthew 24:36-44                         (ESV)

“36 "But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the SON, but the FATHER only.

37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the SON of MAN. 

38 For AS IN THOSE DAYS before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark,

39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the SON of MAN. 

40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left.

41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left.

42 Therefore, STAY AWAKE, for YOU DO NOT KNOW on what day your LORD is coming.

43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.

44 Therefore “YOU ALSO MUST BE READY”, for the SON of MAN is coming at an hour YOU DO NOT EXPECT.”

It can be extremely easy to get our attention on the things of “this world”, whether it be getting a new house, or a better car, or whatever the latest gadget on the market is?  Obviously lately we find ourselves trying NOT TO GET some things like the flu or CORONAVIRUS, AIDS, and other diseases.  As late a few weeks ago, almost everyone was eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, building a 401K, amassing wealth, trying to get to the top rung of the ladder and be a success! 

JESUS tells us in the Scripture above “YOU MUST ALSO BE READY”, for the SON of MAN is coming at an hour YOU DO NOT EXPECT.  What then do we need to do to prepare for when the SON of MAN returns?  HE has already answered that for us.  STAY AWAKE, not only watching for thieves, but also watching for HIS return!  “The enemy” comes to steal, kill and destroy.  I (JESUS) have come to bring life and that they may have it ABUNDANTLY (John 10:10)!  

We get so caught up in the things that “this world” offers, but GOD can SLOW US DOWN as HE has done in recent days without anybody being able to stop HIM!  We certainly didn’t EXPECT to be asked to “quarantined”, “shelter in placed”, or “socially distanced” a few weeks ago.  How many of us were prepared for the happenings of the past few weeks?  OUR CREATOR explicitly tells us “YOU MUST ALSO BE READY”, for the SON of MAN is coming at an hour YOU DO NOT EXPECT.  Are you ready???