Saturday, March 09,
2013, 6:30 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with this song:
Near the Cross / Fanny J. Crosby / William H. Doane
Jesus, keep me near the cross;
There a precious fountain,
Free to all, a healing stream,
Flows from Calvary's mountain.
…Help me walk from day to day
With its shadow o'er me.
Near the cross I'll watch and wait,
Hoping, trusting ever,
Till I reach the golden strand
Just beyond the river.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Matthew 26:36-46 (ESV):
Then Jesus went with
his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took
Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful
and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is
overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with
me.”
Going a little
farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.
Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
Then he returned to
his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you
men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
He went away a second
time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for
this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
When he came back, he
again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and
went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
Then he returned to
the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping
and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the
hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
Sorrowful
and Troubled
Jesus had just finished preparing his
disciples for what was coming, yet they really didn’t get it. He told them that
he would be betrayed and that, in fact, one among them would betray him to
death. He also informed them that they would all desert him. Peter declared he
would not, but the Lord Jesus reaffirmed that, indeed, he would. In fact, he
would deny Jesus Christ three times. Peter and all the disciples declared they
would never disown their Lord, even if it meant their own deaths. Oh, how often
we speak such passionate, yet careless words, without prayerful thought and
consideration as to what we are truly saying, and whether or not we can really
follow through with our bold declarations.
Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place
called Gethsemane. He told all of them who were with him to sit where they were
while he went “over there” to pray. Then he took Peter, James and John with
him. He began to be sorrowful and troubled, because it was nearing the time
when he would be handed over to death, and he would be severely beaten and then
hung on a cross to die. Yet, I believe he was troubled and sorrowed in his
heart not so much because of the physical suffering he was to endure, though
that would be great for sure, and he was human, i.e. he felt pain just like we
do, but what overwhelmed him with sorrow to the point of death was the reality
of what must take place for him to save us from our sins. He would have to, and
did, take the sins of the entire world upon him so that our sins could be put
to death with him, and so that he could conquer sin, death, hell and Satan via
his resurrection, so we could go free!
In Jesus’ time of preparation of his
disciples for his death and his resurrection, he also prepared them for what
they would and must suffer for the sake of his name and for the sake of the
gospel of Jesus Christ, yet they didn’t entirely get that, either. He told them
that they would have to drink the cup he was to drink, which was a symbol of
death and suffering, including severe persecution and death for his sake. He
told them they would be hated for the sake of his name and for their testimony
for Jesus Christ – that they would be persecuted, mocked, ridiculed, accused of
being of Satan, thought crazy, beaten and that some of them would even be killed
because of Jesus Christ.
As well, he prepared all of us for the time
of the end when a time of great sorrow and suffering would come upon the earth,
known as the time of tribulation, at which time the saints of God would suffer
greatly at the hands of the beast, false prophet and the dragon, and when God
will pour out his wrath on mankind. Yet, many of us don’t really get that,
either. Numerous followers in Jesus Christ believe the church will be raptured
before things get really bad. I can’t say with 100% certainty that something
like this may not happen, yet I don’t see this scripturally. Yet, I am not here
to debate this subject, either. I believe scripture teaches that the saints of
God will be here and will suffer greatly, and many will be killed for their
testimony for Jesus Christ, and that the letters to the seven churches are
preparation for that, calling for repentance and warning of judgment to the unrepentant.
As
You Will
Jesus Christ was fully God and fully man when
he walked the face of this earth. He suffered just like we suffer and he was
tempted just like we are tempted and in all the same ways, yet he did not sin.
So, when faced with the reality of the nearness of the cross, his humanness
called out to the Father to see if there was any other way our salvation could
be accomplished, yet I think he knew the answer. Yet, even though he struggled
with what he knew was the inevitable, still he yielded to the Father and to the
cross. And, this needs to be the attitude of each and every one of us, that we
would die to the flesh and to sin daily, and that we would willingly come to
the cross and suffer whatever he has in mind for us to go through for his sake
and for the sake of the gospel and the salvation of others. We must daily
forsake our own desires and submit and surrender to the will of the Father in
our lives.
For
One Hour?
Jesus asked his disciples to keep watch with
him. The idea here is one of a watchman who serves as a guard, who literally
keeps watch for the enemy, warns the people of the approach of the enemy or of
potential threats and dangers lurking, and calls the people to prepare for
battle. So, when Jesus asked his disciples to keep watch with him in prayer, he
was basically asking them to be fully aware of what is coming and to prepare
their hearts for the battle that was to ensue. They needed this time in prayer
to get ready, but instead they fell asleep, because they didn’t get the
seriousness of Jesus’ words, possibly because they just couldn’t imagine such a
thing.
I think many of us are there today. We go
about life as though it will just go on forever with business as usual and we
are not watching and seeing the approach of the enemy and the nearness of the
time of the end and so we won’t be prepared for what is around the corner, and
I think it will be beyond anything we could possibly imagine.
Jesus said that we should “watch and pray so that
you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is
weak.” And, the disciples proved that to be true, because they had great
spirit, passion and enthusiasm for their Lord, yet they truly believed that
Jesus’ words to them could not possibly come to pass for they would never
desert their Lord, and yet when the rubber met the road they all deserted him.
So, it is possible to be full of enthusiasm
for Jesus Christ but yet due to failure to keep watch and wait, and due to our
own unwillingness to face the reality of our own weaknesses and/or of what is
truly upon us, we may be caught off guard and we may fall prey to the
temptation to desert our Lord, too. So, if we want to remain strong in our
faith, and prepared for spiritual battle and for the inevitable persecution of
the church that awaits us, we must daily put on the full armor of God with
which to fight off Satan’s evil schemes against us, and we must watch for the
enemy and pray that we will not fall into temptation.
To
My Beloved / An Original Work / November 14, 2011
Based off I
Pet. 5:6-9; Eph. 6:10-20; Jms. 4:4-10
Be
strong in the grace of Christ, and
Put
on His full armor in your fight
Against
the enemy of your souls,
And
resist him with all your might.
Take
up the shield of your faith within you.
Salvation’s
helmet – you put it on.
Put
on the belt of truth,
And
walk in the Spirit,
And
you’ll not be ashamed.
Love
your Lord Jesus; call His Name.
Call
on your Lord and Savior, Jesus, and
Make
Him Lord and King of your hearts.
Obey
all of His teachings He has given
To
you to follow in all His ways.
Repent
of your sins. Return to your God.
Follow
Him where’er He leads you now.
Humble
yourselves in full
Surrender
to His will
For
your lives today.
Bow
before Him, and humbly pray.
Be
strong in the grace of Christ, and
Obey
your Lord in ev’rything, always
Keeping
His teachings in your hearts near you.
Walk
with Christ in ev’ry way.
Resist
the devil. He will flee from you.
Draw
near to God, and He’ll be near you.
Wash
your hands you sinners
And
double minded.
Weep
and wail o’er sin.
With
Christ, your new lives begin.
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