Devotions

There are three Gospel accounts of Jesus praying in Gethsemane the night of His arrest.  You can find the accounts in Matthew 26, Mark 14, and Luke 22.  Each Gospel writer gives essentially the same view of the event, but also adds a few details that they found striking.

I have always been fascinated by Jesus’ time of prayer in Gethsemane. It was there He set His soul, His will for what was to follow with His arrest, torture, trial, crucifixion and death. I believe it was in Gethsemane that His sufferings became vividly real. He told His disciples, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.” [Matt 26:38 NKJV]

I am sure each of us have had times where we might describe our experiences as overwhelmed by sorrow. I am also sure some of have had experiences where we simply felt we might die if something didn’t change.  But I am not sure any of us can truly understand what Jesus experienced there. He was about to take on the bitter weight of the punishment of the sins of the world and being separated from His Father for the first time in eternity.

As a young boy, Jesus realized that God had a special task for Him to accomplish. He told His mother when she found Him sitting among the scholars in the Temple that “I must be about my Father’s work.” [Luke 2:41-50]

That was more than likely a beginning revelation that grew and became more intense. Now in Gethsemane it had reached its fullness. Jesus understood what was just ahead, and it was enough to cause Him to think He might die right there in the garden. So, He prayed.

His prayer speaks to us about how we too should pray. Let’s spend a few days in Gethsemane with our LORD.

I’ve been reading Francis Chan’s “Letters to the Church” for our Wednesday night Bible Study.  He made a comment in the opening chapter (The Departure, page 25, David C. Cook publishing) that “this is a very difficult time to lead.  I have been in leadership positions for over thirty years. There has never been a time like this.”

I would agree. This is a difficult time, but we must remember that the church has always existed in difficult times. As I prepare for Resurrection Sunday, I am going through the Gospel accounts of the events leading up to the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ Jesus.  John relates Jesus’ warning to them.

“…a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  [John 16:32-33]

Not long after this His disciples did scatter. It appears that only John and Peter followed Jesus during His arrest, and that only John was present at the cross.  And it was not long after Jesus ascended into heaven in Acts 1 that trouble arose for the disciples also.  Probably no truer statement has been written for the Bride of Christ than, “in this world you will have trouble.”  

Yes, down through the ages the Bride of Christ has seen her share of trouble, trouble that arose from both inside and outside; and yet, no truer statement has also been written for the Bride of Christ than, “But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Beloved. Trouble may ours as Christians, but courage is also ours because our LORD and Savior has overcome all!

Ps 145:2:  Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.

 It’s been an especially difficult week without Miss Molly Magee. I’ve emptied the house of her things and “empty” is probably the key word to my feelings. Something is missing. As hard as losing my silly cat has been, I can’t even imagine the depth of the losses suffered by others when beloved family members and friends are gone.

I must admit I’ve cried though. Cried for that silly cat.  The one thing, however, that has kept me steady each day is my Lord.  I have praised Him, especially when I’ve been set upon by grief.

The writer of Psalm 145, believed to be David, is emphatic. Every day “I will” praise God. Every day. On some days it’s every hour I will praise God, and on other days, it is every minute! I have discovered as David did, that I find God’s compassions when I praise Him. “The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.” [145:8-9]

I’ve done a lot of praising my LORD this week and when I have, I have felt His compassion, love and strength flow into me. This week has been a reminder that God cares for us … in the small things as well as in the deepest of hurts. He will not leave us to handle these things alone; nor will He abandon us because our small troubles are not worthy of His glorious attention. To sense His presence with us through all things we need only praise Him.

Every day, LORD, I will praise You and extol Your Name for ever and ever. Amen.

Spring is arriving gently. Here in the Treasure Valley in Idaho we were fooled a bit by the unusually warm weather in January. It was mild for winter and I think we all thought it would continue that way straight through to spring. Instead February turned cold and we were below normal for that month and into March. Then it seemed like spring would never come. But it has. We’ve been in the mid-to-high 60’s and touching around 70 briefly. Daffodils and crocus have bloomed, and tulips are peeking through. There are even patches of green grass in some locations.

The best part for me is that I can finally get outside to walk and not be chilled to the bone by the cold and winds. Last week I walked in sunshine and my favorite walking temperatures.  I love walking outside. That is a delight I’ve developed late in life. As a young person I didn’t particularly embrace exercise at all, even walking, and I wasn’t fond of the outdoors. Interesting how tastes can change as we age through the years.

I love God’s creation.  I remember what God said about it in Gen 1:31: “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.”

I also remember that man’s fall affected not just mankind but all of creation.  Paul in Romans explains that the creation now “waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed” so that it too can be “liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” [Rom 8:19-21]

When I walked this week and looked at the beauty of God’s creation around me, I could only wonder … if it looks like this when it is subject to decay, how magnificent will it be when it shares the glorious freedom of the children of God!

A couple Sundays ago, someone asked me if I thought it was possible to have an Acts 2 church in our modern culture. That, of course, got me thinking about what defined that first church and do we really want to be like them.  You can read about the church in Acts 2:42-47.

As I studied there were three traits that stood out in that church: 1) they were Christ-centered, 2) they were Holy Spirit empowered; and 3) they were steadfast and “daily” in their practices.

The message was simple. It was all about Christ Jesus, His work on the cross, His Resurrection and Ascension—and the repentance of those who heard that message.

The church also found its power in the Holy Spirit. They didn’t have shiny services, great tabernacle choirs, worship bands, PowerPoints, fog machines, special lighting, glossy mass mailers, or programs galore. They had the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

The third trait, however, is the one that really made me think.  “They continued steadfastly …. They continued daily.” [vv 42, 46 paraphrased]

Steadfastness is proskartereo {pros-kar-ter-eh’-o}, and it means to be persistently attentive unto, to give unremitting care to a thing, to continue all the time in a place, to persevere and not to faint.

They were steadfast every day. They didn’t walk out a building or meeting hall and suddenly become something different. And they were not controlled by time restraints. Can we have an Acts 2 church is our modern culture? I’m still thinking about that one.

Peter reminded us in the closing of his first letter that the “God of all grace” would “perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle [us]” in our suffering.”  [1 Peter 5:10]

Paul in the closing of his letter to the Romans told us about the “God of hope.”  “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” [15:13 NKJV]

Seventeen times alone in the Book of Romans, Paul mentions hope. It is a favorite theme in his other letters as well.

Paul reminds the beloved that we are to abound in hope.  The Greek word Paul used here is elpis. It comes from a primary word which means “to anticipate with pleasure.” We know hope to be not just anticipation or expectation, but confident anticipation or expectation. It is tied to the character of God. God is the “God of Hope.” And it is energized in us by the power of God’s Holy Spirit.

Hope is also linked in Scripture with affliction. “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”  [Romans 12:12]

If real persecution should visit our nation (not just anti-Christian rhetoric), we are going to need the God of Hope to fill us by the power of His Holy Spirit.

The persecution of Christians around the world is expected to increase in 2019, with a watchdog group sharing particular concern for believers in Nigeria, China, and India. “Release International,” which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, said in a press release that 215 million believers face violence and discrimination for their faith.

215 million—that’s a staggering number, especially when considering that as of January 1, 2018, the population of United States of America was estimated to be approximately 328 million. The number of those martyred for their faith varies because of the difficulties in obtaining those numbers where persecutions are hidden and unreported by the media, but all believe the numbers are increasing each year. It is generally acknowledged by those who follow such things that Christianity is the most persecuted group of all believers around the world.

I am not sure why I was researching persecution, maybe it was reading 1 Peter 5.  As Peter was closing his first letter, he reminded his readers that their enemy prowled around looking for someone to devour. He also reminded them that they needed to remember their own suffering was not unique, in fact they were sharing in the “same sufferings” that their brothers were experiencing in the world.

Then he added, “But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.  To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

“After you have suffered a while” doesn’t sound very inviting, does it?  And it is not something with which we are familiar in our nation. That may change, anti-Christian rhetoric does seem to be on the rise in our nation. Yet, Peter, after warning about “after you have suffered a while,” also reminded his readers of the blessings to follow. The God of all grace will perfect, establish, strengthen and settle us. That will be for His glory and because His is the dominion forever and ever. Amen!

I am writing this on Tuesday morning. It’s a sad morning for me. I am without my morning “study buddy.” She has curled up next to me almost every day we’ve been at home for the past 12 years while I study and pray and write.

Monday I had to make the decision to euthanize Miss Molly Magee. She has been declining over the past couple months. She lost three pounds even though she sat whining by her food bowl all the time extremely hungry. She drank water constantly. She was lethargic. When she would hop down off a chair it would take her a few moments to get her body going. And while she still walked around with her tail straight up in the air (the sign of a happy cat), her gait was hesitant.

The vet diagnosed her with hyper-thyroidism that had already affected her heart, which was fast and erratic. The vet said we might be able to prolong her life for a little longer but thought it was best to just let her go, which I did.

Miss Molly Magee was just a silly cat. It’s certainly not like losing a person you love, but it did remind me how much I hate death.  I know for the Christian, death is but a doorway into the presence of our Savior and LORD, yet it is still ugly and alien.

God designed us in His image it says in Genesis 1:26. God is life, and God imparts that life to us. He even wants us to have life more abundantly! Life to the fullest.  Death was never in God’s plan for us, but when Satan entered and man succumbed to his lies, sin and death not only entered God’s creation, it reigned until Christ defeated it on the cross and in His resurrection. Now we do have life eternal, but it is housed inside a body that is still subject to decay and death.

I hate death. I can’t wait for its complete defeat. “The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” [1 Cor 15:26]

Amen, Jesus, come quickly!

Today is my husband’s 79^th birthday. I met Bob for one day when I was 13 and he was a 20-year-old Marine all decked out in his dress blues (How handsome!). He had come to take the Garcia’s daughter (to whom he was engaged) to her high school graduation. I was babysitting the younger brothers.  I didn’t meet him again until I was 19. His engagement had broken off a few years back and he was looking for a “nice Catholic girl” to date. Someone pointed to me as that “nice Catholic girl.”

 Bob picked me up in his brand new 1966 blue Chevy pickup and our first date was spent visiting my dad who was in the hospital. Like many young people in 1966, I smoked, a habit picked up from my parents who also smoked. When I pulled a pack of cigarettes out of my purse, he frowned and said, “you don’t smoke, do you?”

 “Nope,” I replied and shoved that pack back down. After that first date, and a second luncheon date the next day, I never smoked again (and never missed it!).  Funny what love will enable you to do that you couldn’t do before.

 Funny how falling more and more in love with Jesus will do the same. When we talk about dying to self or crucifying the flesh it sounds so impossible and restrictive. What will ever overcome our self-effort, self-centeredness, selfishness, or self-preoccupation? There certainly isn’t enough willpower in me to do that – I can barely resist a cookie!  But loving someone and wanting to please them makes it so much easier and freeing. Loving God sets us free from self with great delight and joy.

 As for Bob and me, in a few weeks it will be 52 years. Has it always been relaxed, heavens no! You can’t put two strong, stubborn people in the same house and expect it to always be smooth.  But we share three children and three beautiful grandsons. And to date, more than five decades of memories. 

I recently had a message on “Dying to Self.” The concept of dying to self is found throughout the New Testament, however, that exact phrase is not. The phrase “dying to self” is often paired with the phrase “crucify the flesh.” Those two concepts really express the essence of Christian discipleship.

Jesus told His disciples: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” [Matthew 16:24]

He also told them that “anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”  [Luke 14:27]

There are two serious words in those commands, “must” and “cannot.” We “must” deny self and carry our cross and if we don’t, we “cannot” be Jesus’ disciples.

But what exactly does that mean? And how does it express itself in our lives?  I think we have become way too focused on the negative aspects rather than the positive ones.  Jesus set us free. He set us free so that we might be free and so that we might freely serve Him. Freedom is always a positive.

When we die to self through the crucifixion of the flesh it isn’t about what we can no longer do, it’s about what we can now do that we are free. We have been set free to express the love of God through our lives so that the world might see Christ in us. We have been set free to lead a productive life that brings eternal rewards. We have been set free so that we might not just pray “Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven,” but also that we might be a part of making known God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.  Wow!