Past Devotions

I want to spend some time in the Garden with Jesus … oh, not that proverbial rose garden full of loveliness and peace, but the Garden of Gethsemane full of loneliness and struggle. I want to learn how to pray from the way Jesus prayed.

The first thing I noticed was that while Jesus took His disciples with Him, His prayer was a solitary one. “Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, ‘Sit here while I go and pray over there.’ And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, ‘My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.’ He went a little farther and fell on His face and prayed.”  [Matt 26:36-39 NKJV]

He told most of His followers to stay in a certain place, and took the closest three, Peter, James, and John, a little farther with Him.  Then He left the three and proceeded even farther away. Jesus’ prayer was a solitary one.

There is room in our lives for corporate prayer, of course.  It is a good thing to pray with others, family, friends, or in a corporate setting.  There is power in that type of prayer where two or three are gathered, but in the times of intense pain and trouble, going into our prayer “closet” where no ear hears but God’s is best.

I often spend time in private, personal prayer before I pray with others. There I pour my deepest desires and most intense pain out before my LORD. I can be completely transparent and honest. Most times I say little, my words are few. I don’t need to tell God what He already knows. I just need to be with Him.

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 has 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 for the sins of the world and being separated from His Father for the first time in eternity.

As a young boy, Jesus realized that His Father 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 these few days leading up to the cross with our LORD in Gethsemane.

The concept of dying to self is found throughout the New Testament, however, that exact phrase is not. The phrase “dying to self” is reflected within the phrases “deny self,” and “crucify the flesh.” Those 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 expression. 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!

I hate politics. I realize we must have politicians, but the political climate in our land today has forgotten their primary responsibility – to serve the people. It seems to me their greatest goal once elected is to get re-elected.

Jesus had a bit to say about leadership and servanthood. In Matthew 20, James and John wanted to make sure they had a place of honor in Jesus’ kingdom, so they engaged their mother to approach Jesus. After Jesus’ questioned them a bit, He reminded them that it would be the Father who would fill those seats of honor.

When the other disciples learned of what James and John requested, they became indignant. It was then Jesus gathered His disciples together and taught them what worldly leadership looked like, and what godly leadership looked like.

“You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them.” [vs25 NLT]

Well, that definitely describes our modern-day politicians. Christian leadership, however, is to be drastically different.

 “But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” [vs 26-28 NLT]

May we always lead by serving God and God’s children. Amen

I got good news last week. I do not have adrenal insufficiency. The test results proved that my adrenal glands are working. That really is good news. Except. It doesn’t explain “why am I thus?”

That question (Why am I thus?) is one of my favorite questions found in the scriptures. It comes from Genesis 25 in the KJV.

Isaac entreated the LORD for his wife Rebekah because she was barren. God granted his prayer and Rebekah conceived – twins. The babies struggled within her; and she said, “If it be so, why am I thus?” [vs 22]

Rebekah took her question to the LORD who explained that the twins within her (Jacob and Esau) represented two nations and two manners of people. Those two nations would battle each other for dominance – and are still battling today!

We pray and God grants our request, but sometimes that does not answer all our questions – sometimes it can even raise more questions.

The docs have eliminated adrenal insufficiency as the cause of my symptoms, that is great news. But they have not yet been able to identify “why am I thus.”

Still when I think about my life, I realize I have the best Good News anyone can have. I am redeemed by the blood of Christ Jesus. I am a child of the Living God. I am forgiven. I am loved. I know I can trust God even during the “why am I thus” times.

Woke up this morning and wondered what kind of day would it be? Would it be a day of struggle and pain, or would it be a good day of peace with energy to do everything that I want to do.

David woke up one morning only to discover his day would be a very difficult one. His son, Absolom, was leading a rebellion against him, attempting to usurp the throne. [2Samuel 15-20]

According to St. Augustine, David wrote Psalm 143 during the period of Absolom’s rebellion. As you read the song, you can hear David’s deepening depression as he pours out his heart to God. And yet, amid the struggle and turmoil you can hear David’s hope.

“Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you…. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.” [vs 8, 10 NLT]

As you read those words, do you see what David promised God despite the struggle?

He promised first to listen … “Let me hear ….”

Then he promised to trust … “I am trusting ….”

He promised to focus on God … “Show me where to walk ….”

And that He would surrender … “I give myself to you ….”

David promised to learn … “Teach me ….”

And he promised to follow God … “May your gracious Spirit lead me forward ….”

No matter what our days hold, peace or struggles, pain or strength, when we pour our hearts out to God, let us always remember to respond to God with promise!

Before we moved to this house in 2007, one of our neighbors planted an apple and a peach tree on the other side of our fence. Since we’ve been here, the trees have never been pruned. No matter who lives in the house next door, (and we are on our fifth owner), those trees have been neglected. Five years ago, neither bore fruit. The past two years there weren’t even blossoms. What a shame because the first year we lived in this house apples and peaches were plentiful.

Jesus spoke in John 15 about vines and branches and about the work of the Father in keeping those branches healthy and bearing fruit. “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit…. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me…. by this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” [NKJV]

A few things are evident from this passage in John 15. First, we aren’t going to bear any fruit at all unless we stay connected to the true vine, Jesus Christ. Abide is the Greek word, meno, and it simply means to stay put.  So, we stay put in Christ Jesus.

The second thing is that we are expected to bear fruit.  That’s what vine branches are for after all — to bear fruit.

And the third, if we are bearing fruit, God is going to prune away anything that hinders the bearing of much fruit. Pruning is good for us.

Father, I need a little pruning!  I want to bear much fruit.  Amen and Amen.

Hebrews 12:10-11: “God disciplines us for our good …. it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

John 8:31:  Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.”

Isn’t it interesting that discipline and disciple are from the same root word? Discipline comes from discipulus, the Latin word for pupil, which also provided the source of the word disciple.

Raymond Edmond wrote, “Without discipline we are not disciples, even though we profess His Name and pass for a follower of the lowly Nazarene. In an undisciplined age when liberty and license have replaced law and loyalty, there is greater need than ever before that we be disciplined to be His disciples.”¹

That quote was taken from a book published in 1948! If 1948 was an age when “liberty and license have replaced law and loyalty,” “How much more” is that so today.

It is apparent that God disciplines those He loves. He does it with the goal of making us more like Jesus, true disciples of His Beloved Son. He does it so that we might have a good witness and testimony. He does it so that righteousness and peace bear fruit in our lives.

Do we like it? Probably not. Should we like it? Yes, we should, because it produces the character of Christ in our lives. When we cry out, “I want to be more like Jesus!” we are inviting God to make us more like Jesus. And that often requires His discipline.

One final thought about discipline today … the faster we respond to it, the easier it is on us.

¹Taken from V. Raymond Edman’s book, The Disciplines of Life, Van Kampen Press, Wheaton, IL, 1948

There is amazing technology developed for those who are red-green colorblind. Red-green colorblindness is the most common form with about five percent of the population having this genetic condition. People who have this condition do see color, but not like those without the condition. One person described the leaves on the trees as always being dull brown and dead looking.

The technology is glasses that allow the vibrant colors to be seen. I was reminded of this when I watched another video of a young boy who was color-blind. He received a set of these new glasses while outside among the trees and plants and flowers. He was so overwhelmed with emotion that he cried when he saw what nature actually looked like and what he had been missing all along.

To him God’s creation was dull brown and dead looking, he could not see the beauty that surrounded him. A genetic condition had blinded him to color. Only when his vision was enhanced did he see the way God intended.

I thought about our spiritual vision, about those whose spiritual eyes have been blinded by the god of this world so that they cannot see God the way He intends. The world teaches that we have evolved as an accident of nature – so we have no purpose. Some teach there is no God, no heaven, no hell – so we have no future, no need to be accountable for any thought or action. It isn’t until we come to Christ that our ‘spiritual-genetic condition’ is enhanced, and we see life the way God intended, full of purpose and having a glorious future.

2 Corinthians 4:6:  For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. [NKJV]