Word for Today, Wed, 07 Apr 2004: Surrender at Gethsemane
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>
Dear friends,
Here's a message containing both questions and challenges for us
to consider during this Holy week.
Yours in Christ,
Brian
____________________________________________________________
Live It!
Today's best advice for practical Christian living
Surrender at Gethsemane
By Greg Laurie
Have you ever felt lonely? Have you ever felt as though your
friends and family had abandoned you? Have you ever felt like you
were misunderstood? Have you ever had a hard time understanding
or submitting to the will of God for your life? If so, then you
have an idea of what the Lord Jesus went through as He agonized
at Gethsemane.
Hebrews tells us, "This High Priest of ours understands our
weaknesses, for he faced all of the same temptations we do, yet
he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our
gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find
grace to help us when we need it" (4:15-16 NLT).
Consider the fact that Jesus, who was God, was omniscient. He was
all-knowing. Therefore, He was fully aware of the horrors of the
crucifixion that awaited Him. He knew His disciples would abandon
him. He knew Judas Iscariot would betray Him. He knew that Simon
Peter would deny Him. He knew they would rip His back open, press
a crown of thorns into His head, beat Him, spit in His face, and
crucify Him. Worst of all, He knew that all the sins of the world
would be placed upon Him.
The Bible tells us that Jesus was "a Man of sorrows, acquainted
with grief" (Isaiah 53:3). But the sorrow He experienced in
Gethsemane on the night before His crucifixion seemed to be the
culmination of all the sorrow He had ever known and would
accelerate to a climax the following day. The ultimate triumph
that was to take place at Calvary was first accomplished beneath
the gnarled old olive trees of Gethsemane.
Jesus told Peter, James, and John, "My soul is exceedingly
sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch" (Mark 14:34).
Jesus' sorrow and anguish was so powerful, it threatened His very
life. In the face of this dreadful prospect of bearing God's full
fury against sin, Jesus knelt to the ground and began to pray.
This was not a quiet whisper of a prayer. Hebrews 5:7 tells us,
"While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings,
with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could deliver him out
of death. And God heard his prayers because of his reverence for
God" (NLT). It is interesting that the very word Gethsemane means
"olive press." Olives were pressed there to make oil, and truly,
Jesus was being pressed from all sides that He might bring life
to us. I don't think we can even begin to fathom what He was
going through.
Maybe you are at a crisis point in your life right now, a
personal Gethsemane, if you will. You have your will; you know
what you want. Yet you can sense that God's will is different.
Would you let the Lord choose for you? Would you be willing to
say, "Lord, I am submitting my will to Yours. Not my will, but
yours be done?" You will not regret making that decision.
Sometimes we are afraid to do this, because we have a false
concept that God's will for us is not good. You might be
thinking, "How about His plan for Jesus? That didn't seem very
good." No question, it was very difficult for Jesus, to say the
least. No question, He faced the full wrath of God against all
sin. But look at what it accomplished. It brought about your
salvation and mine. Because of what Jesus went through at
Gethsemane, and ultimately at the cross, we can call upon His
name. Though it was an unfathomably painful, horrific transition,
it was necessary for the ultimate goal of what was accomplished.
Maybe you are going through a difficult time. Ultimately, it will
be so much better if you allow the Lord to choose His plan for
you. One day, you will be able to look back and say, "Lord, thank
you for making that choice." God's plans for you are good. As
Jeremiah tells us, the thoughts that God thinks toward you are
"thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a
hope" (29:11 NKJV).
In our moments of uncertainty, in those times when we think that
everyone has let us down, remember that Jesus has been there and
is there for us. God's plans for you are so much better than the
plans you have for yourself. Will you let Him choose?
For more great articles and resources to help you grow in your
faith, visit:
link.crosswalk.com/UM/T.asp?A1.11.20728.1.293748
For Copyright Terms go to
link.crosswalk.com/UM/T.asp?A1.11.20728.2.293748
>>>>>> Share the good news <<<
Please forward this message to a friend!
FREE Christian Book
l.salemweb.net/swnoffer0203/
____________________SUBSCRIPTION INFO_______________________
* Copyright 2004 Salem Web Network and its Content
Providers. All rights reserved.
=====
--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Small Business $15K Web Design Giveaway
promotions.yahoo.com/design_giveaway/