Walking God's Light

Psalm 119:105, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
I am reminded of a story of a man and his young son as they were just finishing work in their garden. The day was ending and the sun was going down. As they opened the darkening shed to put their tools away the boy ask, “Is it dark in the shed in the daytime?” “No” his father replied, “the window in the back lets in light.” The boy was intrigued that the window let the light in and he asks, “Does the window let the dark out?” If the light flowed in through the window then the darkness would flow out of the window he thought. Not wanting to confuse the boy the father said, “When the light comes in through the window the darkness goes away.” “But where does the darkness go?” Out of the mouths of babes we learn many things.
So where does the darkness go? Light dispels darkness and it replaces it. Have you ever noticed when you open a door into a dark room that the darkness disappears? The light floods the dark room from the light in the other room. The darkness does not rush out to fill the room where you are standing. The light consumes the darkness. This is a very simple thing that we all need to understand to walk with the Lord.
So it is with the Word of God. The light of God shines into our lives and dispels the darkness the devil would have us to wander through. No matter how dark things may look the power o the Word of God will shine through and guide our path. Have you ever walked a dark path with only a flashlight to guide you? If so then you have seen just how God’s light works in our lives. He will give us light to guide our feet. As it is with the flashlight we may not be able to see everything around us but we can see the path and know where to walk. As we walk the path of life we may not be able to see what is ahead but if we let the light of God guide us we can be sure we will stay on the right path.
In John 1:5 we see this clearly, “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” Without the light of God we would always walk in darkness and that would make our walk very difficult. “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12
Then as the New Year ends do we want to walk in the dark or let the light of the Lord guide us?

What To Do About The New Year

Psalm 119:105, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day. -Edith Lovejoy Pierce
For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice. -T.S. Eliot
Take no thought for tomorrow for the day will take care of itself. The past is forever gone and cannot be changed so why worry about it? Tomorrow is just a dream and when it arrives it will be today. We all look at the future on New Year’s Day. Try as we might we still can only see the day. Prepare as many resolutions as we can and still the future is but a distant vision.
As Edith Lovejoy Pierce clearly states we now have a new chapter filled with blank pages. It is up to us to write on each page. What we write can affect us and others. God will help us write on our pages if we will but let Him. He will not write for us but will guide as we write.
An interesting thing about our new pages we can only change things as we write. Once written the record is forever sealed. Every page is a day that will tell how we used our time and talents. No page will be left blank.
This New Year has 365 new pages write upon them what you would be proud for others to read. Each page will be a record we will one day have to give account for. Write well and with care.

A Gift For The Lord

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. “ John 3:16

In this one of the busiest times of the year we are hurriedly trying to get ready for the holidays. People are frantic to select just the right gift. Trying to give what will please others. Make the decorations look just right. Make sure all is in readiness for Christmas. The question you always hear is, “Are you ready for Christmas?” Most answer, “No I may never be ready?”
As we prepare for the Lord’s birthday let us not lose sight of what we must prepare.
We must prepare our gifts. Each selected with the utmost care and thought. We select gifts for all our loved ones. We give to each a gift selected and given with love. God is no different. He looked all over heaven and selected the most perfect gift He could find. In the book of John we get a glimpse of what God found to give to us. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. “ John 3:16

What kind of gift are you going to give to the Lord on his birthday? As I looked into God’s Word I found in 1 Corinthians 3:10-13 “According to the grace of God which is the master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood hay, stubble; every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be tried by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.”

On the Lord’s birthday many will give him precious stones—for they are shining lights to a world of darkness. These stones may look like service, testimony, talent, time; love one for another, just to mention a few.
Others will give gold, and silver. For they love the Lord and want to share with others what they have received. This may be in the form of spiritual or material gifts.
But the majority will give the Lord a box of sticks. Boxes filled with wood hay and stubble, the leftovers and the most worthless with only superficial value. This is evidenced by their lack of concern for the lost, needs of others, or for the Lord’s church. They love sin too much. There is pleasure in sin for a season then we must pay the price. Most just love themselves too much they only want what is in it for me. Sounds a lot like vanity and pride is coming before the Lord.
You can’t just go out to Wal-Mart and buy Christ a gift. You do have something he wants. You can give him your heart. How much do you really love God? How about your talent? God gave each of us special talents that only we can use. He would like to have you use those talents for him. It has been said if we don’t use the talents we have we stand a chance to lose those talents. What about your time? Oh wait now…. I am way too busy to give any of my time. Ok, but could you simply study to show yourself approved, pray for those who are in need of God’s help and guidance, how about telling someone about Jesus. How much time would that take?

Do we give God our best or is God last on our list? Is He even on our list? While you are making a list and checking it twice make sure Jesus is on your list. It is His birthday after all. On that first Christmas God gave the very best He had to offer. The best gift he owned. What will we give him? Why does God only get the seconds, thirds the unwanted? Why never the newest and best? We give our family and friends our best. We search every store to find the perfect gift. How come we leave God out?

If you knew Jesus was coming to your house Christmas morning what would He find under your tree with His name on it? Would he find his name on any gift? If there is a gift there would it be fit for a king or a pauper? God gave His best what will you give Him?

Independent Thinking

Matthew 4:3-4, “And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
I was thinking how crucial is it that we yield everyday to God’s will? The enemy knows when and where we are weak. He also knows when we walk in complete surrender to God he has no control over us. As we walk with the Lord the devil can get no foothold in our lives.
It is when we act independently that we run into problems. Satan tried to get Jesus to act independently. He suggested that since Jesus was the Son of God he had the power to act on his own behalf. “Turn these stones into bread and feed yourself”, he tempted.
It is true Jesus could have done that and more but Jesus knew He could not act outside God’s will. He was to do things that only were pleasing to the Father. Remember what Jesus told Satan, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
The flesh was never intended to walk independent of God. Jesus was to walk by the Spirit and so should we. Our flesh was never intended to control us, that is the devils tool and the lies he whispers in our ears.
Sin has its roots in independent thinking and action that is outside the will of God. If we choose to walk outside God’s Will and Word we will fall into sin. The devil would have us think and act independent of God for he knows if we do he can defeat us. The wages of sin is death we are told. We will also fall for any and all of the devils snares. But if we will confess our sins the Lord is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. If we walk in the light and love of the Savior then the devil has no power in our lives.
One thing we must grasp like none other is that unforgiven sin in the life of the believer gives Satan a “hold”! Once we understand that reality we will flee from our lust and cast Satan and his band out of our lives. Satan can only have an effect on us when we allow him to have control.
Let us pray Lord help us to do and say only those things that are pleasing to You. When we are tempted to act on our own, let Your Spirit prompt us instead to seek Your will.

God Loves Me

1 John 4:19, “We love him, because he first loved us.”
Does God really love us? That question is asked by those who may be going through some trial or crisis. Sometimes it is hard to understand just how much God does love us. How deep His abiding love is for His children. Our pride and fear causes us to not be able to grasp that God does love us just as we are. It is that pride and fear that the devil will use to make us doubt God’s love.
At times we all struggle with pride; we tend to believe that we have earned any love we receive. Pride whispers we are only loved when we are loveable. At other times we feel the tug of fear. Somewhere deep inside we feel there is that nagging fear that we really don’t deserve to be loved. Our motives don’t seem to be pure, and fear tells us we will be rejected if those motives are exposed. While we bask in the acceptance there is the fear of revealing that we are much less than what others think us to be?
Many times we all feel our relationship to God and His affection toward us is based on our performance. When we are saintly He loves us when we are sinners not so much. When we do well He loves us more and when we mess up His love is less. Nothing could be farther from the truth. It is not for what we do or who we are that God loves us. Just as I am Jesus loves me and died so that I might live. God does not love us because we deserve it. He loves us in spite of who or what we are. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
Romans 6:23 makes a clear statement of what we deserve, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
God loves us just as we are and His love will never fade. Just as a mother loves her child no matter if that child is clean or dirty so God loves us. When we make mistakes He loves us. When we are hurting He cares for us. When we fall He will pick us up.
It is because God loves us and what Jesus Christ did for us that we will always know God loves us. That simple truth shatters our pride and dispels our fears. So when we feel unloved consider this, no one is beyond the reach of God’s love.

What Do We Ask God For?

Matthew 6:6-8, “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.”
We hear a lot about making list and checking them twice this time of year. We all are guilty of making wish list and presenting them to God. Then setting back and waiting for Him to gather all the stuff we want and drop it on us. Then get upset when we don’t see any movement on our wish list. Satan then uses our confusion to whisper, “See I told you God really doesn’t want to give you the stuff you want.” Problem is we listen to the whisper instead of God. Could it be we have wants and needs confused? Are we listening to the wrong voice?
In Philippians 4:6 we are told to make our request known to God. But prayer is much more than telling God what we want Him to do for us. Jesus taught His disciples how to pray. He began by telling them, “Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. (Mathew 6:8)
The Lord’s instruction about how to pray is more about living in a growing, trusting relationship with our Heavenly Father than about getting what we want from Him. Have you ever noticed most of our prayers are nothing more than a wish list of the things we want? As we grow in faith, our prayers will become less about making a wish list and more about having a conversation with the Lord. Would we be happy is we got everything we asked for? Toward the end of his life, C. S Lewis wrote, “If God had granted all the silly prayers I’ve made in my life, where should I be now?”
Just as our children ask us for things we know they only want and do not really need so then does our Heavenly Father know our hearts. Jesus made it real clear when He said, “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.”
God really likes to just have a talk with us, an intimate and personal conversation. He already knows what we really need so maybe we need to shorten our wish list and only include the things that really matter. Share with the Lord the desires of our heart and not our heads. Do you start and end you day with a prayer or do you only talk to God only when you are in trouble. Do you thank Him for His goodness and for the wonders all around? Do you do all the talking or do you listen to hear the answer? Many years ago I heard a Sunday school teacher tell her class “when your mouth is open your ears are closed. If you are talking Jesus can’t talk to you.” Sound advice don’t you think?
Our highest privilege is to talk to God; our highest duty is to listen to Him.

Serving Others

Mark 9:41, “For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.”
How many times do we look for that one big splash to prove how much we love God and are devoted to His service? Jesus said the simple act of giving another a drink of water is never missed and the reward in never lost. There may not be press releases or banquets served but God sees and he remembers. The one you give the drink of water to my forget your moment of service after you render it and you may not consider it something great but God will never what you did for someone else.
Fortunately most Christians are not required to be martyred for their faith. Nor will they be tortured for the sake of Christ. But every Christian is required to die to self, to think of others and how the kingdom of God can be glorified and God’s name magnified.
Every day we all pass by on the other side when we see someone hurting or in need. Maybe all that is needed is a word of encouragement or just a compassionate listening ear. Is there someone in your church who has lost a loved one who could benefit from a phone call to see how they are doing and let them know someone cares? Maybe there is brother or sister who may need a helping hand physically or financially and god has shown you the need where you could help? Is there a teen who may be suffering from peer pressure that a mentor to overcome some personal insecurities? And then the one in the church who is most forgotten is the pastor. When was the last time he was given a word of encouragement or a thank you or a can I help with the burden you are carrying? Preachers are people too and they need support and care sometimes. The problem is most pastors will never let on they need help or could use a helping hand. God knows when and how His servants can benefit from the support of those He has placed under the shepherds care.
For those who are willing to serve and never get recognition are the ones God sees and will care for. The one who is willing to serve anonymously to glorify the kingdom will not lose their reward. Notice what Jesus said, you would not get a reward you would not lose your reward. God keeps good records and when it comes time to reward those who serve for His glory all rewards will be handed out. There are eternal blessings to each and every unselfish act to help another.
We all have been given special skills to be used for God’s glory. He knows who could use a kind word or a helping hand. He also knows who has the skills that are needed and who will need them. God will put those with the skills together with those who could use the help. Are you willing to be used by the Lord?

Christian Living

Galatians 2:20-21, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.”
As Paul is writing to the church at Galatia he is speaking to a group that is being taught to live by the law. Legalism has dominated their lives and the teaching that salvation is earned by works was causing problems. Paul makes a very interesting statement, I am dead yet I live. What he is talking about is the old man and the sinful nature was crucified with Jesus on the cross. It is through Jesus that he lives and his life is because of the Son of God. The law now has no affect on his life. Then as now many felt that to be saved and get to heaven you had to work your way there. You have to be good and perfect or you will miss heaven.
Paul does not claim that godly living is not a part of salvation. In fact he makes it very clear when he says, “I am not saved because I am good, I am good because I am saved: I live by the faith of the Son of God.”
The devil would have us to believe today that you have to work your way to heaven. If you believe that way you will work yourself to death and still not get to go. Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
How much work would it take, if work were the standard for salvation, would we have to do to repay Jesus for the price He paid for us on Calvary? What kind of work would that be? How many would want that job? Paul makes a very clear statement when he says, “I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.”
Christian living is not meant to be by a set of rules that we are to follow. It is about a Person we are to follow and pattern our lives after. Because Christ loved us and gave himself for us that we should love and give ourselves for him! Christian living is to be according to Christ and His teachings not structured by rituals and traditions. Christianity is more than belonging to a church or embracing a theology it is and should be about Christ and Him crucified. When we pattern our lives after Jesus church life and fellowship with God will be greater and more fulfilling.

Weed or Wheat

Matthew 13:24-26, “Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.”
What does your life today say about where you will spend eternity? Jesus taught in parables that everyone could understand and relate to. One such parable was about sowing weeds in with the wheat.
If you were to look into a hand full of seeds it would be difficult to tell the weeds from the wheat. After they are all planted and grow then can you see the difference. As Jesus explained to remove the weeds sometimes will cause the wheat to be damaged. Let them both grow and then at harvest the weeds can be separated from the wheat.
If you were to be asked to describe the fruit that is growing in your life could you tell the weeds from the wheat? One thing the master deceiver will whisper in our ears is, “it really doesn’t matter what you believe just so you are sincere.” But it does matter! There is a difference in weeds and wheat.
If you walk down an aisle and cry on a pastor’s shoulder echo a few words that only come from your head and not from your heart it does matter. You will still be lost. You can even go through the baptismal waters but if your heart is not changed then all you get is wet. What about being born into a Christian family that should count for something? It counts but it will not get you through the gates of heaven. Salvation is a personal thing and as the old song goes you have to walk there all by yourself. No one can get saved for you. What about making a “public profession of faith” surely that would get someone’s attention? Yes but without repentance and faith in Jesus you will still be just a weed.
None of that will get you into heaven. Jesus said no man cometh unto the Father but through me. He also said by their fruit ye shall know them.
In every religious group there are wheat and tares. Each grows side by side but in the end one will be harvested and one will be burned. So what is the difference? One is washed in the blood of Calvary and the other is not. One has been born again and one is still stuck in tradition and religious rituals. It is vain to argue who is right and who is wrong each will be judged and examined by God and He will alone will know who is His and who is not. He will examine each and look for the blood of Calvary. Those who do not have the blood will be cast out.
Unlike seeds that cannot be changed we can be changed from weeds to wheat all it takes is trusting Jesus, confessing or sins and believing in our hearts he was raised from the dead. You can be religious and lost. Examine your heart to see if Jesus is there God does?

The Cross of Christ

1 Corinthians 1:23-25, “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
The apostles were preaching to a very mixed and divers crowd after Christ went to the cross. What was their message? Christ and Him crucified.
It was a lesson how something good could come from a tragic example. As the book of 1 Corinthians and most of the New Testament states it was the crucifixion of Christ which put away our sins and provided us a way to get to the righteousness we needed for salvation.
Why was this message a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks? The Jews were sure all their prayers, sacrifices and obedience to the laws Moses gave them would save them. It really gave them problems to think they had to believe a lowly man of Nazareth could provide them salvation. The Greeks on the other hand were scholars and technocrats and by that any message salvation through a crucified carpenter was totally nonsense. Their philosophical minds just could not comprehend this simple concept. Their theory about life, purpose, and meaning and to some since salvation was way more complicated than the death of a man they did not trust nor believe.
The Jews were religious and the Greeks were educated. Sounds a lot like us today. Many just can’t grasp the fact that salvation is as simple as asking God for forgiveness and accepting Jesus died to pay their sin debt. Many are hung up on religion and traditional symbolism. Jesus plan of salvation just does not make rational sense.
Many Jews did receive the message of Christ crucified, and countless Greeks embraces Jesus as their Lord and Savior. What made the difference to these? Some, Paul says, were called. The message of Christ was powerful enough to convince them the law they had been trying to follow was dead and wise enough to transcend their best philosophies. To them Jesus was not offensive or foolish; he was salvation. His was a message of freedom and a life of peace.
The message is the same today yet there are many who thing it foolishness and others who are offended. Many more try to put mans ideals into a simple plan only to find man’s plans do not work. Religion won’t save anyone, education won’t direct you to Jesus, membership in a church or organization is not a ticket to heaven. John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
How do you view the cross? Is it offensive and foolish, or powerful and wise and liberating?

Spending Time WithGod

Proverbs 4:20-22, “My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.”
As we all look and live by a calendar have we put a time when we spend time with God? What is on our calendar for today? Have you scheduled a time you spend time with your Heavenly Father? In the midst of all your daily struggles and the demands of daily life is there a time we spend alone with the God of Heaven just to listen to His words?
It is critical that we slow down for a moment and look daily into the Word of God. Why? Because when we are not in the Word we forget who our God is and what He expects and requires of us. We place importance on things of this world and none on the holiness of Almighty God. We lose sight of eternity and get caught up in the temporal trial of life. Our perspective becomes blurred. Many today only open their bible on Sunday morning if they make it to church. By not being in tune with God we lose sight of truth and fall into subjection to the flesh.
Most today spend more time reading the paper, novels or watching TV than they do studying the Word of God. Study to show thy self approved. What would we do if the preacher on Sunday morning read a book report or quoted from the evening news? We would be appalled and think he had lost his mind and the wagging tongues would work overtime. All expect him to study so he can tell us what God had to say. While this is true it is not limited to only the pastor we should all want to know what God has to say. We should have that burning desire to follow and get as close to God as possible. We can only do that when we spend time in His Word. When was the last time you were hungry for spiritual uplift and spent time at the feet of Jesus in meditation and prayer? When did you last seek His guidance for the challenges you were facing?
In our daily verse we see where wise Solomon express the importance of our daily walk with the Lord through His Word. God has a great desire to communicate with His children. He wants us to know and understand His ways. To do that we have to spend time with Him hear what He has to say then apply His direction. I can hear all the excuses now, “I just don’t have time” “I don’t understand the bible” “I don’t remember where I put the bible”. Hum would your mother or father accept those excuses for not visiting with them? Neither will God!
Open God’s Word and spend time with the Father and let Him enrich your life and give peace to your soul. As you schedule each hour of your day don’t forget to schedule God some time. He really would like to hear from you and spend time with you. He loves you and misses you.

Sin And Its Effects

1 Samuel 2:17, “Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD: for men abhorred the offering of the LORD.”
Hebrews 3:13, “But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”
Many times we think sin is something that only happens to someone else or it is what we see on the evening news. Man by nature is a sinful creature. The bible gives us the definition of sin, “for him that knoweth to do right and doth it not to him it is sin.” Sin is something we don’t want to talk about and surely don’t want anyone to know about. It can come quick and it has long reaching fingers. It can and will deceive us. It is a lie that the devil uses to keep us from the God who loves us and paid a high price for us.
Sin can reach from the pulpit to the back pew. Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” No one is safe from the ravages of sin. 1 Samuel chapter 2 talks about how the sons of Eli the priest were causing a entire nation to turn away from God. Just like these sons of Belial, or worthless men loved sin more than they loved God we today are lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. What dose sin cause? It causes us to harden our hearts and draw away from God. Sin comes in many forms and will affect many people. Whether the sin is lust or greed or anger or pride (to name a few) it will deceive us by promising to give us pleasure, satisfaction or success. To gain an upper hand or get more stuff is the lie the devil uses to lure us away from the truth of God.
This is nothing more than a lie Satan uses to defeat God’s children. He polishes up worldly stuff and bates us to just take one little taste. What can it hurt? He sneers. But it is a lie. True and lasting joy and peace can only come through the love of God. We must walk in constant vigilance for our adversary is like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.
We are in a war daily and we must be prepared to fight. We must fight while it is yet today for there is coming a day when we will not be able to fight. There is coming a day when all will have to stand and give account for the life God gave to each. We cannot afford to put off dealing with sin. The work of repentance and faithfulness is a fulltime and daily job.
Today is almost over and our Lord is one day closer to His return. Amos told us to prepare to meet our God. Are we ready for His coming? Will you get to go with Him or will you be left behind?

Why Did Jesus Cry In The Garden?

Matthew 26:36-38-38, “Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.”
Let us go to the garden of Gethsemane and see why Jesus cried. This was not the first time Jesus shed tears but it was the first time his tears were caused by such emotional and spiritual pain. Let us try to feel what Jesus felt as He prayed.
He had just been teaching in Jerusalem and had just told His disciples what was about to happen. The shadow of the cross was looming large. Vs 38 we get a glimpse of His emotional state, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.”
Jesus knew all this had started in a garden and now it was coming to an end as He prayed in this garden. Three times He prayed for other options.
He saw Jerusalem as a city where religion and gone wild; a place where idols of gold and silver were worshiped in place of the God who created the heaven and earth. This hurt. Everyone in Jerusalem should have seen Him for who He was but none did. How that must have hurt? What must He feel as He looks on us today here is America?
He took His most trusted friends to the garden to watch and pray with Him. As He was agonizing in the garden these who had said they would die for Him were asleep. They were more concerned with taking a nap than they were with Jesus. How many today fit into that same mold?
What must Jesus feel about those who fill church rolls but never darken the doors? Or those who sing ‘Oh how I love Jesus’ on Sunday morning and take His name in vain on Monday. Do you think that brings a tear to His eye?
The greatest pain may have been about the lost souls He was about to die for. Jesus knew He was about to die for the sin of all mankind. He was to become sin and the penalty for that was DEATH.
He prayed not my will but thine be done.
I know they don’t love me---but I will gladly die for them.
I know they won’t serve me- -but I will gladly die for them.
I know they will wander off-- but I will gladly die for them.
I know judgment day is coming and I will have to cast many into a lake of fire--- but I will gladly die for them.

This may be just a small peak into why Jesus was crying in the garden. Are we still making Him cry by our actions and rejection of Him?

Do We Sow Mixed Seed?

1Peter 1:23, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible by the word of God which liveth and abideth forever.”
The seed must be the right seed. We need to sow the best seed if we expect to reap the best fruit. We are not to sow mixed seed. We can’t mix the seed so as to satisfy the natural man. I read a story about evangelist Sam Jones. At one of the services where he was preaching he was told that he was rubbing the fur the wrong way. He replied then you best turn the cat around. God is not the author of confusion. Satan on the other hand is the master of confusion. If he can get you to sow mixed seed then the pure message won’t get out and souls will be lost or God’s work will go undone. When Jesus preached he also was told “you offend these people…” . The natural man understandeth not the things of God. We are not to mix satan’s message with God’s message. “We don’t do that!” “Really?” Let us see if that is true. Do you love your neighbor as you love yourself? Satan’s message is you really don’t have to do that? God’s message is, “Oh yes you do.” Satan’s message let’s take and separate church and state. Let’s take God out of our schools. After all we need to teach our kids and make sure they are well educated. Humm! God’s message, “children obey your parents for that is the first commandment with promise.”
Preach the gospel in season and out of season. That is God’s message. Preach the gospel to the entire world so that my house may be filled. Satan then injects it really doesn’t matter what you believe just as long as you are sincere. The road to hell is paved with sincerity. There will be a lot of sincere religious people standing at the gate begging for a drop of water to cool their tongues. That is God’s message.
The fact is that there will be many who are members of the church who will be standing in empty buildings one Sunday morning wondering why the preacher is late and why no one is preparing for the service. They will be joined by others who just didn’t have time to get involved. When God reaps the harvest of the save born again souls He will cast into the fire all the tares; those who did not believe God would do such a thing. Don’t believe me take a look at Matthew 13: 24-30. Especially note verse 30, “ Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.” Now you don’t have to believe or accept this message. Satan would prefer you not listen. The choice is yours. Heaven or hell you chose.
Jesus said this message would fall in many places. It will fall on the hard hearted. Those who are just too good to be religious and don’t need to be saved, the ultra religious, those who just don’t need God in their lives. He also said it would fall on the half hearted. Those who are saved but just don’t have time to get involved. Just go to church when they feel it is needed. Those who would not ever tell anyone about Jesus for fear they might be labeled as a Christian. Then there is the whole hearted or what Jesus called fertile ground. When our seed falls on a heart that is truly looking for God that seed will take hold and God will give the increase. It is our job to sow the seed of the gospel. It is God’s job to give the increase. I ask this question. What kind of seed are you sowing? Do you keep your seed hidden? What type of harvest do you expect? Where will you be when Jesus comes for the harvest?