Skip to main content

Obeying Anyway

DATE - April 25th, 2022

TOPIC - Obeying Anyway

BIBLE TEXT - [Jesus prayed,] “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine.” Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him. He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood. - Luke 22:42-44



As Jesus prayed in Gethsemane, his sweat fell like drops of blood. Only Luke’s Gospel recounts this. But Luke was a physician, so he understood the physical agony this represented and recorded it in the Gospel. Modern-day doctors describe this sweating-of-blood phenomenon as a physical reaction to extreme psychological stress. Jesus faced an agonizing choice that night. The suffering that he was to endure was not a result of his own wrongdoing, for he was without sin. He could have called ten thousand angels to whisk him away, yet he gave his life rather than give in to his own anguish.

Sometimes believers suffer even when they obey, for we share in Jesus’ suffering as well as in his joy. Sometimes the work before us is difficult or painful, but there is a greater purpose behind our difficulties, and we have the opportunity to share in God’s plan when we do his will in spite of how we feel.


PRAYER
JESUS, I sometimes must be reminded that we share in your suffering just as we share in your joy. The road you choose for me will not always be easy. Help me to remember that to love you is to obey you. Thank you for following your Father’s wishes that night in Gethsemane. Help me to choose the Father’s will in my life as well.

INSIGHT
Obedience to Jesus Christ is essential, but not compulsory; he never insists on being Master. We feel that if only he would insist, we should obey him. But our Lord never enforces his “thou shalts” and “thou shalt nots”; he never takes means to force us to do what he says.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

NEITHER HEIGHT NOR DEPTH

Date - December 28th, 2021 Topic - NEITHER HEIGHT NOR DEPTH Bible Text - For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:38-39 Your parents love you. You may be able to do something that makes them angry, but you will never be able to do anything that makes them stop loving you. Try to imagine this kind of love and then multiply it by infinity. That’s the love that Jesus has for you. That’s the love that God has for you. God made you. He loved you enough to create you. He loved you enough to give you free will. Then he loved you enough to give you his Son. He loved you enough to forgive you for turning away from him. This is an impossible love! This is a love that we may never understand. But we don’t have to understand it. We just have to a

God's Security

DATE 27th January, 2023 TOPIC God's Security LIVING SCRIPTURE Exodus 13:21 KJV And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: Security has been of prime importance to man after the fall of man from glory. The need for spiritual and physical security became a priority due to the rapid increase in crime and violence caused by man's sinful nature and the devil's influence on vulnerable souls. Some people go as far as fortifying themselves with charms and native concussion while other trust in gadgets and technology and the government to protect their lives and properties. And it was not so in the beginning when God created Adam and Eve. The Lord placed man in a garden (a peaceful serene environment) there was absolutely no reason to be afraid or the thought of thieves because the Lord was their security officer. Man fell and the hearts and intents of ma

Christ is not far!

DATE 22nd June, 2023 TOPIC Christ is not far! LIVING SCRIPTURE John 14:16-17 KJV And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;  [17] Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. Jesus Christ came to save us and that we might be one just as He and the Father in Heaven are one. He is not far from those who believe in Him and His words but still many look to the sky or climb high mountains to find the Lord who sits gloriously in our hearts by His Spirit and Words. His words says that the comforter will dwell (continually live in) you and not just that but He will also be with you. He is within and without us in covering and inspiration. Seek not Jesus that is far but He that is closer to your heart and by your confessions daily. TO-DO Call on Him this morning from your hearts and worship and fellowship in the