Garden of Gethsemane Archives -

No need for the sword, the battle is the Lord’s! Still tip-toeing up to Easter morning…you can read our other postings on Holy Week here and here.

Jesus has left the Garden of Gethsemane where He prayed “great drops of blood”…asking the Father to remove the “cup” from Him.

“Not my will, but thine be done.” Prayed Jesus.

The disciples slept on…and on…and on. Jesus could not keep them awake. Yet this was a battle He had to fight on His own.

“Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.” Matthew 26:46.

The current battle is at hand. Jesus has wrestled all night with His fate, knowing the great task before Him. Yet He gives in to the will of the Father.

“And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people.

Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.” Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him. But Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?”

Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him. And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.”

When I was younger, I always felt a little sorry for Peter. He thought he was doing his Lord a favor by intervening on His behalf and chopping off the ear of a soldier! “Impetuous Peter”, we call him. Jesus responds to his hasty overreaction in this fashion,

“But Jesus said to him, ‘Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?’” Matthew 26:52-54 NKJV.

Put your sword in its place, Peter! Put your sword in its place ___________ (insert YOUR name here).

How many times have we been like Peter? We think we have it all figured out. We know the ending (or so, we assume). We do not understand why God has not intervened in the situation and just with His spoken Word, sentenced everyone involved to the Lake of Fire. That might be a little dramatic but we are that impulsive at times.

Friends, it isn’t our battle.

The cross belonged to Jesus. He had to give, He had to suffer, He had to endure to the very end. All of this so we would not have to! Yes, He did it for YOU.

Every battle you have faced since you embraced the cross, the CHRIST, has been handled by Jesus.

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He fights.

You rest in confidence.

He wins.

See, He didn’t stay on the cross. Please do not keep Him there! He had to go to Calvary, He had to give His very life as the ultimate sacrificial Lamb so there would be no more need for a sacrifice!

The veil in the temple was torn in two, symbolizing the perishing of the Law and instituting of Grace. No more need for a sacrifice or a mediator. No need to confess your sins to a priest or live in rules and rituals.

He paid the price. He fought the battle. He continues to fight for YOU and ME. On our behalf, He can move mountains, crush the enemy, and send the answer in a moment.

We face anxiousness in this Uncertain Season we find ourselves in right now. But none of it is a surprise to our God! Call on Him, give Him your fears and doubts and flood your days with worship and The Word. He doesn’t intend for you to fight this battle alone either. Be encouraged, Sunday is coming!

We are also back into our Warning Signs for Christians today…Part 5 is our final installment and we go out with a bang. If you are just joining us, or missed any of the series you can catch up! Part one is here, Part 2 Lethargy & Rebellion, Part 3 Modesty, and Part 4 Pornography, Fornication & Adultery.

Shut the Front Door! Pt. 5 Gossip & Prayerlessness

Gossip

Eleanor Roosevelt said it best, “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.”

Does anyone benefit from gossip? No, absolutely not. In reality, everyone involved is harmed. The one who brings the news has hurt their reputation, the one who decides to stay and hear “the dirt” has done the same and also possibly endures shame and embarrassment, depending on the content.

Then there is the subject of the gossip. If they are innocent, lies are being spread about them and they may not even know it. Even if they are guilty, it is their business and between them and God, the gossip is doing no one any good. It only stirs up more trouble.

The Bible speaks very plainly about those that gossip, only it calls them talebearers. It speaks of younger widows that have cast off their first faith, “And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.” 1 Timothy 5:13.

A person that gossips cannot be trusted. Proverbs 11:13 tells us that, “A talebearer reveals secrets, But he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter.”

If so-called friends share secrets about others WITH YOU, they will talk ABOUT YOU to others behind your back!

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“A perverse man sows strife, And a whisperer separates the best of friends.” Proverbs 16:28. Here the Word shows us that gossip will literally destroy friendships.

Proverbs 20:19 NKJV. “He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets; Therefore do not associate with one who flatters with his lips.”

When you are betrayed by a talebearer it is difficult to trust again and when you are The Whisperer, and gain that reputation, it is something you are likely to never overcome.

If we didn’t carry gossip, it wouldn’t go very far.

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The Bible tells us to “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice…whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Philippians 4:4-9.

Prayerlessness

Finally, the most dangerous pitfall for any Christian is to neglect their prayer life. Like the physical body cannot live without water, the spiritual body cannot survive without prayer. We have to have that communication with our Lord. The more time we spend with Him, the more time we will want to spend with Him!

To go without prayer is to display the attitude that we don’t need God in our lives…we can make it without Him. Oh, we don’t think that in our brain but it is essentially what we are saying with our hearts and living out with our lives! We can handle this God. In the book “How to Pray”, by Ronnie Floyd, he says, “Prayer occurs when you depend on God”, and “Prayerlessness occurs when you depend on yourself.”

Our Lord set the standard in His ministry for our prayer lives.

“Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.” Luke 6:12.

“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Luke 5:16 NIV.

If Jesus showed us how important it was to pray, and even spent 40 days and nights praying and fasting, shouldn’t we heed His example in our own lives?

The answer to every problem, every challenge, every dilemma that we will ever face, can be found on our knees. There really are no excuses, everyone has time. We have to make time, it’s all about our priorities. We have good intentions but we allow other things to get in the way, to take precedence. But the bottom line is that nothing is more important than spending time with the Creator of the Universe!

It is like charging up your cellphone or iPad every day, you have to be “plugged in” to the Source to survive!

The pressures we face in our generation are unprecedented. The coming of the Lord could very well be in our lifetime. The signs are all around us, His return is imminent! Without a relationship we risk hearing Him say, “Depart from Me, I never knew you…”

The enemy literally is working around the clock to distract the Christian like never before. He knows that the more we pray, the more in tune we are with God. And the more in tune we are, the more power we have! When we tap into that power, we are unstoppable. The Bible says even Satan believes and he trembles. If we ever truly get hold of what God intends for us then we can move mountains.

If we want to be a part of the Church of the Living God we know it starts in the prayer closet.

“And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.” Acts 4:31.

Pray in the Spirit! When we forget about the time and start praying in the Holy Ghost, Heaven takes notice. Souls are dying lost every day and going out into eternity. Are they worth our time?

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