Pain in the Garden

They walked in the garden together.  Supper was over and the night they would never forget was closing in.  

They were all tired and needed some sleep, but one of them still had a burden that could not be put to rest.  The Teacher looked in the faces of his friends and then asked them to stay where they were and wait, while He walked on ahead.  

He needed to be alone now.  Little did the others know just how alone their Teacher would be before that night was over.  But just now He must be alone in prayer with His Father.  He asked his friends to pray as they were waiting for his return - not just wait - but wait and pray.

Do you think they wondered why?

But as He walked alone, upon the path ahead, 

they settled down, relaxed a bit,

and slept, while his heart bled. 

"My father" Jesus cried "please take this cup away, 

because I know the weight, the debt, the price,
this night I'll pay.

And my Father, God, you know the pain I cannot hide.

Although it’s in Your will, I ever must abide." 

After a while He rose and went back to the disciples.  They were asleep.

"Couldn't you watch and pray one hour?

 Didn't your flesh have that bit of power?

Please watch and pray" again He said, 

as He walked a little way ahead.

 In grief, He fell before the King.

He wept – his heart was shattering.

He prayed, and He sweat with drops like blood.

He prayed to the ever-living God. 

But He said, 

"Not my will be done, but thine."

 And his friends slept on in his darkest time.   

They missed so much!  They had no idea what our Savior suffered for them. They didn't see his struggles.  They did not hear his plea.  How could they know?  

If we ignore this part of the story we will miss much as well.  We won’t see what Jesus, God's Son, suffered for us during those hours in the garden.  There was more suffering ahead, but in these scriptures we see Jesus’ humanity, and in that humanity we see his love and pain so vividly.

If we read Matthew 26:36 - 46 or Mark 14:32 – 41 we will respond with gratitude as well as sadness.

Thank you, Jesus.  Oh, Thank you!

Psalm 25

 Psalm 25 – a Psalm of David

To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul.  

O my God, I trust in You; . . .

Show me Your ways, O LORD;

Teach me Your paths.

Lead me in Your truth and teach me,

for You are the God of my salvation;

On You I wait all the day.

Remember, O LORD, 

Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses,

for they are from of old.

Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions.

According to Your mercy remember me

for Your goodness’ sake, O LORD.

Good and upright is the LORD;

Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.

The humble He guides in justice,

And the humble He teaches His way.

All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth

to such as keep His covenant, and His testimonies.

For Your name’s sake, O LORD,

pardon my iniquity, for it is great.

----

My Prayer

To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul.  

Not just today in this early morning, 

but permanently, forever.

I will lift up my heart and my soul 

to worship You.  

Oh, my God, I trust in You.  Show me Your ways, my Father; I’m human and sinful, so I truly can’t see Your paths or Your perfect ways of living on this fallen earth.  I’m blinded by the chaos of my “everydays.” 

Teach me Your paths, Father.  Give me Your light and order and make Your ways plain to me.  Please show me the path that I should walk in.  Enable me to see the way, if no more than the next step – and then when you show me - the next again. 

Direct me - my guide, walk by my side.

The night is so dark, and I know not the way.

Jesus, keep me secure when I stumble and fall.

I ask only Your hand guiding me, and that’s all.

Tomorrow is Yours.

Please lead me today.

Sow Righteousness

Hosea 10:12   The entire chapter of Hosea 10 shows how sinful the people of Israel had become.  It talks of them planting wickedness and reaping evil.  It speaks of idol worship and depending on themselves instead of God.

But there is one little section in that chapter that stood out in my mind.  Verse 12 gives them advice and a promise.  Hosea tells them:

Sow righteousness for yourselves,

    reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;
    for it is time to seek the Lord,
until He comes and showers his righteousness on you.”

This verse says to “sow” with a view to righteousness.  Sowing takes effort if you have a result in mind.  If, without a thought, I just scatter the seeds of my days without thinking – I am tossing my efforts to nothing. 

The way we live – sow, in this world - affects other people.  It affects our own lives.  It affects creation.  And dare I say it – it affects even God.  

That’s a little hard to believe, but if what we do has no effect on Him, then why would He have banished Adam and Eve from the garden.  Why would He have cleansed the world with the flood?  Why would He have been willing to become a man, to lead us and bring us back to Him?

So, we’re told to sow righteousness – that is, to sow with righteousness as the seeds, and the knowledge of God's unfailing love as the fruit we will harvest after the plowing.

I believe that it’s time for the world to seek the Lord.  

It’s time for me to break up my own unplowed ground.  I was thinking that this scripture may be saying, "seek the Lord in a way you’ve never done before."  The unplowed ground is a new place – not your old garden bed.  The scripture goes on to say we are to keep doing that until He comes back to take us with Him. 

Then He will shower His godly righteousness upon us.

I want to “break up my own unplowed ground.”  

But I wonder what that will involve in the next season of my life.  

Maybe my Heavenly Father will say to me.

Look around my child, and see the world.
Look around my child and cry,
for effort lost and gardens dry.

Look around my child, MY strength apply.
Then plow and plant for righteousness
in unplowed ground - in emptiness.
Look up to Me and try.

 I was reading Psalm 91 today.  The entire Psalm is beautiful and meaningful, but I picked out phrases from it that struck me particularly.  I hope you will be blessed by reading them.  Although these excerpts are from the New International Translation, I loved my old King James reading as well.  You might want to read the entire Psalm in several translations.  I’d love to hear what you think, as you read about the protection from God, our Father and King. 

Thoughts from Psalm 91. 

“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”

“I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.’”

“He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;”

“For He will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

(God is speaking about the one who loves Him)
“He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.”

_____

Dwelling in His shelter, the shelter of His love

Resting in His shadow, protection from above

 

He’s the Refuge that I run to – His feathers guard my heart.

The Father only, has the strength to save from Satan’s dart.

 

The enemy I battle, stains my thoughts, but my God cares.

He commands that angels lift me up – to assure me that He’s there.

 

He protects my mind from doubt and pain,

and when I call upon His name,

He’ll raise me up into His arms.

He’ll shelter me from Satan’s harm.

 

He’ll comfort me.  He’ll keep me safe,

in the fortress of His care.

Forever, will my Father hold me with His love,

and keep me there.

The Logging Season

 Matthew 7 (ESV) “Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 

Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.”

It’s time to start my logging season,

and there is certainly a reason.

There is a log than needs removing

if I can ever start improving.

Looking round the log I’ve found

becomes a harder job each time 

I try to fix another’s sin –

 the speck of sawdust digging in.

Instead I find there, close to home

no speck – a log instead – MY OWN!

If I focus on the speck 

and not see you,

I need to think that picture through.

‘cause when I check that speck I see

it’s judgement that’s controlling me.

……

Jesus said that I’m not good

or smart,

or just,

or kind

when I check your specks and not see mine.

And Jesus says that I must trust

His 

judgement to be always just.

He Cares

 Dear ones, 

We’ve heard so many requests for prayer recently, from hurting, broken people.  Sometimes it feels as if there is no reason to praise God.  But the Bible makes it clear that there truly is a reason to praise the God who IS and will always BE.  This little poem speaks of pain and praise.  I pray that it will comfort and encourage you, that you may be assured that the mighty, caring, perfect God loves you dearly.

Sing praise from a heart that is broken.

Sing praise as we honor God's name.

Sing with your voice and your mind and your soul.

Sing praise to our God in your pain.

As tears stain your pillow, rejoice in His care.

When pain lives in your body, clouding your sight,

and worries abound and your sleep doesn’t come,

sing praise to the God of the night.

The earth cries in anguish, bearing sin’s dire strain.

Since the rebellion of man, darkness falls like the rain.

When thorns tear through tendons and weeds become strong,

when earth becomes hardened, and toil causes pain,

when love becomes selfish and right becomes wrong,

God still promises

A new day will dawn, and the old world will fade.

With trumpets of joy, the King will come in.

The thorns will be kind and the trees will bring shade.

God’s sun will shine through, and God’s kingdom will win.

Glory to God in the heavens!

Glory and power and might!

Glory to Him who designed all creation.

Glory to the Jesus – the Light.

Sing praise to the Father Almighty!

Sing praise to the Son, who defeated sin’s power.

Sing praise when we hear Him, the Spirit of life.

Sing praise in each restless hour.

Rest!  He Cares.

Happy New Year

 

 

A new year has come!  It's 2024!
Things to help me remember:  2+0+2=4,  
even numbers help me to calculate ages, and printing 2024 is prettier than 2023.    

Remember when a “New Year” was pictured as a little child with a banner across his middle?  It was a picture of new beginnings, fresh and clean.  I think I will try to picture 2024 that way – at least for a little while.

So little new year, 

I’ll try to care for your days gently.
I’ll try to greet your minutes well.
I’ll value all the good you bring me,
and words of hope and joy I’ll tell. 

Because I know each year is given from
my Father’s powerful hand.
Because with every new day’s dawning
I see His glory in the land.

 So, I’ll smile at wind and weather.
I’ll rest and sleep 
when black the night.

And when the morning ends my slumber
I’ll greet
"The Everlasting Light.” 

Thank you, Father, for another year of life. 
I pray that my ways, in these days, will be pleasing to You. 

Diane