The Garden

 One of the most powerful scenes in the movie, "The Passion Of Christ," is that of Jesus praying in Gethsemane just before He was arrested. Mark 14 says that He was "filled with horror and deep distress" over what was about to come upon Him. As He prayed, the devil appeared, which he'll almost always do whenever anyone tries to seek the face of God. As Jesus pours His agony out to the Father, Satan whispers to Him that what He's about to do, go to the cross, and take the sin of the world, of me and of you, upon Himself, was too much for Him to bear. For anyone to bear. He couldn't do it. He must turn from it. Jesus cries out, "Abba (Daddy), Father, everything is possible for You. Please take this cup of suffering away from Me. Yet I want Your will, not mine." As He lies prostrate, the devil whispers, "Who is Your father?" and after a pause adds, "Who are You?"

All who follow Jesus will come to their own Gethsemane, their own place of crisis, decision, surrender. It will be a dark and lonely place and we, you and I, will also find ourselves filled with "deep distress and horror." We'll also hear the voice of the enemy along with his whispers that seek to turn us away from Him, to step back and give up. To agree that what He calls us to can't be done. That we must turn back from it. He'll ask those same questions of us; Who is your Father? Who are You? Everything depends on whether we know the answers to those questions. Do we? Do you?

Who is your Father? What is His character? What is His heart.....towards you? Have you settled these questions? Do you, like Paul, know who it is you've believed in? Are you persuaded that what you've given to Him, entrusted Him with, will be kept by Him? Securely. Safely. Forever. Do you know all that He gives, and do you know what He does not give?......A means to avoid going to your own Gethsemane.... but that He will give Himself to you there.

Who are you? Do you know the answer to that? Does your answer come from what others have said, what the world says, and most of all, what the devil has spoken? Or, does your answer come from what He has said and continues to say about you? That you are precious, fashioned by His love in your mother's womb. Scripture says that before He formed you, He knew you, and He knows you now, in your own Gethsemane. He knows too that if you will hold onto Him, He will lead you out of this place of distress and horror. Or, so saturate you with His presence that it loses all of its power over you. You know His peace there. You will discover, through this garden and its cross, His resurrection life flowing into and out of you.

The scene in "The Passion," ends with a snake moving out of the folds of the devil's robes. It moves towards Jesus, seeking to sink its poisonous fangs into Him, but with one powerful step, the Lord crushes it, killing it. Just as He will shortly crush the devil under His foot and the power of sin, on the cross. He means for you to experience the power and reality of this in your own Gethsemane. Hold to Him as you do. 

Are you hearing the enemy's whispers in the dark? Whispers that accuse even more than they question. Listen more deeply. You will hear the still small voice of the One who has crushed the snake and given you your answers of Truth. He has shown you the Father, made Him known to you, and made yourself known to you as well. Stand up. Go forward. Holding to Him, dying in Him, rising with Him, and best of all, living in Him. Know who you have believed in. Be persuaded.

Blessings, 

Pastor O