April 17
Eternal Rock of Ages, what Wonder You Are. Thank You gracious God for all have done and continual the midst of Your children. Thank You for answers to prayers, for when we call You answer to us.
God is love; thank You for Your undying and unending love that made You give up Your Son to draw us back to Yourself. What a priceless gift that is incomparable. Thank You Father.
Beloved, what great moment that calls for sober reflection in our lives. Don’t allow this moment to pass you with accepting Him into your but if have, just take a step further by observing a quiet moment and allow Him reveal Himself afresh to you. What a fatal moment indeed in the life of our Saviour Jesus Christ:
“Stay awake and pray so that you won’t enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”—Mark 14:38
At times your spirit must demand supremacy over your flesh. Your spirit will know what your Lord wants you to do, but your flesh will cry out for its own fulfillment. There are times when sleep must be denied, even when you are exhausted, because it would be disastrous for you to rest at such a time. When the Lord commands you to “watch and pray,” it is crucial that you obey.
As Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, He knew that the pinnacle of His ministry was quickly approaching. He was aware that the legions of hell were marshaling their forces to defeat Him. If there were ever a critical time for His closest friends to be undergirding Him in prayer, this was it. Jesus told them that He was deeply distressed, even to the point of death. Surely they could have sensed the intensity in His voice and the urgency of His demeanor, and surely they could have found the strength to obey His request. Yet He found them asleep. No excuses. They had fallen asleep at the most pivotal moment in human history, not once but three times!
Jesus asks you to join Him in what He is doing. He may ask you to watch and pray for an hour. You may have to deny your physical needs and desires in order to pray with Him. You may have to leave the comfort of your bed or your home. You may even have to sacrifice your safety in order to be where Jesus is. Seek to bring every physical desire under the control of the Holy Spirit so that nothing will impede your accomplishing what Jesus asks of you.
Beloved, you know the desires that are you need to keep under check. This advice is very important that we adhere to it. Why someone need to why it very important we adhere to the teachings of our Lord Jesus. Despite being with the Lord Jesus, the disciples still failed.
Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will run away, because it is written:
I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered.”—Mark 14:27
As you follow Jesus you will face moments of great distress. At times it will seem that events conspire to cause you to stumble in your relationship with Him. You do not initiate them, but they arise from opposition or the intensity of your circumstances. Nevertheless, failure is the end result. The disciples faced such fierce opposition to their Lord that they all failed Him on the night Jesus was crucified.
Peter boasted that he was incapable of forsaking Jesus (Mark 14:29–31). Yet Jesus assured the disciples even before their failure that it was inevitable. The Scriptures had prophesied it. God always knew the disciples would fail His Son; He wasn’t caught by surprise. He had made provision for their shortcomings, knowing He would eventually develop them into apostles who would fearlessly preach the gospel, perform miracles, and teach others. Later, when the risen Christ encountered Peter on the seashore, He did not ask Peter for a confession of his sin, but a confession of his love (John 21:15–17).
You may fear that your failure has caught God by surprise. Perhaps you promised, like Peter, to stand with the Lord, but you failed. God was just as aware that you would fail Him as He was with the original disciples. He has made provision to respond every time you stumble. Don’t think that somehow your failures are bigger or more complex than any God has dealt with. If you are facing challenges that seem overwhelming, don’t be discouraged.
God has already foreseen them and prepared for them (1 Cor. 10:13). Just ensure that you made yourself available to part take from this awesome provision. Don’t deny yourself of the grace of repentance like Judas did, rather be open to God and acknowledge your human frailty like Peter and His grace will be abound to you.
Remain blessed in the Lord.
Evang. Ifeoma Ohondu
