LIFE AND DEATH

Part Two of Two: Gethsemane

Christ had a life and death decision to make, so He knelt in the Garden of Gethsemane and prayed to the Father.

Although it’s not necessarily the position of the body but the position of the heart, there is no better place to be than on your knees to God. If it was good enough for Christ, then it is good enough for me. It is true submission. Furthermore, to submit to something greater than oneself, is good for the soul and is good for our faith.

Gethsemane is the place of decisions and here on His knees, Christ was about to atone for the disobedience in the first Garden. Christ’s substitutionary death on the Cross primarily forgave Adam’s disobedience at the tree, but opened the door for the forgiveness of mankind’s sin nature, but only through Christ. Redemption is only available by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ our Savior, from the sin that separated us from God in the Garden of Eden.

We all have Gethsemane moments each and every day of our lives.

And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt [Matthew 26:39 KJV].

We can take a lesson from Christ. At the first sign of trouble or heaviness, He went to the Father and “. . .nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”

The enemy is relentless and we must be alert and vigilant [1]. Remember that during a time of temptation, the enemy will always open a door when you want to say “No” to God. However, God will always open a door when you want to say “Yes” to Him. Which door will you go through?

So, what is the solution to temptation? Take Christ’s lead and invoke the name of Jesus and “Jesus, save me!” He WILL always answer that short prayer and cry for help. Will we ever walk through the wrong door? Of course, but it is the process of renewing the mind [2]. This invocation works for me for the most part, but when it doesn’t, it is totally me and due to my answer when I say “No” to God. Just ask for forgiveness with a contrite heart [3] and move on.

Prayerfully, we will walk through the right door more times than not.

God bless you’s and have a great week one and all.
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[1] 1 Peter 5:8
[2] Romans 12:2
[3] Contrite heart means to be remorseful and repentant. Certainly DO NOT be presumptuous in saying that it is OK to sin that God will forgive me anyway (Romans 6:1, 2).
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