Even Jesus Suffered

March 2005
Scripture:
...My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. ...O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. ...O my Father, if this cup may not pass from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. Matthew 26:38, 39, 42
Jesus wept. John 11:35
Be sober, be vigilant: because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. I Peter 5:8

Praise The Great God Of Heaven!

As I am writing this message this Sabbath morning, March 5, 2005 at 6:30 AM it is under my mind and body’s protest. I was just about ready to lie down and try to get another hour or so of rest before getting up and getting ready for church. But God gave me this message and told me to get back up and write it down before I forgot the message He had for me to share. I am definitely not bright eyed and bushy tailed at this moment. I am trusting God that He will give me the strength to get to and from church this morning. As many of you already know my health has been suffering greatly from the stress of this ordeal. I have not been sleeping well and have been suffering from extreme back pain. I have been having difficulty making it home from church without falling asleep at the wheel. During the week, I drive all around, back and forth to work even late at night and have not fallen asleep at the wheel. Satan is trying to discourage me from attending church and fellowshipping with the believers. Sabbath mornings have been a struggle for me since Keith has died. Three Sabbaths ago, I made it to church even though I was extremely tired and not feeling well. I was having a hard time staying alert. As the morning progressed, I struggled and struggled to stay alert. I was suffering from a migraine headache, dizziness and fever. Throughout the service, I felt faint and struggled not to pass out. When I walked up to introduce and play Keith’s CD “Leave It There”, it was all I could do not to pass out. I consecrated hard and prayed for God’s help. Through out Pastor Sherwin’s sermon, I attempted to remain focus, but I was fighting dizziness and my eyes were seeing double. I knew I was in trouble. Making it home safely was a concern. I knew driving home was not an option for me. The Sherwins took me home and a couple of friends returned later Saturday night to help me retrieve my car. Two Sabbaths ago, again I was not feeling well and was concern that I would not make it back and forth to church. Knowing that during this time, I especially need to be surrounded by my church family and receive the strength to make it through the week I did not want to miss church. Last week was a blessing, for the first time since Keith passed away Sabbath morning was not a struggle to make it through. I was bright eyed and bushy tail.

I woke up this morning, 5:30 AM to a nightmare. I dreamt that my lawyer and I were at probate court concerning Keith’s estate and the judge refused to even listen to my claim. The judge was adamant that the document that we submitted as Keith’s last will and testimony was not qualified to stand as Keith’s will. This dream is from Satan and I realize it as such. He is trying to win victory in my life. I refuse to allow him any victory in my life. God warns us that the devil walks around like a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour (I Peter 5:8). As Jesus called on three of His closest disciples to watch and pray with Him (Matt 26:4) and Daniel called on his three friends to call on God to reveal the king’s dream (Daniel 2:18), I have called on several of my friends and family this morning through email asking them to pray for me as I too sought God’s comfort and guidance this morning. It is only been the grace of God that has been sustaining me through this ordeal. I am truly trusting God, spending time in prayer and Bible study with Him. But I also realize that I am only human and that God made us with emotions and human bodies that do fail under pressure and stress. You hear all the time, “Just Trust God! He will see you through.” There are some who automatically assume that if you are struggling and your mind is not in the state of “perfect peace” that you cannot be trusting God (Isaiah 26:3). Boy, do I have news for them! Jesus was human! As a man, Jesus suffered and was tempted just like we are, yet He sinned not (Hebrews 4:15). He agonized over decisions between right and wrong.

In the garden of Gethsemane, he suffered and felt like He was alone. He came to talk to His Heavenly Father, to find comfort for a heart heavy with sorrow. Requesting that His closest disciples Peter, James and John pray with Him, He was disappointed when He found them asleep. Therefore, alone, in this last hour before His betrayal, His heart heavy and full of sorrow, He fell on His face before God and pled with God if there be any other way please let this cup pass from me. But yet He died the death of the cross taking our sins upon Himself. He was separated from God because of OUR SINS not His. Jesus, as human, could not see through the death of the cross to His own Resurrection and Ascension to Heaven and He thought the separation from the face of His Beloved Heavenly Father was forever. But He knew that this was the only way for man’s salvation. He knew without the Sacrificial Lamb - Himself - Perfect and without blemish - there would be no forgiveness of sin, all would be lost and that there would be no mercy, no grace only justice for the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Therefore, all mankind would forever be separated from the face of the Father. It was because His love for us (John 3:16) and His desire that none should perish (II Peter 3:9) that he humbled Himself, and became obedient to God the Father giving up His life for us (Philippians 2:8) that we could partake of the grace of God through His shed blood. Like us, Jesus had to trust God and claim His promises. Relying on our feelings to judge our closeness to God is a risky business. A human’s emotions are like a roller coaster always going up and down. We cannot trust our soul’s salvation on how we feel at any given moment. All of us have our emotional ups and downs. Times were we have spiritual highs and spiritual lows. It is only through Jesus Christ and His righteousness that we have any hope of eternal life. Without Him, there is none righteous, no not one ( Romans 3:10) and none will be able to come to the Father.

Following is a Poem I wrote expressing the agony Jesus went through facing separation from His Heavenly Father.

Scripture:
And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our sins only, but also for the sins of the whole world. I John 2:2.





                           Tears Of Blood

        As He hung upon the cross and died for us,
        Forsaken by God - Tears ran down the face of Jesus.
        Tears of blood, His heart and soul in anguish.
        This Lamb of God, without spot or blemish,
        Separated from the face of His Beloved Heavenly Father.
        Believing that He would never see that beloved face again,
        He chose to give His life, suffering this anguishing pain.
        He had pled with His Father, “If there be any other way,
        Let this cup pass from me, But let it be as YOU say,
        Not my will, Father, But thy will be done.”
        He knew justice MUST be served for victory to be won
        So He became Our Substitute, Our Lamb, Our Propitiation!
        Without there would be no mercy, no grace, no salvation
        And man would be forever separated from the Father’s face.
        There would be no eternal life, no mercy, no grace.
       Karen J. Austin

As man, Jesus has suffered and has been tempted in all points as we are (Hebrews 4:15) and yet He sinned not. Therefore, he can empathize with our sufferings and temptations. Through Christ we can overcome sin and find comfort in our times of need. He too has been forsaken by family and friends, denied by Peter, betrayed by Judas, deserted by His disciples, ridiculed by His people, falsely accused by the religious leaders, beaten by the Roman soldiers... Then finally, He was put to death, crucified as though He was a thief or a murderer. But He was undeserving of all this. He was perfect, without sin, yet He took the sins of all the world upon Himself. As God, Jesus already knew the outcome of His trail, just as He knows the outcome of our trails and temptations. Jesus knows that as we go through trails our character is strengthened and we tend to grow closer to God. He promises that He will be right here to help us. He knows in the long run, victory is ours through His shed blood. Therefore He allows us to go through suffering knowing that in the long run God will be glorified. Look at the death of Lazarus, if He had come sooner Lazarus would not had died. But Jesus when he heard that Lazarus was sick stayed two more days where He was that God might be glorified. Seeing Mary weeping, and the Jews with her, Jesus was moved with compassion and wept with them. We are to weep with those who weep ( Roman 12:15). Even Christ was moved with compassion and wept with them when Lazarus was dead, knowing that He was going to call him forth from the grave. He is here to help us through the trails, the temptations, and the tears we face – to help us win victory, to overcome. As I was writing this message, I thought of a poem that I wrote several years ago, when I was in college. I expressed how Christ is moved with compassion and weeps with us. He suffers the agony with us. Christ as human suffered the same trails we do – abandonment, abuse, and betrayal. Therefore, He can both empathize and sympathize with us. Remember, when someone is going through trails and temptations, we need to be there for them. Share their burdens with them, weep with them, and rejoice in their victories. Pray for them. When tears run down our face, tears run down the face of Jesus.

Keeping Your Back Covered In Prayer, Karen Austin

~ Daily Choices ~    Did you know that experiencing the gospel of Jesus in your life is not wrapped up in your physical actions or in your theological knowledge? Did you know that it has nothing to do with your religious denomination or your cultural history?   It is all wrapped up in a bundle of choices. These choices come at us daily. Every time we decide or choose not to decide, we have made a choice about something. Every time God brings something to your heart - a truth or an instruction - we have a choice. We can choose to accept it or we can choose to deny it. It's all in our choice.    Our physical choice does not save us. Salvation is a free gift from Jesus to us. But we must choose to surrender to His love in order to receive His power that enables us to be saved. It's the only way we can have victory. Our choice dictates where we end up.    To illustrate this point, let's look at a few examples of choices from the bible:   The thief on the cross (Luke 23:39-43): The thief didn't live an abundant Christian life. His opportunities to hear truth were much less than most; however, the truth that God had presented to him he chose to accept. By making the choice to fully accept the truth he was presented with at that moment, he was saved. Had he lived on, he would have grown even further in his walk and God would have continued to present him more truth in his daily life to accept as he grew into God's character.   Then there is Caiaphas (John 18:12-14, 19-23). As high priest and a teacher of the Law of God, he had dozens of opportunity to receive truth in his life. Yes, he accepted some of them, or he wouldn't have been a teacher of the law. But he didn't accept all of them. He only accepted what was comfortable for him and denied the rest. As a result, he played a lead role in killing the Son of God. His prior experience and the truths he did accept in his life weren't enough to save him. The truths he chose to deny in the end were his destruction. As a teacher of God's law, Caiaphas had more opportunity for receiving God's truth than the thief. Yet, his decision to only surrender to some of them instead of all of them cost him eternal life.   So it is with us today. Salvation is a gift. It's not based on our works, our past, or our knowledge. It is based on our willingness to fully surrender to the Love that sets us free and can empower us with His gift of eternal life. It's a daily choice and one that each of us must make. Choice is very precious to God. He wants His children to fully love and obey Him by choice, not by coercion. By accepting the truths God brings to us for our lives daily, we open ourselves up to receive God's gift of salvation and will receive His power to do what He asks us to do. We will be changed. To deny God's instruction (truth) for you is to shut the door to His gift of salvation. He accepts us where we are at, but He loves us too much to keep us there. God's gift of salvation is our choice. But it can only be received by choice. What is your choice today?   Kimberly Mills  Elijah Road Ministries Devotional Elijah Road Ministries 4007 Carpenter Road PO Box 233 Ypsilanti, MI 48197 contact@elijahroadministries.org   www.elijahroadministries.org