Agonizing Prayer
“Go with me to the Mt. of Olives. There is a garden there called Gethsemane. We will pass by eight disciples sound asleep. We will go a little farther and find three more that are asleep but are not sleeping well. They are trying to be awake, but can’t quite make it. Let’s walk
The God Who Exists
“The man on the street rejects believing in a God who permits suffering. They only want a God who will fix all things. The one who enters into suffering and weeps with the suffering ones is as much a stumbling block to modern man as it was to people in the New Testament era.
Jesus Reveals God
The Revelation of God’s weeping comes to us in the person of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Jesus Christ is God’s revelation of Himself to the world. God is like Christ. It is God saying, “If you really want to know what I am like, I am showing you in JESUS. Get to know Him
Intercession for the Transgressors
“You cannot separate the tears of the Son from the self-talk of God. His tears are acts of intercession. They both speak to God while expressing the tears of God. To us, tears are a non-verbal form of communication. To the Father they are words that speak volumes; they carry meaning to the Heart
Man of Sorrows
“In the great Suffering Servant passage (Isaiah 52:13 to 53:12) we learn that the Suffering Servant is the Man of Sorrows. We may want someone to walk with us who makes us feel good, someone who is very pleasant company. If we walk in His company we may look in His direction and see
God Prays with Tears
If Jesus was fully God and fully man, then the tears Jesus shed are the tears of God. “The God Who Prays Is Also The God Who Cries. The very thought of the tears of God has moved me deeply. God is not the Unmoved Mover. The God revealed in the Holy Scriptures
Priestly Bells
"You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. There shall be an opening at its top in the middle of it; around its opening there shall be a binding of woven work, like the opening of a coat of mail, so that it will not be torn. You shall make on
How Big our Salvation!
We tend to say that we are saved by the cross. This is only part of it. There are seven key parts of Christ and His ministry that are essential to our salvation. Incarnation, A pre-existent member of the Holy Trinity, the eternal son, became flesh. Life, The scripture says that we are “saved
Love Would Not Let Us Go
The Father loved us so much He would not abandon us. Yes, we had disgraced the family name by our rebellion, yet, He refused to disown His own creatures though they were fallen willfully. His love would not let us go. The law said, “Let them go.” Justice said, “Let them go.” Reason said,
One with the Lamb
Jesus “became the God-man, not for a mere 33 and 1/2 years but for eternity. He who was one with God is now one with us, so that we can be one with the Father through the intimacy of His eternal union with the Father. He came not only to write our names in
Hidden with Christ in God
“Many of us have seen what are called Russian nesting dolls. The way it works is you have one little doll inside another doll. You open it and there can be three or four more inside that one. This might illustrate a little of what Paul means when he says, “your life is hidden
Always Interceding
He is our Great High Priest, able forever to intercede for us. He knows our limitations. He was tempted like we are tempted. He was hurt like we hurt. He was forsaken, mistreated, lied about, and rejected. He has pity on us. He stoops to our weakness because He lived His life in weakness.
Jesus Priestly Intercession
Jesus exalted to the right hand of the Father is for His Priestly intercession for us. “This is atonement. Atonement means at-one-ment. Atonement restricted only to the cross always leads us astray with inadequate plans of salvation. The atonement starts in the incarnation, and includes: the life He lived, the death He died, the
Life Can Be Hard
Life is difficult, but God is praying for you! The overcoming Christ is praying for you to overcome. He is committing Himself to your success and is praying against your failure. He is for you. He is not against you. He died on a cross and descended into death for you. He ascended and
Our Work — His Work
We sometimes want God to do the work in the world that He has asked us to do. We question why He doesn’t act when He could rightfully question why we don’t act. Our prayers should align us with the God who is already at work in the world and in the lives
Praying with the Spirit
“We are called to pray with the Spirit as the Spirit prays through us. Pray until you hear the Spirit praying through you. This is hearing from Heaven. This is praying WITH the Spirit. This is praying IN the Spirit. Let your spirit be tuned to the Holy Spirit. Travel around with the Spirit
Interceding for You
“If the Trinity is what the church says it is, then the intercession of the Son and the Spirit is no less than the “Self-talk of God”. These are intimate conversations with the divine desire for the good of all mankind, the desire that none perish, but all come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
God’s Prayer Partner
If the Son (Romans 8:34) and the Spirit (Romans 8:26–27) pray to the Father for us, then God is talking to Himself about us. “The God who prays invites us to be His prayer partners. This will change how we pray. Our praying God is calling us to a life of prayer; it is
The Father Hears Prayer
Beginning this Ash Wednesday let’s talk about praying with the Spirit and the Son. More is happening when we pray than we know or even can imagine. Our prayers are mixed with the prayers of Heaven. The Son intercedes for us at Abba’s right hand. The intercession of the Spirit works in us to
Wanderers
Sheep wander away and sometimes people do. We are to never just merely “let them go”; we are called to bring them back. Wanders may leave because they are wounded; if so, we are to offer healing. Wanders may leave because they have fallen in some error; we are to help them return to
Sin and Sickness
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six
Suffering, Sickness and Prayer
“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one
Say What You Mean
“But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation” (James 5:12 ESV). This certainly echos what our Lord said, “Let what you say be simply
Suffering and Patience
We want suffering to be over as soon as possible; most of the time, it does not happen that way. As with long races, we must find a pace to finish it. This requires patience; this patience expresses itself as steadfastness. In the common vernacular this is, “hang in there” and “keep on keeping
Overheard
We make a phone call and forget to hang up when it is over; we may then hear a conversation on the other end that we wish we had not heard. Grumbling is that way. “Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing