Heart in Bloom

“Like Jesus praying in Gethsemane, we must always submit to God’s will:

Jesus our Savior knew that feeling when God the Father revealed to Him that one of His own disciples was going to betray Him. The time had come for Jesus to be delivered into the hands of those who would soon have Him put to death. Fulfilling the prophecies written many centuries earlier.

All of us at one time or another have felt betrayed by someone, and it is not a very good feeling. However, when betrayal leads to someone’s death, it is that much worse.

The Bible says it brought him ‘great anguish of the spirit’.

After eating the last supper together, Jesus told His disciples ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.’ (John 13:21)

After Jesus revealed that it was Judas, ‘what you are about to do, do quickly’ (verse 27). Judas left in the night. This wasn’t the only thing that was weighing heavily on Christ’s spirit that night.

He also knew that all His disciples would desert Him that same night. Jesus told them, all of you shall be offended because of me this night, for it is written. ‘I will smite the shepherd and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad’ (Matthew 26:31).

Like Christ’s disciples, all of us are guilty of deserting our Savior time and time again. But just as he forgave His disciples, He also forgives us.

He’s our good shepherd and searches for us when we stray from His flock.

At the Last Supper, Jesus also told His disciples that He was going to be raised from the dead and would see them again in Galilee, but they didn’t understand this at all.

Jesus knew He was about to be betrayed by Judas, one of His twelve disciples, and the others would soon desert Him too.

Judas, one of the twelve, who was betraying the Savior, also knew the place where Jesus and His disciples often gathered. So Judas took the troop of soldiers, temple guards, the ruling priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people to this place.

The group came with lanterns, torches, swords, and clubs while Jesus was still talking to His disciples in the garden of Gethsemane. When the traitor, Judas, gave them the signal – by kissing Jesus on the cheek, they rushed to arrest Him.

However, this wasn’t a surprise to Jesus. It had already been revealed to Him by His Father in Heaven, and His prayers in Gethsemane had prepared Him for what was going to befall Him.

‘Stepping forward to meet them, He asked, ‘Who are you looking for?’

‘Jesus of Nazareth’, they replied.

‘I am He.’ answered Jesus. (John 18:4)

His reply caused all of them to actually fall to the ground. Certainly a sign that this was no ordinary man.

These soldiers felt the power of God just from three words spoken by Jesus. It knocked them off their feet. Since the soldiers would have probably arrested all of Jesus Christ’s disciples – when He asked again who they were looking for, He again told them He was Jesus, and He asked them to let His disciples go.

When Peter – always the boldest one – realized they were going to arrest Jesus, he grabbed his sword and struck the high priest’s slave, cutting off his ear (John 18:10).

But Jesus healed the man’s ear and told Peter to put up his sword. ‘Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly?’ (Matthew 26:53)

He didn’t need Peter to defend Him. ‘but I did, how would the scriptures be fulfilled that describes what must happen now?’

God’s plan of salvation for you and I was being fulfilled that very moment, or otherwise Jesus could certainly have asked God to rescue Him and His disciples.

By this time, Jesus was fully aware of what would be required of Him so that those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ could be saved from eternal death.

The fulfillment of scripture is a reminder to ALL believers that the Word of God is TRUTH and all prophecies including those not yet fulfilled will come to pass.

This should be of great comfort to all of God’s children who know that Jesus’ promise to come again in power and glory to take all of us to be with Him forever. And we can be assured that this prophecy will also come to pass.

After Jesus’ arrest, Peter and another disciple followed Him at a distance. They wanted to see what was going to happen to Him. It was in the High Priest’s courtyard where Peter denied Jesus three times.

Just hours before, Peter swore he would never deny his master, but he became so afraid of being arrested too, that he didn’t want to admit he was a follower of Jesus (John 18).

Like Peter, we too are human. This is why we NEED Jesus Christ’s forgiveness and the power of the Holy Spirit to give us the strength to overcome our fears and to confess our faith.

After Jesus Christ’s resurrection, Peter became bold enough to profess his belief in the Savior, when he was threatened with imprisonment and even death.

Like Peter, our faith can become stronger and stronger if we put our trust in Jesus and allow Him to give us the strength to obey God.

During his trials, Jesus had to depend on the strength He received from His Father in Heaven to be able to go through all the suffering He had to endure. He had love for all people. And God our Father in Heaven, displayed great Love to allow His ONLY Son to become the sacrificial Lamb of God.

The time for Christ or Savior’s ultimate and supreme sacrifice, His crucifixion, was getting very close. God was fulfilling His promise. And Jesus WILL fulfill His promise when He comes again in power and glory to live with us forever.

‘Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.’ (Hebrews 11:1)

Peter, who was always the first to speak out and the most Loyal, said, ‘Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never.’ But Jesus correctly predicted that Peter would deny Him, not once, but three times that same night.

Nearly every day we are guilty of denying our Savior when we put our own desires ahead of obedience to Him.

After they had partaken of the Lord’s supper, Jesus took His disciples to the Mount of Olives to a place called Gethsemane. It was here that our Savior opened His heart to His disciples, telling them about the grief and sadness He was feeling – knowing what was about to befall Him.

‘My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death.’ (Matthew 26:38)

All of us who have lost loved ones know what grief feels like. But none of us knows the tremendous burden of grief that was upon Jesus at that very moment in the garden.

It would have been unbearable if our Lord hadn’t been filled with the Holy Spirit.

There are only a few instances in recorded history of anyone actually sweating blood.” (It happens when tiny blood vessels rupture under extreme physical or emotional stress, mixing blood into the sweat glands.)

“The Bible says Jesus actually sweated blood as He prayed to His Father in Heaven. (Luke 22:44)

Even though Jesus was sent by His Father in Heaven to become the Sacrificial Lamb of God, He had human feelings just like you and me. He felt physical and mental anguish just like we do. He didn’t want to suffer excruciating pain.

He even asked in prayer for His Father to keep Him from having to go through with it, if there was any other way. ‘My Father! If there was any other way. My Father! If it is possible let this cup of suffering be taken away from me.’

Later He prayed, ‘Father, if you be willing, remove this cup from me, nevertheless not my will but thine, be done.’ (Luke 22:42)

Christ Jesus put everything into the hands of His Father in Heaven. He was willing to suffer and die for the sins of the world if that was His Father’s will and the only way to bring salvation to mankind.

Failure is part of life, but it is not failure we should be concerned about. Instead it is they way we deal with it.

Even our faith is marked with times when we failed, when our faith just wasn’t strong enough at the time we needed it to be. Let us look at the life of Simon Peter.

He became a great preacher of the gospel message. Peter failed his Savior three times in one night, but it wasn’t because Peter was a weak person in mind or spirit. He caved under the pressure after seeing Jesus arrested in the garden of Gethsemane and taken by the soldiers to face false accusations against him.

But let us go back to how Peter became a disciple of Jesus. He joined the followers of Jesus very early after his brother, Andrew, brought him to the Lord. Peter was so moved by the message of Jesus that he gave up a fishing business to become a fisher of men.

Jesus chose him to be one of the twelve apostles and later included him in the ‘Inner Circle’. Peter was present at the transfiguration of Jesus and was an eyewitness to most of His miracles. Peter had received personal instructions from the Lord, everyday for years prior to the night he denied knowing Jesus three times.

Was he a failure?

There’s no doubt that he was. He deserted the Savior, like the other disciples, but he didn’t remain a failure.

Peter had followed at a safe distance as the soldiers took Jesus from Gethsemane to the High Priest’s house. (Mark 14:53-66). After hearing the rooster crow, Peter remembered how Jesus had warned him in the upper room, that he would deny the Savior before the rooster crowed.

It had come to pass, despite Peter’s assurance to the Savior that he would never deny him. It wasn’t that Peter didn’t love Jesus, he had grown to love him with all his heart. However, the fear of being arrested overpowered his love and faith.

Peter had never any intention of failing Jesus, but he misjudged his own ability to remain faithful in all circumstances.

There are times when we have denied Jesus just like Peter did, just in a different way. We profess to be a believer in Jesus, we worship Him, and we try to do God’s will.

Peter misjudged the strategies of the evil one. He thought he had a strong enough mind to be able to withstand any power that might rise against him. That was his big mistake.

Our spiritual well-being is constantly threatened by satan the devil, who is our mortal enemy.

Here is the Bible’s warning about this:

‘Be careful, watch out for attacks from the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion looking for some victim to devour.’ (1 Peter 5:8) Peter found out, he still had weaknesses, and without the help of God he was doomed to failure.

The same thing goes for you and I, we’re also going to deny Christ Jesus and forsake Him as long as we depend on our own strength. Only when we turn to God for help we can succeed.

True disciples cry and REPENT over their failures. Peter’s sorrow began the moment he heard that rooster crow, reminding him of what Jesus had said. Then there was the look that Jesus gave Peter not loing afterwards. It was a look of disappointment, of being hurt, but it was also the look of forgiveness.

Like Peter, once we realize we have failed Jesus, we can receive forgiveness, if we are truly sorry for what we’ve done.

‘I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word.’ Says the Lord in Isaiah 66:2.

Peter’s experience is good news to every disciples who has failed the Lord. Our failures don’t have to be final.

I believe in the forgiveness of sin. Look at Peter, and we can be certain that he was forgiven by Jesus.

Each of us have prayed to our Father in Heaven in times of trouble. But like Jesus, we should ALWAYS bow to God’s will.

Our prayers are always heard and answered by God, but God knows what’s best for us in every circumstance, and our will may not be His will.

Once Jesus had finished His prayers His physical and spiritual strength had been renewed by His Father in Heaven and was ready for whatever was about to befall Him.

‘Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior who daily bears our burdens.’ Psalm 68:19“