Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” Mark 14:32.
As Christ left the disciples, bidding them pray for themselves and for Him, He selected three, Peter, James, and John, and went still farther into the seclusion of the garden. These three disciples had been with Him at His transfiguration; they had seen the heavenly visitors, Moses and Elias, talking with Jesus, and Christ desired their presence on this occasion also….
Christ expressed His desire for human sympathy and then withdrew Himself from them about a stone’s cast. Falling upon His face He prayed, saying, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”
At the end of an hour, Jesus, feeling the need of human sympathy, rose from the ground and staggered to the place where He had left His three disciples…. He longed to hear from them words that would bring Him some relief in His suffering. But He was disappointed. They did not bring to Him the help He craved. Instead, He “findeth them sleeping.”
Just before He bent His footsteps to the garden, Jesus had said to His disciples, “All ye shall be offended because of me this night”; and they had given Christ the strongest assurances that they would never forsake their Lord, that they would go to prison with Him, and if need be would suffer and die with Him. And poor, self-sufficient Peter had added, “Although all shall be offended, yet will not I.” But the disciples trusted in their own strength; they did not look to the mighty Helper, as Christ had counseled them to do…. Even the ardent Peter, who only a few hours before had declared that he would die with his Lord, was sleeping….
Again the Son of God was seized with superhuman agony, and, fainting and exhausted, He staggered back to the place of His former struggle…. Only a short time before, Christ had poured out His soul in songs of praise in unfaltering accents, as one who was conscious of His Sonship to God…. Now His voice came to them on the still evening air, not in tones of triumph but full of human anguish. So lately He had been serene in His majesty; He had been like a mighty cedar. Now He was as a broken reed….
Although sin was the awful thing that had opened the floodgates of woe upon the world, He would become the propitiation of a race that had willed to sin.—Signs of the Times, December 2, 1897.
From the Heart p. 253
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for Sherry. Also Mrs. T’s family need prayer as her mother has passed. Rose
—-I have two important unspoken prayer requests. Buck
—-Needing prayer for my daughter Anna the Dr that did her lung surgery 2 years ago when she had cancer he was sending her for blood work every 6 months to catch I guess any cancer cells and this time it showed positive she’s having a CT scan then she will see her oncologist on the 4th for results. Judy
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Dear Friends,
Today when church got out, I was talking with one of the other pianists. We got to talking about how much we love hymns but do not like most of the praise songs that some churches sing. I made the comment that most of them just do not follow the normal rules and are difficult for me to play.
Some years ago, when we went to a different church, I went to the church one evening to practice with the praise team. One of the songs I had not seen before. I sightread hymns fairly well, but not some of the praise songs. Try as I might, I just could not play it. Even if I had practiced for hours, I knew I would never be able to play it as fast as they were singing it anyway. My inadequacy as a musician was very frustrating not only to me but to the three ladies on the team. Finally, I threw up my hands and told them that I just couldn’t do it. They weren’t too happy with me, but I know my limits.
David, who composed many of the psalms, speaks of the part music plays in worship, “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto Thy name, O Most High: To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night, Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound. For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands. O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep.” “I will praise the LORD according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high.” “I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD.” Ps 92:1-5;7:17;104:33,34
Music whether in church or in our home is not to be for entertainment or to bring glory to the performers. It should have a calming, uplifting effect upon the worshipers drawing their soul to the very throne of God. Good music leads us closer to God and fills us with love and joy for Him. When we really think about the words as we sing them, our heart swells with love for our Great Redeemer and His Great Sacrifice for us. As we listen to the melody, our very being is lifted above the things of this world, to the throne room above where thousand thousands minister unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stand before Him. (Dan 7:10) Nothing in our music or the performance of it should detract from this goal. Indeed, this world is a training-ground for the world above where we will continually praise God with music. Moreover, Zephaniah tells us that God will sing back to us. “The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.” Zeph 3:17 Think of it! What will it be like to hear the Great King of the Universe sing? How glorious that will be.
May we guard carefully the music that we choose for both listening and singing, that our thoughts may be continually uplifted to our Redeemer Who will someday sing to us of His love for us. May we all be there is my prayer.
Rose