"Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation: the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
The background of this text is the occasion when Jesus prayed His prayer of submission to the Father, because He knew that he was about to be arrested, tried and crucified. When Jesus went apart to pray, He took what is called His “inner circle” of Peter, James and John with Him to watch while He prayed. They were exhausted and fell asleep while on watch. Peter had just declared that he would stand up for Jesus under any circumstances, but here he was sleeping while he was supposed to be watching. The final time that Jesus came upon them while they were sleeping, He spoke the words of our text above. I want to share with you some thoughts that I had about this text. When Jesus told Peter, James and John that “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak,” He was asserting that He understood their humanity, as He understands ours. He knows that the flesh is weak and that we will not always do right. Jesus understood that people do get exhausted. He had been exhausted at times Himself as He ministered to people for hours and hours. The weakness of flesh goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve succumbed to the allurement of the serpent. Jesus knows that while we are in our human flesh, we are weak at best. Some people are stronger than others, but we all have weaknesses of some kind. Even the most holy among us have weaknesses. If nothing else, there might be a weakness to be self-righteous and look down our noses at “lesser” people. (The Pharisees come to mind.) So we can be assured that Jesus understands our weakness, or weaknesses. But that is not the whole story. Read on: Jesus will not allow us to appeal to our fleshly weaknesses. Notice that He said to Peter, James and John, “watch and pray that you enter not into temptation.” Jesus understood their exhaustion, but He did not excuse it. He gave them the remedy for giving in to their weaknesses, and this is also a lesson for us. We need to “watch and pray” because the devil knows our weaknesses and will exploit them. That is why Jesus told them to watch and pray, and why it is a message for us. The devil will lull us to sleep, so to speak, and tempt us in our weakest moments; therefore, we need to be alert to his tricks and pray that God will make us more aware of the devil’s tricks. It was the same Peter who was in the garden with Jesus that day who later wrote, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) Yes, our flesh is weak, but Jesus has gone to great lengths to help us overcome our weaknesses. He understands that we will not always overcome; that is why He is willing to forgive us when we succumb to our fleshly weaknesses. His preference, however, is that we “watch and pray, that we enter not into temptation.” If we are honest, we will confess that we know our weaknesses as well. When we are tempted in those weak areas we need to immediately “watch and pray.” Some of our weaknesses may be subtle and not seem like sin. For example, it was just natural to Peter, James and John that when they were exhausted and sleepy that they go to sleep. The problem was that Jesus told them to watch. It was wrong for them to go to sleep because they were supposed to be on watch. When a soldier is on watch duty, he or she, could be court martialed for going to sleep. Jesus died on the cross, defeating the devil, and arose from the grave, defeating death, hell and the grave. He has given to us the Holy Spirit to help us overcome our weaknesses. Jesus will forgive us when we succumb, but it is preferable that we “watch and pray” and not succumb. I certainly have not written this to judge you. I have the proverbial three fingers pointing back at me, but we do well to heed what Jesus told Peter, James and John. Bro. Joe
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"15. See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise. 16. Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is."
Part of walking carefully and wisely and to "redeem the time" or making the best use of time, is to seek, know and understand the will of God. We Christians are in this service for God, whether it be a Sunday School class, singing in the choir, preaching, etc. etc. etc. Knowing and understanding God's will is for all Christians. How can we know the will of God? Except for the Bible there is no manual for knowing God's will. That answer comes through spending time with the Lord in prayer and really seeking to know what His will is. His answer is not always what we would expect, but that is part of the joy and challenge of serving Him. All I can tell you is that when you really want to know His will, and seek it heartfully, you will receive an answer in your heart and mind. If you've tried it, you will know that I mean. He is God and He will let you know His will. Try it! When you know God's will, do it with all of your heart. Whatever God's will for you is it is important, or He would not want you to do it. I repeat: If God wants you to do it, it is important. When you know God's will, do it thankfully. I have learned to be thankful just because He still wants to use me. Believe me, if you belong to Him in Christ, He wants to use you. When you know What God's will is, do what you have to do in order to do His will. God will make a way for you when you sincerely seek His will. When you know God's will for you, do it joyfully. There is no more joyful feeling in the world than knowing that you are doing what God wants you to do. I hope that you will seriously consider seeking God's will for your life. If you are serving in His will, rejoice and be glad. If you want to "redeem the time," or make good use of your time seek His will, obey it and be thankful that He is using you in whatever it is that He wants you to do. Seek God's will for your life. Bro. Joe 14. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light. 15. See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise. 16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil."
This passage is a call from Paul to the Ephesians to wake up, live better lives and be better witnesses of Christ. In verse 15, he gives advice that we all should follow if we are to be effective servants of Jesus Christ. First, Paul advised us to walk circumspectly. This means that we are to walk carefully. Another way of saying this is that we should be careful where we step. We need to be careful in our spiritual walk with Jesus, and follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit. We should not underestimate the wiles of Satan, who will make us to walk carelessly. This is good advice, and I imagine that all of us have made careless steps in our lives that we wished that we had not taken. However, a step once taken in our lives cannot be taken back. We can repent of the unwise step, but there will still be consequences of the wrong step. You might guess that I personally know the consequences of a careless step. Second, Paul advised that they "walk not as fools, but as wise." I don't think that Paul means that we should depend upon our wisdom alone in making wise decisions. When we were saved, the Holy Spirit came into our lives to lead and guide us in the right direction. I wish many times that I had followed the wisdom of the Holy Spirit instead of my own "wisdom" in decisions that I have made in life. Walking as fools means that we have been careless in decisions that we make. Sometimes these foolish decisions will mar the rest of our lives. No one is perfect in following the Spirit's leadership, but we can always do better in following the instincts that the Holy Spirit will give us. Third, Paul advised that they "redeem the time, because the days are evil." This means that we should make the best use of our time because of the evil in the world, and for the welfare of our own walk with Jesus. Since my retirement, I have learned the wisdom of this. I get up in the morning and can do whatever I want to do. The old TV is there begging to be turned on, but I know that if I do that, I will waste time instead of doing, for example, what I am doing right now, i.e., writing a CouchPotatoRedux article. Except for a Christian program that I watch in the morning, I do not turn the TV on until the afternoon. We need to ask ourselves, are we really making the best use of our time as servants of Jesus? Sometimes the best thing to "redeem the time," is to step back, relax, and reload. This was good advice for the Ephesians, and for us. We need to heed it. Bro. Joe .8. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now ye are light in the Lord: walk as children of light. 9.For the fruit if the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness and truth.
In these verses, Paul reminds the Ephesians of the difference in their lives since they accepted Christ as their Savior. Before Christ came into their lives they were, living in the darkness of sin, now since they have Christ in their lives they have moved into the light. In verse 9, he tells them what it means to walk in the light of Christ since they received Christ into their lives. When they were saved, the Holy Spirit came into their lives, and He would make a difference in their lives. The first "fruit of the Holy Spirit" is goodness. In the darkness of sin, Satan leads people away from goodness. What does it mean to live in goodness? The first thing that I think of is that it means that, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, we will be careful to think the right thing. Our thoughts guide the direction of our lives and when these thoughts are dark they lead to the wrong things. This, of course, makes a difference in the decisions that we make in our lives. Satan fills our minds with mischief and lead us to do the wrong thing. I don't think that I need to explain what "the right thing" is. Even when I was doing prison ministry, the inmates told me that they knew what the right thing was, but that they just didn't do it. The Holy Spirit will make a difference in what we say and in what we do and in how we relate to people. The second "fruit of the Spirit" is "righteousness." Goodness is based on what we think and do, righteousness is what we have by our faith in Jesus Christ. The righteousness of Christ means that we are in right relationship with Him, and that our relationship with Him makes a difference in our lives. It does not just make us think and do the right thing, but we will actually do the right thing because this is what Christs wants of us. Living in the righteousness of Christ will make a difference in what we think of ourselves. It will also make a difference in what other people think of us. It will make a difference in our prayer lives and in our interest in the Bible. It will make a difference in our relationships with people in our churches. The third "fruit of the Spirit" is "truth." In Christ we will be trustworthy, and that people will be able take us at our word. For example, there should be no trouble in buying a used car from a Christian, because he, or she, will tell the truth about the car. Jesus said that He is "the way, the truth, and the life." When Jesus comes into our lives, He brings His truth with Him and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will live His truth in our private lives and in our relationships in the world. It is my prayer that in all of my dealings with people they will be able to trust me, and take me at my word, because they know that I am a Christian. Let's make this our daily prayer. I trust that I have dealt adequately with this subject. I'm sure I left out a lot, but I hope what I have shared will help you adequately understand Ephesians 5:8-9. Bro. Joe 31. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger and clamour and evil speaking, be put away from you with all malice. 32. And be ye kind to one another, tenderhearted, for giving one another even as God for Christ sake hath forgiven you."
I know that I have written on these verses in the past, but I came across them in my devotional reading today, and felt the need to share their wonderful truth with you. Before we can fulfill the teaching of verse 32, we will need to pay heed to verse 31. We cannot be kind, compassionate and tenderhearted until we have ridded ourselves of bitterness, wrath, anger, clamour (brawling), evil speaking, and definitely of "malice." Malice is anger that has become so ingrained in our hearts that it leads to a continuing anger and hostility. It is obvious that these things cannot result in kindness, tenderheartedness (compassion) and a forgiving heart. We are reminded here to be kind to people. Kindness is something that is terribly missing in our country today, and often it is missing in our churches. If we want to be kind to people, we need to give them the benefit of the doubt. I will confess that it is difficult in some situations to be kind to certain people. (You know what "certain people" means to you.) We need to listen to the inner voice of the Holy Spirit in order to act kindly toward people, no matter what the circumstance. I do not mean to make this sound easy; I mean to make it sound necessary if we are act as Jesus acted, and as the Bible tells us to act. We are reminded to be "tenderhearted." Another translation of tenderheartedness is compassion. We are compassionate when we "feel for" the other person. I do not mean to feel sorry for them, but to feel the need to look kindly at them, understanding their feelings. I know that I like for people to act compassionately towards me, but I really can't expect them to act in compassion towards me if I am not acting compassionately towards them. This also takes the leadership of the Holy Spirit to accompllsh. In the final analysis, we are reminded to forgive other people. Unless we have paid special attention to verse 31, and the first parts of verse 32, it will be difficult for us to forgive. Frankly, there are some people who are hard fo forgive. Sometimes people can hurt us so deeply, that it is difficult to be kind and compassionate towards them, let alone forgive them. Paul did not tell us that it would be easy, but if we are to be Christian in our dealings with people we will need to rid ourselves of certain things (verse 31) and to act in certain ways (verse 32). How is that for an assignment to begin your week in the world? Read it carefully and prayerfully, as I will be doing. Bro. JoeAA “And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are one.”
This is one of Jesus’ prayers for His disciples in His prayer in John 17. He says that we should be one as He and the Father are one. I believe that He meant that. I do not want to give the impression that I think we need one big super church. I don’t have a problem with denominations. I realize that some people do, but I don’t see any way out of it. I would definitely not want to be the pastor of the super church. But there are some ways that we can be one and cooperate together as a witness for Christ to the world. First, I think that we can be one in Christ. We can disagree about a lot of things, but we cannot disagree about Christ. The New Testament plainly teaches that the coming of Christ was prophesied throughout the Old Testament. The New Testament plainly teaches the virgin birth of Christ, as well as the fact that He never sinned. The New Testament plainly teaches that Christ was crucified on a Roman cross, buried in a Jewish tomb and arose on the third day. The way that we are saved is as Ephesians 2:8-9 explains: “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: 9. Not of works, lest any man should boast.” According to James, saving faith includes works. We are not saved by works but to work. When people try to change the witness and ministry of Christ, which some have tried to do, they are leading people astray. A lot of the New Testament was written because people were trying to change who and what Christ is. We are one in Christ, we just need to remember that. Second, I think that we can be one in love. In John 13:35 Jesus said: “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another.” In John 15:12-13 Jesus said: “This is my commandment, That you love one another, as I have loved you. 13. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” In 1 John 4:10-11 we read this: “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11.Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” Just as we can’t put denominational lines around Christ, we can’t put denominational lines around the command to love one another. It is not a suggestion but a command, and we need to work on it. Third, I think that we can be one in prayer. All who are believers in the finished work of Jesus Christ, should be willing to pray for each other and to pray with each other. I think that Billy Graham’s ministry proved that when Christian people want to serve the interests of Christ, we can come together and pray and see God do remarkable work among us. We need to pray for each other. I have found that I cannot fight with a person that I constantly pray for. The Christians who pray together do not spend as much time fussing as they do witnessing and ministering in the name of Jesus. If we are all busy doing that, we will not have time to fuss with each other. All that I have written above does not just apply to Christian denominations, they apply to individual Christians as well. They apply to all Christian churches. If we will see ourselves as one in Christ, love each other as Jesus commanded, and pray together, we will find that we can reach the world for Christ. People want to be with people who love each other and pray together. In these ways, we should all be one. I was saved a Baptist, live as a Baptist, and will die a Baptist, but that doesn’t mean that I am not one with all true believers in Jesus Christ. Bro. Joe i (This article was written in 2012. I recently read it and thought that we could all benefit from it again.)
Proverbs 9:8-9 ( KJV): "Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. 9.Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man and he will increase in learning." NIV:" Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you, rebuke a wise man and he will love you. 9. Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still, teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning." Can you take criticism? This is what Proverbs 9:8-9 is about. I am not going to lie to you and tell you that I love criticism. There is something about us that really hates it when someone doesn't see that we are doing a good job or maybe even that we are not perfect. But I have learned to take it in a good spirit. Why? Because as I look back over fifty-nine years in the ministry, I have to admit that I have learned more through criticism than I have through casual praise. If any of my earlier church members reads this, they will probably say, "Well, he did learn after all." We do not garner wisdom in this life by protecting our fragile egos from criticism that is meant for our good. We have to learn the difference between malicious and loving criticism. Malicious criticism is usually not valuable - but it can be. Don't reject it out of hand. Even a malicious person can hit on the truth occasionally. Loving criticism can seem malicious when we first hear it, but when we think about it - if we will - the critic was trying to tell us something that we needed to hear. Criticism is a time for some good old-fashioned soul-searching. Proverbs 9:9a tells us: "Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser." We do not increase in wisdom by making ourselves immune to criticism. Not all criticism is justified, but if we will listen by faith, and hear what Jesus is telling us, we can learn the difference between wise and foolish criticism. No one in this world is above criticism - that includes you. Bro. Joe 20. "And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast: 21. The same came therefore to Philip which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired of him, saying, 'Sir, we would see Jesus.'"
I usually base my thoughts upon a text and write about that text, but today I had a thought about meeting Jesus, and how this can come about, and the above text came to mind. The Greek worshipers said "We would see Jesus." I think that this is the desire of many people. People want to know more about Jesus and they come to us to find out more about Him, and how they can receive Him into their lives. I thought of three ways that we can help people meet Jesus. The first thought is that we meet Jesus in the New Testament. The four gospels are not a biography of Jesus, but they tell us what the Holy Spirit led them to write what we need to know about Jesus. We also have the epistles, or letters, that tell us about Jesus, and what it means to have Him in our lives. The New Testament is what we call "a primary source" about Jesus. We need to show people what the New Testament says, and we need to spend time each day in the New Testament learning more about Him for our own benefit. The second thought is that we meet Jesus in the lives of believers. When I'm dealing with, for example, a difficult store clerk, I try to remember that he, or she, might not be a believer, and I need to let them see Jesus in me by the way I react. (I did not say that it is always easy.) It occurs to me that people who need to meet Jesus could see Him in a group of believers at worship. This is wonderful when it happens - and it does. The old hymn comes to mind: "Let others see Jesus in you." We are all of Jesus that people see until they meet Him for themselves. The third thing that comes to mind is that people meet Jesus when they take their encounter with Him seriously and surrender to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Meeting Jesus is always a personal experience, even if it occurs in a church full of people. We can show Jesus to people, and the New Testament can show people to Jesus, but it is up to individuals to let Jesus into their lives when the Holy Spirit convicts them. We need to think of our own lives, our own personal witness, and ask ourselves "Can others see Jesus in me." Bro. Joe "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."
"Alpha" is the first letter in the Greek alphabet and "Omega" is the last letter. Today we would say A to Z. Among many other things, Jesus being the Alpha and Omega means that He is complete, nothing left out. "He doeth all things well." He does all things perfectly. I want to share with you some thoughts that I have about the A to Z or the completeness of Jesus. First, Jesus is complete in His love. John 15:12-13 illustrates this complete love perfectly. "This is my commandment, That you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down His life for His friends." That is exactly what Jesus did at Golgotha. Second, Jesus is complete in His commitment. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed that the cup would pass from Him, then He added: "Nevertheless, not My will but Thy will be done." That was serious business. The "cup" that Jesus dreaded was the cup of sin. He had never sinned, but He knew the effects of it. He was dreading having all sins of all ages poured on Him. But Jesus knew the consequences if He didn't go though with it. He was totally committed to what He had come to do. Third, Jesus is complete in His forgiveness. His first words from the cross were: "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34) That is the greatest example of forgiveness in the history of the world. It stands out as a bright light in the darkness of unforgiveness that we see in our world. Fourth, Jesus is complete in His sacrifice. One of His last words from the cross was "It is finished." (John 20:30) In Greek this statement is one word - "Tetelestai." It means that God's plan of salvation for the ages is finished and will never have to be done again. His sacrifice was complete and all the world needed to have the possibility of salvation. Bro. Joe “How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! How great is the sum of them! 18. If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand when I awake I am still with thee.”
The verses printed above tell us that God has “precious” thoughts about us. I wondered what it means that our sovereign and eternal God would have precious thoughts about us? What I considered is written below. The first thing of I thought of is that God’s thoughts are kind thoughts. What I mean by this is that God thinks of our need for Him. He knows that we are sure to slip off of the skids, so to speak, occasionally and will certainly need his kindness and His grace. I do not mean that God thinks kind thoughts about us because He overlooks our sins. I mean that by His kindness and grace He loves us in spite of them, and enough to do something about our sinful condition. God is not looking down on us, just waiting for us to sin in order to punish us; rather, He acts in mercy and grace because of our sinful condition. It is sad that so many people go about their lives doing as they please, unaware of the kind and precious thoughts that our loving God has about and for them. In His kindness He is willing and ready to forgive us for our sins. Rejoice that God’s thoughts about you are kind and full of grace. The next thing that I thought of was that God’s thoughts about us are useful thoughts. What I mean by this is God is thinking about the way that He wants to use us in our lives. I think that even most church members would not know how God could use them. I think of four fishermen who were about their daily task of being fishermen when Jesus came by and told them to follow Him and become “fishers of men.” No one would suspect that the Messiah would use those unlearned and common men to become the genesis of His church. But, with eight other unlikely men, they started the church that goes on in many forms and shapes today. God had useful thoughts about these men, and other mostly unlikely women and men, to start Christ’s church. It always occurs to me that if God could those men and women, He can certainly use me. Be aware of this, God has useful thoughts about you, and you need to get in touch with He wants to use you for His kingdom’s work. If you have, rejoice in the knowledge of God’s precious, useful thought about and for you. Finally, the text tells us that God’s thoughts about us are numerous: “Oh God! How great is the sum of them. 18. If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand…” What we are to remember based on these words is we are constantly on God’s mind. In His eternal sovereignty, our God has you on His mind. He has kind, useful thoughts, and many more than you and I can name. Think on this and rejoice in it. Bro. Joe |
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