June 28: Enjoying His Peace.
HIS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.
"Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."--Mark 14:38
When I was young it sounded simple. It was explained to me that I had two natures: spiritual and carnal, like two lion cubs. The advice I received seemed black and white: I was to feed the spiritual cub and starve the other, that way the spiritual lion would grow more powerful than the carnal one. Simple, right? What I didn't know then was that the two natures would always be at war within me, until Jesus comes. So, how can we be at peace with God?
When Jesus was in Gethsemane, He asked His disciples to keep watch with Him (Mark 14:34). But as the cup of salvation trembled in His hands, the disciples kept falling asleep. When Jesus came back from praying, He addressed Peter: "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" (verses 37, 38). In the midst of His suffering, Jesus acknowledged the war between the spiritual and carnal natures of His disciples. They had failed Him in His most crucial hour! Can you imagine how Peter must have felt? All of us have moments in which we become painfully aware of our failures, times when the carnal lion seems to be winning, whether in thought or in deed. Perhaps the most honest confession of this inner war came from Paul: "I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?" (Romans 7:23, 24). Then his response: "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (verse 25). When you discover how weak you really are do not despair. Don't hide from Jesus but run to Him! "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus....For what the Law could not do...God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh" (Romans 8:1, 3). He is the Reason why we can be at peace with God! And He will not abandon us!
My Response:________________________________________________________
HIS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.
"Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."--Mark 14:38
When I was young it sounded simple. It was explained to me that I had two natures: spiritual and carnal, like two lion cubs. The advice I received seemed black and white: I was to feed the spiritual cub and starve the other, that way the spiritual lion would grow more powerful than the carnal one. Simple, right? What I didn't know then was that the two natures would always be at war within me, until Jesus comes. So, how can we be at peace with God?
When Jesus was in Gethsemane, He asked His disciples to keep watch with Him (Mark 14:34). But as the cup of salvation trembled in His hands, the disciples kept falling asleep. When Jesus came back from praying, He addressed Peter: "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" (verses 37, 38). In the midst of His suffering, Jesus acknowledged the war between the spiritual and carnal natures of His disciples. They had failed Him in His most crucial hour! Can you imagine how Peter must have felt? All of us have moments in which we become painfully aware of our failures, times when the carnal lion seems to be winning, whether in thought or in deed. Perhaps the most honest confession of this inner war came from Paul: "I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?" (Romans 7:23, 24). Then his response: "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (verse 25). When you discover how weak you really are do not despair. Don't hide from Jesus but run to Him! "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus....For what the Law could not do...God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh" (Romans 8:1, 3). He is the Reason why we can be at peace with God! And He will not abandon us!
My Response:________________________________________________________
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