Garden of Gethsemane

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me." Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done." When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

Matthew 26:36-46

Jesus prays “not my will, but your will be done” When you pray do you ask God to answer your prayers the way you want them done, or do you truly ask God to answer your prayers according to God’s will? What would it be like if instead you prayed as Jesus did “not my way, but yours?” Jesus' friends deserted him at Gethsemane, will you?

The Suffering of Jesus

So Pilate took Jesus and had him whipped. The soldiers, having braided a crown from thorns, set it on his head, threw a purple robe over him, and approached him with, "Hail, King of the Jews!" Then they greeted him with slaps in the face.

Jesus, seeing that everything had been completed so that the Scripture record might also be complete, then said, "I'm thirsty." A jug of sour wine was standing by. Someone put a sponge soaked with the wine on a javelin and lifted it to his mouth. After he took the wine, Jesus said, "It's done . . . complete." Bowing his head, he offered up his spirit.

John 19:1-3, 28-30

Jesus was mocked with a crown of thorns and purple cloak. His torturers flogged him and then paid mock homage to the bleeding king. On the cross he was offered sour wine for his thirst. You can smell and taste the bitter vinegar on the table.

Empty Nets

When he finished teaching, he said to Simon, "Push out into deep water and let your nets out for a catch."

Simon said, "Master, we've been fishing hard all night and haven't caught even a minnow. But if you say so, I'll let out the nets." It was no sooner said than done—a huge haul of fish, straining the nets past capacity. They waved to their partners in the other boat to come help them. They filled both boats, nearly swamping them with the catch.

Luke 5:4-6

Sometimes Jesus leads us to do what is contrary to what we think is best. The disciples knew better than to cast a net one more time. They had caught nothing so far. But what if they had? What if they had a decent catch for the day? If their nets had not been empty they could not have received the abundance God wanted them to have.

Samaritan Woman at the Well

When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?" (His disciples ha am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." "Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?" Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water." He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back." "I have no husband," she replied. Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true." "Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem." Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us." Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am he."

John 4:3-30

Jesus had no bucket to draw water. He didn't need one because this water is flowing, that is the meaning of living water. You don't need a bucket either. Touch the living water. Jesus knew everything there was to know about this woman….and yet he reached out to her. In his world, she was unclean, an undesirable, an outcast of society….and yet he reached out to her. Jesus knows everything there is to know about you….and yet he reaches out to you. He is offering you a drink. Will you accept the Living Water? Your soul is thirsty and you try to quench that thirst with many things that satisfy for awhile, but eventually you always get thirsty again. The only thing that can truly quench the thirst of the spirit is the living water, Jesus Christ.

Empty Nest

Behold, I stand at the door and knock;
if anyone hears My voice and opens the door,
I will come in to him and 
will dine with him, and he with Me.

Revelation 3:20

Do you feel alone? No one to talk to… You’ve given up… some days you don’t even feel like getting dressed.… Perhaps you are stressed with too many things to do, you feel an ache, an emptiness, because you never have time to spend with your family, even meal times are rushed….. You feel as though there must be more to your life than this….Just like at the Last Supper, JESUS IS HERE WITH YOU. He Invites you to eat, to drink, to remember HIM. Maybe this isn’t your experience but you know someone who is alone, who is depressed, who needs Jesus. Will you be as Christ to them and share your bread?

Running on Empty

How long do we have to put up with this—
the country depressed, the farms in ruin—
And all because of wickedness, these wicked lives?
Even animals and birds are dying off
Because they'll have nothing to do with God
and think God has nothing to do with them.

Jeremiah 12:4

If we don't stop our over-consumption we will be asking this question. But we do know whose garden this is. It is God's, we are hear to tend the garden. How will you answer when the owner comes and asks for a progress report?

Peter Walking on the Water

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat wor>shiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Matthew 14:22-33

When Christ said ‘Come’, Peter put his trust in God and climbed out of the boat. He didn’t let fear or the natural circumstances stop him. He obeyed Christ’s call, and into the water he went. Faith is always expressed by obedience to Christ. Peter put his confidence in Christ’s Word, and didn’t look at his own inabilities. As long as he kept his eyes on Christ he stayed walking and upright. However, when he let his fears creep in, he began to sink.

Walking on water is walking by faith and looking to Christ for all we need. It is putting Christ first in our lives and seeking first to do His will. As we look to Christ and put our faith in Him, His peace will keep our hearts and minds and enable us to rise above the stormy

circumstances. Those who are trusting in Christ will have a faith and peace that carries them through some very difficult storms. Others will see and want to know about this Peace. That’s walking on water!

When we walk on water, we are walking away from what we find natural and comfortable and walking towards our highest goal in life, Christ.

Many never ‘walk on water’ because they are letting fear and unbelief stop them from obeying Christ’s call. They are looking to the flesh – taking stock of their strengths, weaknesses, abilities and limitations – and not looking to Christ. Or they are looking at the difficulty of their circumstances. Either way, they are not looking to Christ. In short, they are saying ‘I can’t’ , instead of realizing that whether they can or can’t has nothing to do with it. Christ will give us the strength and ability we need to obey Him. The only way we will ever be able to take great steps of faith is to look to Christ and not self. Are you willing to step out of the boat?