–Philippians 3:12(NKJV)
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I’ve had a song going through my noggin for the past two weeks.  Looking it up in my old Melodies of Praise hymnal I saw that I have used this hymn three other times:  Sep 2016; Jan 2018; and Apr 2021.  However, it is a good hymn, and since it has been on my mind for two weeks I thought I’d share the words with you.  It must be for someone out there.  The hymn was written by C.P. Jones, who wrote that the hymn “grew out of my dissatisfaction with my limited ability to do good…  I prayed for deeper grace, deeper wisdom, more perfect conformity to and willingness to do God’s will.”

               Deeper, deeper in the love of Jesus
               Daily let me go;
               Higher, higher in the school of wisdom,
               More of grace to know.

We all should want to experience more of the love of Jesus, and this does not mean to keep sinning or to commit a grave sin, but simply by growing closer to Him each and every day.  We should yearn to know more of Him, to learn how to be like HIm, to seek Him more and more and grow in grace.

               Deeper, deeper! blessed Holy Spirit,
               Take me deeper still,
               Till my life is wholly lost in Jesus,
               And His perfect will.

To know Jesus deeper and more fully we need the help of the Holy Spirit.  He will guide us, direct us, and show us how to be more like Jesus and to conform more to His will.  To know Him better, to do His will more perfectly we must be in the Word of God.  We need to lose our life to gain more of Him.  We need to let the Holy Spirit have more of us.

               Deeper, deeper! tho’ it cost hard trials,
               Deeper let me go!
               Rooted in the holy love of Jesus,
               Let me fruitful grow.

Jones had a hunger when he wrote this song.  He said, “I felt that nevertheless I was coming short of my highest privileges of service in Christ.”  To come to know Him and His will more fully and to grow in grace producing good fruit we might have to go through trials and tribulations.  There may be sorrow in suffering in our lives so that we may seek a deeper walk with Him.

               Deeper, higher, ev’ry day in Jesus,
               Till all conflict past,
               Finds me conqu’ror, and in His own image
               Perfected at last.

One day, not now–now we are still striving.  We have not obtained, but striving for that perfect image of Christ.  We groan and moan upon this old earth, hating our failures, repenting for our sins, and seeking to be stronger, deeper, and higher in Jesus.  I did find that there were actually five verses though only four appeared in the songbook.  Here is the fifth verse.

               Deeper, deeper in the faith of Jesus,
               Holy faith and true,
               In His pow’r and soul-exalting wisdom
               Let me peace pursue.

                         O deeper yet, I pray,
                         And higher ev’ry day,
                         And wiser, blessed Lord,
                         In Thy precious, holy word.

“Without faith it is impossible to please Him…” (Hebrews 11:6, NKJV), but without faith it is also impossible to gain more knowledge of Him.  Without faith it is impossible to go deeper in our walk with the Lord.

 

       “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief…”
                         –Isaiah 53:10 (NKJV)
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If Lent is important to you, that’s fine.  I was raised a Pentecostal Protestant, therefore Lent was not celebrated in our home.  Plus as I became older I could never figure out the reason to party-hardy then give up something the next day.  However, if practiced correctly, the giving up of something, not just for several days but for a lifetime, plus the fact that fasting and prayer are to go along with Lent, then the practice could be very beneficial.  My view has always been that we should give up anything that might hinder us from coming closer to the Lord, and not wait for a particular time of the year.
       But I do want to look at a subject that too often has become negligent.  What does the “cup” of the Lord’s Supper mean?  What does it symbolize?  So often we get comfortable with the things of the Lord, and in this case the emblems of the Lord’s supper.  “These are tremendously significant deeds and words.  It is a pity that we are so familiar with them that they tend to lose their impact. (John Stott)  
       I was reading last week regarding “the cup.”  Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, praying, knowing what was to come and twice He mentions in prayer the cup.  Let’s look at His prayer from the Gospels.

               “He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.’  Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.'”  (Matthew 26:39, 42, NKJV)
               “And He said, ‘Abba, Father, all things are possible for You.  Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.'”  (Mark 14:36, NKJV)
               “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.”  (Luke 22:42, NKJV)
               “So Jesus said to Peter, ‘Put your sword into the sheath.  Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?””  (John 18:11, NKJV)

Read the accounts.  Jesus was in intense agony while He prayed in the Garden.  The disciples are sleeping, they can not, do not understand the strain that He is under.  They don’t recognize the suffering that He is going through at the moment, and He must go through it alone.  This is a strong emotional scene.  Jesus is pressed, to the point of torment over the cup.  His heart was tormented, and He had a tremendous aversion to the cup that was before Him.  This cup was to be an ordeal for Jesus.  It was a bitter cup that He prays that if possible it be taken from Him.
       Over the years, we have had many films portray the crucifixion of Jesus.  The Passion, The Greatest Story Ever Told, and others, but the portrayal is always centered upon the physical ordeal.  Yes, it was terrible, but Jesus didn’t flinch from the pain, insult and death.  He was indomitable in His courage.  The question as to His torment lies with the cup.  Think of martyrs in history.  Most of them were joyful in their suffering.  Read the writings of Paul.  There was something else–what was in that particular cup?  
       I have never thought that the extreme agony of the cross was the physical torture and ordeal.  Here was the Son of God, a man who knew no sin, now was to drink the cup of sin.  I like what John Stott writes, “The cup from which he shrank was something different.  It symbolized neither the physical pain of being flogged and crucified, nor the mental distress of being despised and rejected even by his own people, but rather the spiritual agony of bearing the sins of the world, in other words, of enduring the divine judgment which those sins deserved.”  He was to be identified with sinners, the Son of God, the sinless One.  He was to bear their judgment.  “From this contact with human sin his sinless soul recoiled.  From the experience of alienation from his Father which the judgment on sin would involve, he hung back in horror.” (Stott)  However, He did not rebel, for He realized that it was for this very reason, this hour in time, that He came to earth (John 12:27)
       So this season of Lent, if that is your practice, think of the cup.  The next time you partake of the emblems of communion, think of the cup.  When Good Friday comes, take time to think of the spiritual agony that faced Jesus rather than just the physical ordeal.  I know, it is something that we cannot gather in our finite minds.  Jesus became sin; yours and mine.  WOW! the agony of sin touching His being…

                    –Charles A. Seltzer  (The Boss of the Lazy Y)

       “When Jesus had said these things, He was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.'”

                    –John 13:20 (NKJV)
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The Ides of March–the death of Julius Caesar.  Death brought on by some of his friends, in particular, Brutus.  I often wondered why he didn’t put up a fight in the Forum.  Did he think it inevitable that he was going to die?  Was he so wrought that one of his closest friends led in the stabbing?  
       For sure we cannot compare Caesar with Jesus.  But both faced betrayal.  In fact, Dante writes that in the deepest depths of Hell there are two men:  Brutus and Judas.  The lowest level is reserved for those who betray.  When I first read of Judas’ name in the Gospels he is mentioned last with the added testimony–Matthew 10:4, “…Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him; Mark 3:19, “and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him; Luke 6:16, “…and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.” (NKJV)  John almost always includes the word “betray” when referring to Judas.
       Judas–the betrayer, but first, he was Judas–the disciple.  It is interesting that in more recent years there has been a raised sympathy for Judas.  People say that he was given “an unfair deal” and because of this he has received an “unfair press.” (Stott)  A lawyer might say that Judas was a victim of circumstances, no, more than that, of fate.  Jesus had to die, someone had to betray Him, so why blame Judas?  “He was but the tool of providence, a victim of predestination.” (Stott)  Jesus, without coming out and directly saying it, knew that it was Judas who would be the betrayer, that he is “son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” (John 17:12, NKJV)  Why, today, in the liberal courts of our land he would probably be found innocent or at least not guilty of purposeful betrayal.
       However, we cannot excuse or negate choices.  He cannot be exonerated because he made a deliberate choice to betray Jesus.  He must be held responsible.  Like Adam from the beginning, Judas had free choice.  Choose good or choose evil.  Somewhere, for some reason, Judas opened himself up to Satan.  We cannot forget that he was a disciple, that he went out with the others to preach, to heal, to cast out demons.  He saw the truth, he proclaimed the truth, and he saw it in action.  Yet…
       One of our first glimpses of the “other side” of Judas is seen in John.  Jesus was having His feet “anointed” with the perfumed oil and wiped with the hair of Mary.  To this, Judas speaks, “‘Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denari and given to the poor?’  This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.” (John 12:5-6, NKJV)  The Amplified says that he “pilfered” the money.  He was a thief, and worse, he stole from his friends.
       Somewhere in the midst of his travels with Jesus, Judas must have begun to listen to other voices.  The voice of the deceiver, the one who tricked Eve in the Garden, must have begun to entice him.  Somewhere along the way, he lost the true way and turned and opened himself to Satan.  Luke states, “Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve.” (Luke 22:3, NKJV)  Before Satan could have entered him, he would have had to open himself to his advances.  The next verse is so sad, “So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.  And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.” (Luke 22:4-5, NKJV)  Betrayed for money.  He rejected Jesus, for the Lord was still speaking to him at the last supper.  Here he was, eating with his Friend, when in reality he had already betrayed Him for money.  Surely at the table, Jesus was thinking of the words of David, “Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.” (Psalm 41:9, NKJV)
       The betrayer comes to the Garden with soldiers and the priests.  He must have seen the agony upon the face of Jesus who had been in prayer.  And here is where we see a major difference between Brutus and Judas–Brutus stabbed Caesar, Judas kissed Jesus.  Betrayed by a kiss from one of His dear friends.  How it must have struck the Savior’s heart.  We don’t know what dark passions Judas held in his heart.  “John insists that it was monetary greed which finally overwhelmed him.  Incensed by the waste of a year’s wages, he went and sold Jesus for barely a third that amount.” (John Stott)
       There was so much emotion at that time.  There was also confusion, the disciples didn’t yet understand the mission of Jesus.  Why? What?  Where?  I don’t understand.  Do we find ourselves in the same way?  Perhaps some have opened the door for Satan to enter that they might betray the Lord.  We tend to forget that Judas was one of those especially chosen by Jesus.  He didn’t heed the teachings of the Master regarding serving two masters.
       Whether or not Judas and Brutus are in the lower realms of Hell, we can be assured that they betrayed their “friend.”  One whom they followed, one whom they once loved.  Yes, my friend, beware of the Ides of March.

                    –1 Kings 8:23 (NKJV)
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Have you ever found yourself wondering, how am the world am I going to get out of this?  Maybe it’s financial, marriage, children, storms, or just life in general that is causing difficulties.  This next portion of Psalm 91 is interesting.  

          11 — For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.
          12 — In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.
          13 — You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.
          14 — Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high because he has know My name.
          15 — He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.
          16 — With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.   (NKJV)

       You may recognize verses 11-12 as those which Satan used to tempt Jesus.  Yes, imagine being tempted with the Scriptures.  He put forth truth, but Jesus replied that we know that God will protect, but that doesn’t mean we take foolish chances, or tempt Him.  But if you recall what happened after Satan left Jesus in the wilderness?  “Then the devil left Him, and behold angels came and ministered to Him.” (Matthew 4:11, NKJV)  The angels were there all the time.  “They were protecting him all along!  Jesus didn’t have to try any daredevil dare–he just had to stay with his mission, and God would get him through it.  The same is true for us.  He will rescue those who love him.” (William J. Petersen)
       Beware of the danger that is presented here.  In the last few decades there has been a fad in the media, and among Christians and New Agers of focusing too much on angels.  Some have gone so far as to worship them, which is abhorred by the angelic host.  They are helpers, messengers, agents of God.  We are to stay on mission!  We are to go forth to do whatever God has told us to do, then, if needed they are there, to do God’s bidding.
       Know this, that God is there to protect us, either by His direct intervention, or if need be, sending angels.  The key–verse 14, setting our love on Him.  Knowing His name, which means recognizing that He is God, and that He is Father.  Steven Lawson puts it this way, “Those whose allegiance is to the Lord will find that his protective allegiance is theirs.”  Now, this does not mean that He will deliver us in the manner which we want or prescribe, but the way He wants.  Remember the answer of the three Hebrew lads who stood against Nebuchadnezzar’s warning.  They told him that God was able to deliver them from the fiery furnace, but even if He did not they would not bow. (Daniel 3:17-18).  They understood the spiritual deliverance was more important than the temporal.
       It is for us to remember, and to know that “God is bigger than the adversity and remains in full control.” (Lawson)  He can keep us out of any danger or He can keep us through any danger.  Whatever happens, He allows, and if we trust in Him it will be for our good.  “Setback, terrible things, even death are all only momentary.  It takes resurrection from the dead to realize the worst the devil throws at you never hurts you in the least.  Our implicit trust in God brings assurance that the bleeding nail prints of the present moment will become beautiful scars in the future.”  (George O. Wood)

               “Christian, seek not yet repose;
               Hear thy guardian angel say,
               ‘Thou art in the midst of foes;
               Watch and pray.'”
                       –Charlotte Elliott