–1 John 5:4 (NLT)
———————————–
Woe is me, I just got a hang-nail, oh, woe, woe–whimper, whimper.  What happens when there is a real dilemma, when there is real danger?  Where is the faith that you once talked about?  Don’t you trust God?  Now, that is a little far-fetched, but maybe again, not so much.  We fear and lose faith over simple things.  When trouble arises, how do you handle it?  With whining and crying or with stubborn faith?
       Years ago I had a very good teacher under my supervision.  She was a teacher of first-graders and she was constantly telling the kids how great God was.  How that God would take care of them in every circumstance of life.  That God was always there for them, to just trust Him.  A tragedy came into her life and she completely fell apart.  She was weeping and crying in the classroom, so much so that the kids were afraid and crying with her.  So much for her testimony of faith!  I had to send her home until she could gain control over her emotions.  One incident destroyed a year of example.  George Morrison said, “We help people by what we do.  Perhaps we help them more by what we are.”  The teacher was good at helping her kids, until the storm came, then it seemed she lost her faith.  
       Who are you then?  What do you do when there is that dark hour, when things are the darkest and the storm is seeming ready to wreck your life?  Look at the situation that Paul found himself in.  The storm was raging and was so bad that the captain of the vessel ordered everything to be thrown overboard.  For three days, it raged and it looked as if everyone aboard would die in the storm.  Then Paul spoke up–“Therefore, take heart, men, for I believe God…” (Acts 27:25, NKJV).  The King James renders it, “Be of good cheer…”  What?  When everything is falling apart, I am to be joyful?  What?  I’m about to die and you are telling me that everything will be alright?  Yes!  And guess what?  The attitude and assurance of Paul changed the thinking of the sailors.  “Faith radiates the atmosphere of hope.”  (Morrison)  The presence of strong faith affects others even in the midst of peril.
       Be strong in the turmoil, be strong through the pestilence.  Be strong when it seems that everything around you is tumbling.  Live out your faith in the storms, through the battles.  Be strong when others cry in terror and weep in despair.  Look at this verse again from the Amplified, “So keep up your courage, men, for I believe God and have complete confidence in Him…”  
       Not only that, smile in the midst of the storm.  It has been said that the smile of Dwight D. Eisenhower was infectious.  In the midst of battle, in the midst of decision, Ike would smile, and that smile flowed through the room lightening the mood and giving hope to his comrades.  There is a story of an ocean-liner caught in the fury of a tremendous storm.  Men were panic-stricken, women screamed–and then, the captain smiled.  He radiated the faith behind that smile for he knew that the ship could weather the storm and thus brought good cheer to everyone on board. (Morrison)  
       James tells us to, “count it all joy when you fall into various trials.”  In other words, when the storms come, and they will, be brave and radiant when things are the darkest.  It will have an impact.  It will strengthen those around you and give them hope.  You want to be of help to others, then smile through the storm.  “A strong faith is the secret of all helpfulness.” (Morrison)  It is your faith and how it is presented that brings the victory that overcomes the world.

                    –Ty Murray

       “I call heaven and earth as witness today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.”

                    –Deuteronomy 30:19 (NKJV)
—————————————
I smile when I read someone who agrees with me.  Really when it comes to the writings of Paul, Peter, James, and the others, I should be more humble.  It is good, however, when my mind and spirit is united with the writers of the Bible.  That is the Holy Spirit working.  Contemplate the words of Steven Lawson before we look at the first portion of Psalm 92.  “Worship is a lifestyle, a continual experience of magnifying the glory of God.  This adoration should be carried out through a Christian’s actions, thoughts, and words.  Wherever we are, that place should be transformed into a palace for praise.  Whatever we are doing, that activity should be a platform for worship.  Ceaseless praise, all day every day, should be a living reality to every believer.”

          1 — It is good to give thanks to the LORD, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
          2 — To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night,
          3 — On an instrument of ten strings, on the lute, and on the harp, with harmonious sound.
          4 — For You, LORD, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands.
          5 — O LORD, how great are Your works!  Your thoughts are very deep.
          6 — A senseless man does not know, nor does a fool understand this.
          7 — When the wicked spring up like grass, and when all the workers of iniquity flourish, it is that they may be destroyed forever.
          8 — But You, LORD, are on high forevermore.  (NKJV)

       It is hard for you to deal with life?  Do the problems of the day aggravate you, whether they be at work, at home, or at school?  Perhaps more time is needed for the Lord.  Perhaps more of our lives should be dedicated to Him.  Hmm, perhaps we need to realize that everything we do should be unto Him.  George O. Wood asks the following, “When was the last time you woke up in the morning with good thoughts of God’s love and bedded down at night thinking of His faithfulness?  Have you lately sung for joy at the works of God’s hands?  Have you paused to celebrate the sky, birds, flowers, forest, sea, grass, the butterfly as expressions of the Lord’s artistry, power, and love of beauty; or gladdened yourself by praising Jesus for what He has done for you?”  Go back and read Psalm 92:1-5.
       Friend–it is good to give thanks to the Lord!  It is reasonable and right.  Just think of His faithfulness, in the small things as well as in the great things.  He is devoted to His children.  Let me give a simple, little illustration that happened to me on Friday.  The family went to Washington-on-the-Brazos and Kimberly purchased some earrings made from cow horn.  Annie put them on and she noticed when we got home that somewhere one was lost.  We looked through both vehicles and couldn’t find it.  I went out the next morning, praying to the Lord for Him to show me where it was.  It was drizzling rain, and I drove into the parking lot, got out of the truck, looked to my right and there it was.  See He cares for the little things in our lives.  Verse 4, in the NLT is translated, “You thrill me, LORD, with all you have done for me!”
       Ah, but then there is the senseless man–one who is dull or stupid, a brute beast (Ps 73:22).  This man does not know the ways of the Lord nor does he care to know them.  They are fools–they are wicked.  They just don’t “get it”.  That’s one reason there is so much hatred, evil, and perverseness today; people do not care to understand the ways of the Lord.  They are fools to reject such a great salvation that is provided through Jesus Christ.  These, “because of the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart” (Ephesians 4:18, NKJV) are fools, they are senseless.  They may spring up around you “like weeds” (NLT) but they are soon to be destroyed.
       Having trouble?  Burst into song.  I do it ever so often, despite my “wondrous” tonal quality.  Come, let’s be like Martin Luther when he said, “Come, let us sing a psalm and drive away the Devil.”  A song of praise to the Lord will do more than drive the devil away; it will change your mood, change your attitude.  Oh, the problem may still be there, the storm might continue to raise, but the perspective in facing it has changed.  Cultivate a spirit of praise and thanksgiving and open your eyes to the thrills of a life with God (Petersen).

               “O Jesus my Savior, with Thee I am blest,
               My life and salvation, my joy and my rest;
               Thy name be my theme, and Thy love be my song;
               Thy grace shall inspire both my heart and my song.”
                           –unknown

                         –Philippians 3:12(NKJV)
———————————
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)
———————————-
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…