Gethsemane :: By Dennis Huebshman

Published on: by RR7 Category:General Articles

For anyone who would like to be truly inspired, there’s a YouTube video featuring 3-year-old Claire Ryan recorded in January 2020. She is singing “Gethsemane,” and it is truly an uplift. A second video by Reese Oliveria, who was ten years old when recorded in 2015, is good also, but the one by Miss Claire affected me the most. (any emphasis mine)

Gethsemane means “oil press,” and it’s believed to be named after a grove of olive trees near Jerusalem. Its exact location is unknown, but an olive grove on the western slope of the Mount of Olives is believed to be the site where Jesus prayed just before His arrest (Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39:46 and John 18:1).

On the night of His betrayal, He took Peter, James and John with Him to the Garden. He asked them to stand watch with Him while He prayed, as He knew this would be the beginning of what has been called “The Passion of the Christ.” According to scholars that are far more qualified than I, the word “passion” comes from a Latin word meaning “suffering.”

As recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke, the apostles fell asleep, and Jesus woke them three times. After the first two, He returned to His site to continue praying to the Father. On the third occasion, He told them to get up, as Judas had brought the Temple Guards to arrest Him.

Jesus knew what was to come, as it had been prophesied in Isaiah 53. He was familiar with all prophecy, as He was instrumental in the prophets receiving their information. From the actual time of earth’s creation, God knew He would have to send a part of Himself in order for mankind, whom He truly loves (John 3:16; Romans 5:8), to have a pathway to Heaven. Genesis 3:15, God speaking to Satan, who was in the form of a serpent: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring [demons], and her offspring [Jesus]; He shall bruise your head [Revelation 20:10], and you shall bruise His heel [crucifixion]. No human could ever make a sacrifice that would be sufficient to please God to cover our sins.

At Gethsemane, Jesus realized the full significance of what was about to take place and said to the Father that if possible, the cup (His blood offering) be removed from Him. He ended each time saying, “Not My will, but Thine be done” (paraphrased). He obeyed the Father’s will completely.

Some have said Jesus didn’t want to go through the physical pain, but that was not the main reason that caused Him the most grief. He was prepared for all the physical abuse and torture of the crucifixion process, but what concerned Him most was knowing that for the first time ever, He would have to be totally separated from the Father. In Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34, He cried out, “My God! My God! Why have You forsaken Me?” This very saying is also recorded in Psalm 22:1 as a prophecy of what was to come.

When all the sins of this world, past, present and future, were laid on Our Savior, He became the “Sacrificial Lamb” that was without blemish. The Father had to look away because He cannot tolerate sin in any form. Something I have come to realize over the years is that My Sins were part of that pain and suffering. My Sins caused Jesus the pain of being totally alone, even if for just a short time, separated from the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Here was the Creator of the Universe, Lord of Lords and King of Kings, placed on a cruel cross for what mankind could not cover. Is it any wonder that the Father is so adamant that we receive and accept this “gift” given at Calvary as a means to be with Him forever?

At that moment in time, Jesus saw every sin that had been committed up to that point and would be committed all the way to the end of the Millennium. Some say that would be impossible, but we have to remember, He is God (John 10:30) and is not bound by time as we are. He is omniscient (all knowing), omnipotent (all powerful), and omnipresent (everywhere at once).

We, as humans, are limited to the here and now. We have our past experiences to draw from but cannot see exactly what will happen later this day, much less what will happen tomorrow. Many people try to saddle God with our limitations because they truly don’t know Him, nor do they make an effort to develop a relationship with Him.

When we finally call out to Jesus to be our Savior, we believe and have total faith that He really did come to this earth in human form (yet still was fully God), that He was crucified and died for sins we have committed and will commit, and that He rose the third day to conquer sin and death for us. All who call on Him to be their Savior will be saved (Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:9-13).

His gift has no price tag that we can pay, and there’s no deed of any kind that we can do to earn our Salvation. To think otherwise is to insult the giver of our wonderful gift. Jesus paid the total cost and is willing to give this gift to anyone who will truly believe in and accept Him. Please remember, He could have called off, at any moment, the ordeal He faced, but as stated in John 10:18, He willingly fulfilled what He came here to accomplish.

GETHSAMANE by Claire Ryan:

1.) Jesus climbed the hill, to the garden still; His steps were heavy and slow. Love and a Prayer took Him there to the place only He could go.

ref.) Gethsemane; Jesus Loves Me; so He went willingly to Gethsemane.

2.) He felt all that was sad, wicked or bad, all the pain we would ever know. While His friends were asleep, He fought to keep His promise made long ago. (ref)

3.) The hardest thing that was ever done, the greatest pain that ever was known, the biggest battle that was ever won, this was done by Jesus; the fight was won by Jesus.

ref. 2) Gethsemane; Jesus Loves Me; so He gives His gift to me In Gethsemane.

Just a personal note: while preparing this message, I once again watched Miss Claire’s version of this song. To say it’s emotional is a gross understatement.

We don’t know the day or hour our Blessed Redeemer will call us up to meet Him in the Rapture. Every sign that was given by Him and numerous others are all here, and for the first time all at once. To miss this wonderful event would be a terrible tragedy. The Wrath/Tribulation will make what’s happening in the world today seem calm and serene.

Remember, all who sincerely call on Jesus will be saved. He truly wants a relationship with everyone, and every true believer will not go through the terrible approaching time (1 Thessalonians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 and Revelation 3:10).

Today would not be too early to ask the Messiah into your heart. Tomorrow could be too late.

Maranatha – Come Quickly, Lord Jesus!

huebshman46@gmail.com

 

Children Are Precious to God :: By Grant Phillips

Published on: by RR7 Category:General Articles, Grant Phillips

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea‘” (Matthew 18:1-6).

Some scholars state that this verse is speaking specifically to “those who believe in me,” the word “those” referring to all those who believe in Jesus as new converts, but could it instead be referring to all those children who believe in Him?

I understand that the subject matter for verses 1-5 is “The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven,” and the subject matter for verses 6-9 is “Causing to Stumble.” However, by the same token, even though Jesus used the child as an object lesson, He also placed great emphasis on the child. Also, Jesus specifically said, “one of these little ones.” To me, at least, it seems “little ones” is referring to a child. So, I see this as a two-headed snake, so to speak. I believe Jesus could be referring to both, with equal importance, in this object lesson with the child.

By the way, I kept “two-headed snake” in the sentence because whoever causes “one of these little ones” to stumble will bring upon themselves the wrath of God. So don’t let it offend you, unless of course, you’re guilty of what Jesus said.

Next is another Scripture passage that most definitely shows Jesus’ special love for children.

“Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.’ And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them“ (Mark 10:13-16).

Here is the same scenario we had in Matthew. The child (children in this case) is the subject matter, and Jesus uses the children again to teach an object lesson. The point is, even though Jesus takes the opportunity to teach by using the children to demonstrate a factual point, the subject remains the same; the child in Matthew and the children in Mark. Jesus is talking about the children. He may be using them to teach a lesson, but He is talking about the children specifically.

Here in Mark He was very angry at his disciples for rejecting the children. What did He do? “He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.” What did He say about them in Matthew? He said, “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”

Where am I going with this? It is now time to say so. Just speaking with our own country in mind, not counting the rest of the world, we as a nation and a people have put the millstone around our necks when it comes to the children in this nation via abortion, molestation, immorality, etc.

ABORTION

In the 2018-2019 Annual Report for Planned Parenthood, page 24, they report 345,672 abortion procedures for the year 2019. This is a 3.88% increase from the year 2018, and 2018 had an increase of 3.51%. 1

Since 1980, worldwide, there have been 1,585,147,910 abortions as of today. There have been, worldwide, 25,448,970 abortions this year (2020) as of today.

In the United States there have been 542,138 this year (2020) as of today, and there have been 1,262 abortions today (08-17-20).

You can see a continuously updated count of all abortions at the following website: www.numberofabortions.com. The numbers (above) I just gave you have already increased.

IMMORALITY

It is estimated for the year 2016 that there were 705,000 same-sex couples in America, about 346,000 male/male and 359,000 female/female. 2

From the government census bureau for the year 2019, there were 1,012,000 homosexual couples living together, 61,400,000 married heterosexual couples and 8,000,000 non-married heterosexual couples. 3

MOLESTATION

It is estimated that 15% to 25% of women have been molested as children and 5% to 25% of men.

CLOSING

I don’t wish to belabor all the facts and/or statistics that can be easily found. My objective is to conclude that we are in dire straits with Almighty God. We once led the world in sending out missionaries abroad and within our own homeland to witness for Jesus Christ, but now we are a nation with bloody hands and a black heart that God will not tolerate.

Our children have been:

Kidnapped and sexually abused

Kidnapped and sold into slavery

Adopted into homes with same-sex homosexual ‘parents’

Sexually molested by parents and family members

Sexually molested by others in authority

Physically abused by parents and other ‘family’ members

Mentally abused by adults

Murdered by parents and other adults

Taught to accept lifestyles that God hates

Taught that God is not real, or He is mean

Raped with a parent’s consent

Influenced by drug and/or alcohol-induced adults

Left to take care of themselves in cages, filth and squalor

Murdered by the millions within their own mothers’ wombs

Etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc.,

There are many good people in this country that would make excellent parents, but are often passed over for homosexuals or transsexuals wanting to adopt. God sees all of this, and from His own Word, He will judge the perpetrators.

We have proven we want nothing to do with God, and we are corrupting our own children if they are fortunate enough to not be butchered in their own mother’s womb.

God’s heart is tender for all the children of the world, and the adults of this nation and others are placing these little ones in situations that nearly doom their very souls.

Is it any wonder we are overrun with serial murderers, serial rapists, serial child molesters, child slavery, child sex exploitation and the like? Is it any surprise that politicians, celebrities and other wealthy people are involved in child trade? Even the poor among us are just as guilty.

Yes, I am speaking in general terms. Thank God all Americans are not of that persuasion. There are many good people who are not even Christians who are appalled at the wickedness that is all around us. More so with Christians who love the word of God and are horrified at the onslaught against anything that is holy.

We have an election coming up this November 2020 that will tell us if God will give us another chance or if He has washed His hands of us. If the ultra-liberals get control, it will be worse than the Obama years, if that were possible. All hell will be unleashed upon this country, and the ravening wolves of Satan will be devouring the citizenry. Considering the treatment of those little souls Jesus loves so much, I would not be surprised to hear the call of the Bridegroom to His bride, “Come up here.” Neither would I be surprised that He waits so that more may come to Him and be saved. Either way, this nation is walking on banana peels at the edge of a deep precipice.

I hope I’m wrong, but I do not envision our country turning back to God, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do so individually. Those of us who are part of the true Church surely can see the end is in sight. We must pray and get out the word that:

“For he says, ‘In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.’ I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation‘” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

And this is the day we long for:

“And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night” (Revelation 12:10).

1 https://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/facts-figures/annual-report

2 https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/same-sex-parents-us/

3 https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2019/same-sex-households.html

Grant Phillips

Email: Phillip5769@twc.com

Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com

Rapture Ready: https://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html