Never Give Up...He Never Gave Up On You

Bible readings... 
“Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. (40) On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” (41) He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, (42) “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” (43) An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. (44) And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” Luke 22:39-44
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Hello everyone and welcome back to Sunday Inspiration! I am so happy to have you with me today and my prayer is that we will truly find the hope we need in Jesus…the hope that can lift us high above the moments of despair!
 
How many times have we wanted to just throw in the towel and give up on life? It seems like we struggle and continue to walk through the rubble of our problems…only to feel as if we are never headed in any real direction. There’s something inside of us that seems to be pushing us onward but yet for every step we take, we seem to fall backwards, to the place where we wonder if it’s worth it anymore. What can help us to keep pressing on, during these overwhelming moments in our lives?
 
If we take a look at our Bible reading for today, we see a man who struggled greatly. Even as He knelt and prayed, during the final hours of His life, the weight of temptation must have been so overwhelming; but even as He struggled to make it through those difficult moments…He never once gave up on us and the love He truly had for us. The love and mercy Christ displayed on the cross was actually reaching down to us, as a means of saving us from all that we would eventually experience in this life.
 
Quite a while back, God brought a beautiful story to me and in the story; I began to see Jesus, as He was walking down a long and lonely road to Calvary. He was carrying a very heavy cross and His body dripped with blood, from the beatings that took place at that time. I began to follow right behind Him. I was weighed down with a heavy burden and as I approached Him, I began to tell Him about the load I was carrying.  All He said to me was… “Follow Me,” so I did.
 
As we approached a hill, there appeared to be two thieves hanging on their crosses. As I drew closer, I saw the Roman soldiers take hold of Jesus and throw Him down onto His cross.  I could barely watch, as the soldiers were hammering spikes into His hands and feet.
 
Once the soldiers had Jesus in place between the two thieves, I began to see the sky darken and lightning bolts shoot across the sky. I yelled up to Jesus and said, “What’s happening?” He looked down to me and said, “I’m dying, so that you and others may live a life of freedom, from sin and the burdens you carry.” Then He said, “It is finished,” and He hung His head and died. I began to feel something different, as I stood and watched Him hanging on the cross and as I looked behind me; the heavy load that I had carried for so long was no longer there.”
 
Here is a man, who was willing to go way beyond, what you or I would ever go through in life, just to say… “I’m here for you…I love you and I will never give up on you.” If we were to stop, for just one moment and think about this special love He had for us and still continues to have for us, I think that we would also see our moments of trial in a different light.  You know…Jesus never once, ever thought of giving up on us; so why should we ever think of giving up on Him?
Blessings on your Sunday!
It’s Always & Only Because of Him…
Diane
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