Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church

A Devotion for Today Apr. 20, 2020 Jo. 12:27-29 What shall I say? Father, save me, from this hour? But for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy Name. Christ, when speaking of the coming cross, submitted His will completely to His Father’s will. This verse must always be considered when interpreting the garden prayer of our Lord. When Christ prayed, Father, let this cup pass from me, He was not trying to get out of going to the cross. He knew that the cross ...was God’s only plan to redeem man. It wasn’t just a plan or plan a as we would say. It was His only plan. Of course, the human side of Jesus did not relish the idea of suffering. I think Jesus prayed, as He did in the garden, that we might know that His cross alone provided our escape from eternal punishment. All this says to us, that we must not wallow in self-pity when sorrow comes. We must rather face it with the same obedience that Jesus did. Remember He endured far more than most of us ever will. The scripture describes his appearance on the cross as marred more than any other has endured and live through the suffering. The fact is the Romans and religious zealots didn’t kill Jesus. He gave up the ghost. He willed Himself to die when the right moment came in that ordeal. With the Savior’s courage and strength living in us through the Holy Spirit we can endure far more than we think. Read Fox’s Book of Martyrs, and you will find many accounts of men and women, who refused to recant faith in Jesus to their own deaths. Yet the only way we can face what they did is by keeping a close walk with the One who suffered the greatest injustice for the most undeserving. See more

A Devotion for Today Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. What does Paul mean by all things? Does he mean that Christ will miraculously do things through me that I have no ability to do? No, it doesn’t mean that I would never be able to sing the way your former pastor did. Brother Jim had a wonderful voice and singing ability, which I do not possess. What does he mean then? I believe Paul means that I can do all the things that the Holy S...pirit has gifted me with in the service of Jesus Christ. Indeed, I can do things by the power of Christ that I never thought I would be able to do. We must not discount the miraculous. We must not limit what we will allow Christ to do through us. Of course, the Lord could give me the talent to sing if He chose to. But I will not refuse to do what He has gifted me to do while waiting for some miracle that is not essential to serving Him. I believe that all of us are capable of far more than we ever accomplish. While some of our dreams may never come true, we must not cease to dream great dreams. We serve an awesome GOD, who just wants us to use our gifts for His glory. When we seek to glorify Him, He uses us in miraculous ways. Just sharing His great love and amazing grace with another person accomplishes His purpose in our lives. See more