IN THE GARDEN

I have been meditating on the events leading up to the Cross and have
been thinking through what Christ experienced and went through for me.
Jesus had just left a very intimate gathering with the disciples in the
upper room and moves to the garden of Gethsemane. The One who seemed so
confident and comforting in the upper room with his disciples now seems
to come unglued in the garden. He is in agony. His emotions are raw.
Physically and emotionally, He is in upheaval. Why?

C. J. Maheny in his book, LIVING THE CROSS CENTERED LIFE reminds us that
“in this garden, our Savior is beginning to confront as never before the
ultimate and deepest agony of Calvary — an agony that will go
infinitely BEYOND any physical aspects of suffering. For Jesus, the
Cross will bring incomparable and unprecedented suffering — not just
physical — but suffering of wrath and abandonment.”

Jesus is laying prostrate on the ground crying out to HIS Father — the
One with whom He has had fellowship with — unbroken fellowship with for
all eternity. His cry, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You.
Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Why is he is so much agony? What is it about this cup that troubles him
to the point of sweating drops of blood? Isaiah 51:17 tells us that this
cup in God’s extended hand is the “cup of His wrath!” Mahaney says “this
cup contains the full vehemence and fierceness of God’s holy wrath
poured out against all sin, and we discover in Scripture that it’s
intended for all of sinful humanity to drink. It’s your cup and mine . .
. It is filled with ‘fire and sulphur and a scorching wind’ like some
volcanic firestorm, like all the fury from Mount St. Helens eruption
concentrated within a coffee mug.”

“What Jesus recoils from here is not the anticipation of the physical
pain associated with crucifixion. Rather it’s a pain infinitely greater
— the agony of being ABANDONED by His Father.” Mahaney shares that one
commentator said Jesus entered the garden “to be with the Father for an
interlude before His betrayal, but found HELL rather than heaven opened
before Him. Knowing the hour for His death is fast approaching, Jesus
has come here in need as never before of HIS Father’s comfort and
strength. Instead, hell — utter separation from God — is thrust in His
face.”

He receives no response … He is willing to complete the will of His
Father and will drink the WHOLE cup for you and for me. Mahaney reminds
us that “Jesus has every right to turn His tearful eyes towards you and
me and shout, ‘This is YOUR cup. You’re responsible for this. It’s YOUR
sin! YOU drink it!’ Instead, Jesus freely takes it HIMSELF … so that
from the cross He can look down at you and me, whisper our names, and
say, ‘I drain this cup for you — for you who have lived in defiance of
Me, who have hated Me, who have opposed Me. I drink it all for You.”
Wow . . .

“O the love that drew salvation’s plan — O the grace the brought it
down to man — O the mighty gulf that GOD did span — AT CALVARY!
Contemplate today what HE experienced in the garden of Gethsemane for
YOU and ME!

MY HEART — CHRIST’S HOME

Years ago when I was a student at Philadelphia College of the Bible (now
Philadelphia Biblical University), we were assigned to read a little
book entitled, MY HEART — CHRIST’S HOME. While it has been over 30
years that I read this little book, the impact of its message is as
fresh as it was when it was read.

The message of the book is this … when we invite the crucified Christ
into our lives, He wants EVERY part of us! The word picture is
thought-provoking. Christ wants to come to our “heart-home” and we are
willing to invite him into our living room. He sits there for a while,
then wants to go with us to the dining room and kitchen. Everything is
fine — until He asks to go upstairs. Now he wants to go into our
bedroom. After inspecting most of our heart-house, He notices a closet.
Looking into your eyes, He says, “Please open the door and let me in
their!”

Most of us have them in our houses or offices. There is some closet or
drawer that we have stuffed to the max. When company or friends come for
a visit, we are willing to let them have access to every area of our
homes, but please — that closet or drawer is off limits. Is it off
limits to your kids? Your spouse? No one knows but YOU what is hidden in
the closet.

For some of us, there is stuff hidden in an actual physical closet or
drawer. For some it might be pornography — magazines, videos or other
offensive materials. It may not be in a physical closet — but it might
be stored on your computer where no one but you can find it. Christ
wants access to that area of your life — because of His death on the
Cross, He invites you to open that area of your heart to Him.

For others, the closet is in your mind — You’ve stuffed all kinds of
“stuff” in there — lustful thoughts, fantasies, things that you would
be ashamed of if they were to be exposed! Christ wants access to that
area of your life. He wants to free you from the junk that is there. He
wants to work with you to clean out that closet of your mind and bring
healing.

Oswald Chambers said: “the Holy Spirit cannot be accepted as a guest in
merely one room of the house — He invades all of it. And once I decide
that my “old man” should be identified with the death of Jesus, the Holy
Spirit invades me. He takes charge of everything. My part is to walk in
the light and to obey all that He reveals to me. Once I have made that
important decision about sin, it is easy to “reckon” that I am actually
“dead to sin,” because I find the life of Jesus in me all the time
(Romans 6:11) . . . God puts the holiness of His Son into me, and I now
belong to a new spiritual order.”

If He comes today to do a house inspection or wants to come for a visit
— will you give him complete access to every area of your heart-home?
Think about it today!

COMPLETE AND EFFECTIVE DECISION ABOUT SIN

Serving at America’s KESWICK and rubbing shoulders with the men of the
Colony of Mercy has been a very rewarding experience. In listening to
their stories and observing their lives, God has revealed so much to me
about my own heart.

At the heart of the Keswick message is the truth that we do not have to
be dominated by sin in our lives. Why? Because when Christ died on the
cross for you and me, “our old man was crucified with HIM, that the body
of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to
sin.” (Romans 6:6)

Oswald Chambers asks the question: “Have you made the following decision
about sin — that it must be completely killed in you? It takes a long
time to come to the point of making this complete and effective decision
about sin. It is however, the greatest moment in your life once you
decide that sin must die in you — not simply restrained, suppressed, or
counteracted, but crucified — just as Jesus Christ died for the sin of
the world . . .

Pull yourself up, take some time alone with God, and make this important
decision, saying, ‘Lord, identify me with Your death until I know that
sin is dead in me.’ Make the moral decision that sin in you must be put
to death . . . Are you prepared to let the Spirit of God search you
until you know what level and nature of sin is in your life — to see
the very things that struggle against God’s Spirit in you? If so, will
you then agree with God’s verdict on the nature of sin — that it should
be identified with the death of Jesus? You cannot ‘reckon yourselves to
be dead indeed to sin’ (Romans 6:11) unless you have radically dealt
with the issue of your will before God.

Have you entered into the glorious privilege of being crucified with
Christ, until all that remains in your flesh and blood is HIS life? ‘I
have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ
lives in me . . .'” (Galatians 2:20) from MY UTMOST FROM HIS HIGHEST
(Discovery House Publishers)

Is the Spirit of God speaking to you today? Is there an area of your
life where you are experiencing the roller coaster of ups and downs? A
besetting sin that has you living in despair? The cycle of sin was taken
care of at the Cross, my friend. I urge you today to do as Chambers
suggest — get alone with God and allow Him to speak to your heart and
transform your life. One of the ways you can do that is to get away at a
place like America’s KESWICK. We have a special for our Freedom Fighter
family.

Come for a getaway April 21-23, 2006 and enjoy the beauty of God’s
creation at America’s KESWICK. $49 for one night with three meals or $89
for two nights with six meals. Limited availability, so call today to
make your reservation — 800-453-7942 exts. 14 or 15. When you call,
please be sure to let our reservationists know you are a FREEDOM FIGHTER
MEMBER.

THE PRECIOUS BLOOD

Blessed Lord Jesus,
Before Your cross I kneel and see the heinousness of my sin,
MY iniquity that caused You to be ‘made a curse’,
the evil that excites the severity of divine wrath.
Show me the enormity of my guilt by
the crown of thorns,
the pieced hands and feet,
the bruised body,
the dying cries.
Your blood is the blood of the incarnate God,
its worth infinite, its value beyond all thought.
Infinite must be the evil and guilt that demands such a high price.
Sin is my malady, my monster, my foe, my viper,
born in my birth,
alive in my life,
strong in my character,
dominating by faculties,
following me as a shadow,
intermingling with my every thought,
my chain that holds me captive in the empire of my soul.
Sinner that I am, why should the sun give me light,
the air supply breath,
the earth bear my tread,
its fruit nourish me,
its creatures subserve my ends?
Yet Your compassions yearn over me,
Your heart hastens to my rescue,
Your love endured my curse,
You mercy bore my deserved stripes.
Let me walk humbly in the lowest depths of humiliation,
bathed in Your blood,
tender of conscience,
triumphing gloriously as an heir of salvation. Amen

from THE VALLEY OF VISION — Prayers of the Puritans published by Banner
of Truth

Behold the Savior of mankind
Nailed to the shameful tree!
How vast the love that Him inclined
To bleed and died for ME!

Hark, how He groans, while nature shakes,
And earth’s strong pillars bend!
The temple’s veil in sunder breaks;
The solid marbles rend.

‘Tis done! the precious ransom paid!
‘Receive my soul!’ He cries;
See where He bows His sacred head!
He bows His head and dies!

But SOON He’ll break death’s envious chain,
And in full glory shine;
O Lamb of God was ever pain,
Was ever love, like Thine?

Samuel Wesley (1662-1735)

Good words to ponder on this Lord’s day in preparation for the
celebration of Good Friday and Easter.

ALL DIE!

As we continue to reflect on the Cross and what Jesus did for us when He
died for us, I share with you a story from C. J. Mahaney’s new book,
LIVING THE CROSS CENTERED LIFE — KEEPING THE GOSPEL THE MAIN THING
(published by Multnomah).

Mahaney writes: “In World War II, Ernest Gordon was a British captive in
a Japanese prison camp by the River Kwai in Burma, where the POWs were
forced to build a ‘railroad of death’ for transporting Japanese troops
to the battlefront. They were tortured, starved, and worked to the point
of exhaustion. Nearly 16,000 died.

Gordon survived the horrors of that experience and wrote about it in a
monumental work, THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE KWAI, published in 1962 (and
later made into the movie TO END ALL WARS). He described one occasion
when, at the end of a work day, the tools were being counted before the
prisoners returned to their quarters. A guard declared that a shovel was
missing. He began to rant and rave, demanding to know which prisoner had
stolen it.

Working himself into a paranoid fury, he ordered whoever was guilty to
step forward and take his punishment. No one did.

‘All died!’ the guard shrieked. ‘All die!’ He cocked his rifle and aimed
at the prisoners. At that moment, one man stepped forward. Standing at
attention he calmly declared, ‘I did it!”

The Japanese guard at once clubbed the prisoner to death. As his friends
carried away his lifeless body, the shovels in the tool shed were
recounted — only to reveal that there was no missing shovel.”

Mahaney goes on to say: “Imagine, if you can, the effect upon his fellow
prisoners this man’s substitutionary sacrifice for them . . . Unlike
the situation of those prisoners staring into the cocked and loaded gun
of a deranged guard, you and I do not face death from a fellow sinner.
What we face is the righteous threat of furious wrath from a holy God.
THAT is the threat faced by all who have gone astray, by each one who
has turned to his own way. In our case, the shovel is missing; there is
in fact a great deal more that’s missing. We are indeed guilty of sin
and deserving punishment.

BUT . . . the innocent ONE, the holy One — God the Son — stepped
forward to die for the rest of us. On that Cross the Servant suffered
FOR sinners like you and me, BECAUSE of sinners like you and me — and
as the SUBSTITUTE for sinners like you and me. He takes the punishment
that you and I richly deserve.”

And my friend, HE DID IT ALL FOR YOU and ME! Hallelujah! What a Savior.

“Man of Sorrows!” what name
For the Son of God who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim!
Hallelujah! what a Savior!

Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
IN MY PLACE condemned He stood —
Sealed MY pardon with His blood;
Hallelujah! what a Savior!

Guilty, vile and helpless we,
Spotless Lamb of God was He;
FULL ATONEMENT! can it be?
Hallelujah! what a Savior!

Lifted up was He to die,
“It is finished!” was His cry;
Now in heav’n exalted high:
Hallelujah! what a Savior.

When HE comes, our glorious King,
All His ransomed home to bring,
Then anew this song we’ll sing:
Hallelujah! what a Savior.

Philip P. Bliss (1838-1876)

Good words to consider today and throughout these days of preparation
for Easter.

SPECIAL OFFER FOR OUR FREEDOM FIGHTER FAMILY — Come for a getaway April
21-23, 2006 and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation at America’s KESWICK.
$49 for one night with three meals or $89 for two nights with six meals.
Limited availability, so call today to make your reservation —
800-453-7942 exts. 14 or 15. When you call, please be sure to let our
reservationists know you are a FREEDOM FIGHTER MEMBER.

HE MADE HIM TO BE SIN . . . FOR YOU!

“For He made Him who knew NO sin to be sin for us, that we might become
the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21

As we prepare to remember the events of the last days of our Savior
leading up to his death, burial and resurrection, I want to share with
you some thoughts about the Cross during the next several days.

Henry Blackaby, the author of EXPERIENCING GOD, writes that “this verse
from 2 Corinthians, should startle us and cause us to tremble. It is not
a verse to be read quickly and passed over. As Christians we are
grateful to be forgiven of our sins. We are thankful we have been
adopted as God’s children. Yet we will never comprehend the awesome
price that Jesus paid to cleanse us of our sin and to give us HIS
righteousness. How abhorrent was it for the sinless Son of God to have
EVERY sin of humanity placed upon Him? What love was required for the
Father to watch His only Son bear the excruciating pain of our sin upon
the Cross?

The prophet Isaiah summarized his human condition: ‘We are all like an
unclean thing, and all OUR righteousness’s are like filthy rags’ (Isaiah
64:6). Even the high priest, Joshua, in his exalted position among God’s
people, was clothed in filthy rags before God (Zechariah 3:3). T

The Apostle Paul, who labored arduously to be righteous before God,
realized that his most strenuous efforts to please God were no more
valuable than rubbish (Philippians 3:4-10). The plight of humanity is
that nothing we could ever do could satisfy God’s desire for
righteousness. But the miracle of God’s mercy is that God exchanges our
‘filthy rags’ for ‘rich robes’ of righteousness (Zechariah 3:4).

In this awesome exchange, God placed the sin of humanity upon His
righteous Son. Jesus became so identified with our sin that the
Scriptures says God MADE Him to be sin on our behalf. The holy Son of
God could not possibly do more for us than this! Experiencing the
Father’s wrath upon the sin He carried would have been more painful to
endure than any human rejection or physical suffering.

NEVER take the righteousness God has given you for granted. NEVER take
the forgiveness of your sin lightly. IT COST GOD A TERRIBLE PRICE IN
ORDER TO FORGIVE YOU AND MAKE YOU RIGHTEOUS. Walk in a manner worthy of
the righteousness He has given you.” from EXPERIENCING GOD DAY-BY-DAY
— published by our good friends at Broadman Holman.

Good verse to meditate on throughout the day.

THE COLLISION OF GOD AND SIN . . .

Today’s reading from the pen of Oswald Chambers was powerful. It is a
good reminder of the purpose of the cross . . .

“The cross of of Christ is the revealed truth of God’s judgment on sin.
Never associate the idea of martyrdom with the cross of Christ. It was
the supreme triumph, and it shook the very foundations of hell. There is
nothing in time or eternity more absolutely certain and irrefutable than
what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross — He made it possible for
the entire human race to be brought back into a right-standing
relationship with God. He made redemption the foundation of human life;
that is, He made a way for every person to have fellowship with God.

The purpose of the incarnation was redemption. God came in the flesh to
take away sin, not to accomplish something for Himself. The cross is the
central event in time and eternity, and the answer to all the problems
of both.

The cross is not the cross of a man, but the cross of God, and it can
never be fully comprehended through human experience. The cross is God
exhibiting HIS nature. It is the gate through which any individual can
enter oneness with God. But it is not a gate we pass right through; it
is one where abide in the life that is found there.

The heart of salvation is the Cross of Christ. The reason salvation is
so easy to obtain is that it cost God so much. The cross was the place
where God and sinful man merged with a tremendous collision and where
the way to life was opened. But all the cost and pain of the collision
was absorbed by the heart of God.” — from MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST by
Oswald Chambers

“When I survey the wondrous cross, on which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, Save in the death of Christ, my
God;
All the vain things that charm me most — I sacrifice them to His blood.

See, from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled
down;
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small:
Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.” Isaac
Watts (1674-1748)

May these words cause you today to reflect on the Cross of Christ, not
just at this Easter season, but throughout the year.

LAYING DOWN THEIR LIVES . . .

Have you ever considered how amazing your body is — the one that God
created? Did you ever stop to think that while you are sitting here
reading today’s Freedom Fighter, every cell in your body is doing
exactly what God created it to do? Everything is working with precision:
your heart is beating. Blood is being pumped throughout your body. And
then there is the work of the blood cells that is going on unbeknownst
to you.

Dr. Mark Swenson writes that “the red blood cells [in your body] are
workhorses, but the real heroes swimming through the circulatory system
are the white blood cells and platelets. They die for us. They were born
ready to die.

Platelets are half the size of the red blood cells and survive only a
matter of days. This is why we must continually produce five million new
platelets every second. They are critical for the clotting of the blood,
rushing to the site of injury and heroically throwing their tiny bodies
into the hole.

The white blood cells are no less self-sacrificing. They are a vital
link in our quest for daily survival. Not to be paranoid about it, but
there are billions of microbes continuously seeking to do us harm. This
is why the body must have ready fifty billion white blood cells standing
guard. These are the active duty forces. But in the reserves, hiding in
the bone marrow, we have a backup force one hundred times as large
should the need arise. We ought rightfully to be grateful for this
profound immunologic margin.

The skin and mucosa of the respiratory track are the first line of
defense against microbial attack. Yet should any infectious agents
breech the outer defense, the immune system takes over. Here the white
blood cells is an important player.

Next time you get a sore throat, swollen lymph nodes, or inflammation,
remember your body is doing battle on your behalf. Don’t be irritated by
the fever or discomfort. Instead just think about the billions of white
blood cells that are dying so that you may live.

These cells have one mission, one purpose: to give their lives in
defense of ours. ‘Greater love has no one than this,’ Jesus said, ‘that
he lay down his life for his friends.’ Jesus did it for us; our white
blood cells and platelets do it for us. Why do we doubt His vigilance
when He so faithfully performs it on the microscopic level every day of
our lives? The evidence is overwhelming — HE SEES, HE CARES, AND HE
DEFENDS!” We are fearfully and wonderfully made! — from ONE MINUTE OF
MARGIN published by NavPress.

I trust that this truth encourages your heart today!

Attention Colony grads . . . visit our website and see pictures of your
fellow graduates. Go to http://www.americaskeswick.org and click on the
addiction box. When you get to the addiction page, click other resources
and visit the alumni page. We’d love to have YOUR picture too. You can
email it to me at bwelte@americaskeswick.org.

OBSERVATIONS ON A “WALK BY FAITH” — How’s your attitude?

Many of us have quoted the verse — “we walk by faith not by sight” —
but do we really understand what we are quoting? Your attitude can
AFFECT your walk. Chuck Swindoll, in his new daily devotional, GREAT
DAYS WITH THE GREAT LIVES . . . DAILY INSIGHT FROM GREAT LIVES OF THE
BIBLE, shares three insights on this “walk of faith” from the life of
Joseph (Genesis 45:10-15).

“If you’re under the impression that you are going to be great because
of some accomplishment you’ve achieved by harboring wrong attitudes,
you’re in for a terrible jolt. Greatness comes in the sweet-spirit
attitudes of humility and forgiveness towards others. Joseph sets before
us a magnanimous example. How beautifully forgiving he was, how generous
in his mercy.

It takes God to make the heart right. When I have a wrong attitude, I
look at life HUMANLY. When I have a right attitude, I look at life
DIVINELY. That’s the real beauty of Joseph’s life. That’s the kernel of
truth his life represents. He was great, mainly because of his attitude.

And there are three specific lessons that grow out of that single truth:

1. When I am able, by faith, to see God’s plan in my location, my
attitude will be right . . . Not until you can relax and see God in
your PRESENT location will you be useful to Him. A positive theological
attitude will do wonders for your geographical latitude.

2. When I am able, by faith, to sense God’s hand in my situation, my
attitude will be right. I don’t begin the day be gritting by teeth,
asking, ‘Why do I have to stay in this situation?’ Instead, I believe
that He made me the way I am and put me where I am to do what He has
planned for me to do.

3. When I am able, by faith, to accept both location and situation as
good, even when there’s been evil in the process, my attitude will be
right. When I can say with Joseph, ‘but God meant it for good,’ then I
become a trophy of grace.

Joseph shows us that the only way to find happiness in the grind of life
is to do so by FAITH. A faith-filled life means all the difference in
how we view everything around us. It affects our attitudes towards
people, toward location, toward situation, toward circumstances, toward
ourselves. Only then do our feet become swift to do what is right.

Good words for your consideration on this 4th day of April.

YOU

Yesterday I shared some thoughts from a message I heard by Lou Giglio on
a John C. Maxwell tape. The following reading by Amena J. Brown is also
from that CD. It is a powerful expression of praise and thanksgiving for
our great God. I am printing it as it appears in the notes from
Injoy.com:

You
by Amena J. Brown

You find me when I’m hiding behind all my disguises. You see me.
It takes you to keep me breathing. You are heart. Passion. Vision. Word.
Incision. You send me and you bring me close. Close. Close. Closer . . .
Until you look at me you see you. You are heavenly. My present and
future destiny.
You are father. Creator. Sustainer. Life-changer. Pride-breaker. You are
yesterday, today and forever. You are pleasure. Your are worth. Reason.
Present in every season. You are worship. Devotion. You are the reason
for all my commotion.
You are the one that I pray to. You can tell that I’m nothing without
you.
So awesome that I can pray to you about you to know you,
To sense you, to believe you more — to love you more — to obey you
more —
to give you more of my heart.

Oh God search me, know me, see me, examine me, test me, love me,
watch me, protect me, show me, investigate me, be pleased with me.
Question me, keep me, change me, have me, correct me, take me,
Help me, create in me, break in on me. Be my reality, sustain me,
Decrease me,
decrease me, decrease me, decrease me, until there is no me left and
Only You! Only You! Only You!

You are light . . . are hope …. are love . . . are strength . . . are
escape . . .
rescue . . . safe. You are peace. You are belief. Your are advance and
retreat —
Of what, to what, to whom can I compare you? You are my all things new.
You are my place of refuge. Your are my fortress — my rest — my
creativity in the
strength of your words to me. You are my ability to see, hear, feel,
move, live,
breath, be. You are life and death all at the same time. You are friend.
You are
believer, Savior, Redeemer. You are today, tomorrow, and the next day .
. .
and the next day and the next day and the next day. You are truth. You
transcend old
age and youth. You are timeless, priceless, lightness in darkness,
greatness,
goodness, sinless. And in a mess like my life, you see righteousness.
You leave me speechless. YOU ALONE!

Powerful words to ponder as we begin this new week. Have a great week IN
CHRIST.