Luke 22:45-48 "When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 'Why are you sleeping?' he asked them. 'Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.' While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus asked him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?" There are some striking moments recorded in this snippet from the Bible. The image of Jesus rising after prayer is dumbfounding. I have been contemplating my prayer life, or lack there of. Here and there I salt and pepper my day with Dear God this and Dear God that. I send Him brief in the mind or under the breath messages, just like I would anyone else I want to keep in touch with via email or text messaging. God is convenient. Jesus rose from prayer...off of the ground...how long was He praying for Dear Reader and what kept Him there for so long? The Bible makes some suggestions but you and I know that we can't know all that He prayed for, it is impossible. Next we have Jesus chastising sleepy disciples. They followed Him but then fell exhausted into slumber. He warned them to "get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation." This alone strikes at the heart of a believer. Prayer keeps us from temptation-it is a protective mechanism. Was Jesus tempted to walk away from His mission? Did He pray to stay, to complete His Fathers will on earth? You bet He did Dear Reader. Why would anyone willingly submit to what Jesus knew was going to happen to Him? How much prayer was required for Him to stay the course? The temptation to ditch the mission must have been immense. He modelled for His disciplines what it takes as a human to live fully into Gods plan. Next we have the infamous kiss of betrayal by one of the twelve. Jesus asked the question "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?" This image is heartbreaking. A kiss is intimate, sweet, shared affection. The heart rending fact is that we humans can be and often times are, duplicitous. Can one of our temptations be to say we love and to act in hate? To offer a kiss and than stab and wound the heart? While on earth Jesus was man with heavenly understanding. He knew Power. He modelled Strength and He taught the how to part of accessing the rich blessings we inherited by knowing and loving Him. He had to be man, subject to Gods laws and trusting in His Father in everyday life so that we too, could follow in His ways. The same Power that rose Jesus from the grave lives in us. Our walk on earth can resemble His in power, strength and might. I want to be just like Jesus. What about you Dear Reader? Who do you want to be like? Good Friday is less than a day away...let us pray so that we do not fall into temptation.
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