"Glass Half Empty"

"The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: thine arrows also went abroad." (Psalms 77:17) As much as we might think we can, we can't; if the Holy Spirit is not powering you, then you are without the power to achieve righteousness. I have been listening to Pastor Damian, pretty much non stop for the last several days, teaching from Matthew and Mark. I think we are in Mark chapter seven right now, but the end of Matthew yesterday was some pretty good stuff; especially the part about Peter's determination to be strong and his complete failure to pull it off. There was something I picked up on about Peter cutting off that guy's right ear in the garden, that because it was his right ear, Peter most likely had done it from behind the man's back; I thought that was rather interesting. Whether you believe it or not, after Jesus had overcome His weakness in the flesh, the Spirit of God in Him was pretty much unstoppable. He left off being the least bit concerned about the temporal body, and was full-on all about the Spirit and the eternal task at hand. The way Damian illustrated the picture, it all made perfect sense. Jesus had asked His disciples three times to pray with Him, yet after He overcame, He told them to go ahead and sleep. The way Damian explained it, Jesus actually took a moment to sit down by them and pray for them; especially for Peter, and the trial that would wait ahead for him over the denial of his Lord. It was most likely two or three in the morning, so if the disciples were tired, they had good reason to keep falling asleep; but Jesus would not sleep again, except for the brief moment that His body expired on the cross. Interesting thing about what happened, is that Jesus went from not wanting to go through with what was going to happen, to not wanting to miss a single part of what the experience would entail. Even though they offered Him something to numb the pain, He refused it, not wanting to miss a single moment or any ounce of suffering in which He would endure. I can't imagine what that could feel like; nor would I ever want to! We do not have it in us, but we can...
 "The sun and the moon stood still in the sky as your brilliant arrows flew and your glittering spear flashed. You marched across the land in anger and trampling the nations in fury. You went out to rescue your chosen people, to save your anointed ones. You crushed the heads of the wicked and stripped their bones from head to toe. With his own weapons, you destroyed the chief of those who rushed out like a whirlwind, thinking Israel would be easy prey." (Habakkuk 3:11-14) NLT