Last fall Teresa and I purchased pellet smokers, it was the end of the season and they had been reduced by almost a third – figured it would be the ‘cheapest’ we could get them at.  She and Ian have used hers several times – she had a protective cover over it.  Since I do not, we put the cover on it and awaited for spring to come.

Today they came over and Ian helped me make sure the smoker was set up correctly and went over the proper use of it for me.  It takes me longer any more to figure things out – he was a big help.

Since this will be the first time I use it I decided I would smoke a whole chicken, it is in the brine right now and I will try and get it smoked just as Carla comes home from work – but we shall see.  I do have a backup ‘just in case,’ left overs in the fridge.

I have barbecued and smoked meat for over 40 years so I am not too worried, it was the device I have to learn how to use.

Mathew 20:17-19 And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them,

¹⁸ Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,

¹⁹ And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise 

Jesus knew what was going to happen to Him in Jerusalem.  He knew He would be humiliated, beaten, tortured and put to death.

We know from His prayer in the Garden that He asked God to not put Him through that distressful time.  He didn’t want to go through that humiliation and pain.

Perhaps He looked at the people He was to die for and asked Himself “why should I do this, these people are not worthy of salvation.”  That of course is doubtful, but something I might ask.

However, as a Police Officer I didn’t decide who was worthy of my protection, if they needed it, they would receive it to the best of my abilities.  If they were criminals then the law would take care of them, but, it wasn’t my job to do that, only to protect them.

There are times that in the course of an arrest someone might be injured.  As soon as they were subdued we rendered aid.  So I do ‘kinda’ understand the strength of Christ as He wrestled with his immediate future.

Christ trusted God.  He had been placed on earth to do what He had done, and what was to be done so all mankind could have salvation.

He knew He would be killed by the leaders of the Jews, yet, He yielded to the Father’s command and obeyed. 

Trusting that He indeed would arise on the third day as God promised.

What He was to be going through was going to be very difficult, yet, He trusted that God would stay true to His promise of resurrecting Him.

and the third day he shall rise

Jesus didn’t have His eyes set upon His humanity.  He had promised God to fulfill His mission and He focused His eyes on the task at hand and the promise that on the third day He would rise.

Life on earth is temporary, but eternal life is not – and either we die in Christ, or we die without Him and suffer the consequences.  We need to have that same vision – focusing on God and His commands to carry us through our troubles.

Mathew 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

As Jesus knew He was going to go through those difficult trials, He has told us that we too will be humiliated, betrayed, persecuted and all manner of attacks when we preach the Gospel.

but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

But in the process we know that we too have been promised eternal life with God. 

As Christ relied on the Father to help and direct Him, we too have the promise that we will not go through anything alone.

Mathew 28:19-20 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

²⁰ Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

There will be times that we do feel alone and lost, but God’s Holy Spirit is there with us, always, and we have the promise of Jesus that He is with us always – no matter what.

and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Later, Art :-)