Daily Devotional
The Cup of Pollution: Sin’s Oil Press
“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
April 1, 2020
Ponder This
The word Gethsemane literally means “oil press.” It was in this garden that they had a giant press to squeeze the olive oil from the olives. It was here Jesus prayed three times, “Lord, if it be possible let this cup pass from Me.” I don’t want to drink this cup—to experience this cup fully, to take it into my very being. It was the cup of agony that Jesus drank in dark Gethsemane and He drank it there alone. The pollution of sin was in that cup. Take all the sin of the past and all the sin of the future, distill it, put it in this cup. Put rape in there. Put sodomy in there. Put child abuse in there. Put Hitler’s gas ovens in there. Put murder in there. Put blasphemy in there. Put witchcraft in there. Put filth in there and say, Jesus drink it. Drink it. Drink the bitter dregs, become sin. Not just bear sin, but become sin. For us.
Practice This
Jesus died for your sin. Have you accepted His bountiful cup of grace, experienced it fully, taken it into your very being? Spend some time in prayer thanking Him for drinking the poisonous cup of sin—past, present, and future—pressed from the shortcomings of your life.
FOR YOUR GIFT TO THE MINISTRY
Front Porch Moments by Gayle Foster
WITH KEY INSIGHTS FROM HER FATHER, ADRIAN ROGERS
I try to unplug each morning with Jesus with just my rocking chair, my Bible, and a pen.
Having a secret place is very important because I know that Jesus is always there waiting for me. I know where I can find Him! His presence is everywhere, but there are places where it is so thick you can cut it with a knife. You may not even have a front porch, but there is a secret place for you as well. God’s invitations are for anyone who will respond. There is no more important request than the one found in Psalm 27:8: “My heart has heard You say, ‘Come and talk with Me.’ And my heart responds, ‘Lord, I am coming.’”
