I wake up at 6:00 am and begin to pray. I am so excited. It will be my first day teaching in Uganda. I think I already know what I am supposed to teach for this 2-day conference. I am excited and ready to go when suddenly the Lord reveals something to me. He repeats it over and over again so there is absolutely no chance of me missing it. “They need to know who I am,” he says.
I know what he is saying. So many Christians don’t really understand that he was a man, just like you and I. He had feelings and emotions. He felt pain. Hebrews 4:15 says that he was tempted in all ways, just like you and I are. Have we grasped the full meaning of that?
So many people wronged him. Friends turned their backs on him. One of his own disciples whom he had invested so much time in chose to betray him. But he never sought revenge. He kept his cool and continued to love people and carry out the will of God despite all the turbulence.
The most difficult time for Jesus was near the end of his ministry. He didn’t want to go through with being arrested, horribly beaten and then being strung up to suffer and die. Would you? That’s why he was in such intense prayer at the garden of Gethsemane. If there was any other way to accomplish what his Father needed to have happen, Jesus wanted a ticket out. After that intense time in prayer with the Father, he knew there was no other way.
Put yourself in his shoes. You have been given all power and authority. You can call upon legions of angels and get rescued at any moment. But you allow yourself to get arrested and go through relentless humiliation, punishment and torcher. His love for us in submitting himself to such a thing had to be so intense. And God the Father must have loved us so much for allowing his Son to go through with it. A Son who had always been loyal.
I now knew that the people in Uganda needed to hear this message. It was amazing how quickly I was able to put a teaching on this subject together. I called it “Do you know Jesus Christ?” Later on I published a teaching online called “Understanding Jesus Christ” that is freely available to you on my website. It covers all of the basic truths regarding the need for Jesus Christ (due to Adam’s sin), how Jesus was born, how he grew in his relationship with God and finally, how much love he demonstrated towards us when he allowed himself to be put through the horrible ordeal that concluded with his getting nailed to a cross.
It is now 7:30 am. I am about two thirds of the way through with putting this all together when I hear a knock at the door. It is Isaac. He needs to run an errand. Then we will eat breakfast and leave for the conference. I am in tears when he enters my room. “Why are you crying,” he asks me, “Is it because of joy? Or due to sadness?”
“I realized this morning that there are so many Christians who do not really 
understand who Jesus Christ is,” I explain, “They look at salvation as being free. But it wasn’t free. It was free for them. But Jesus Christ paid such a heavy price for our salvation. He went through so much pain and suffering. To do that, his love for us must have been so great.”
We drive to Bugiri, meet our host there, and eventually head out to the conference. We are just over halfway there when our car overheats. We pull over, open the hood and discover that there is no cap on the radiator. The car was serviced the day before and the person who serviced it must have either forgot to put it back on or else put it on so loose that it jarred itself off. Our host calls someone to pick us up and take us the rest of the way to the conference. Isaac stays behind and hops on a motorcycle in the opposite direction so he can see about getting a new radiator cap.
While waiting for our ride, I walk around and visit with a few of the locals. There is a small wooden stand with Coke and Pepsi bottles filled with some liquid. I find out it is petrol fuel that is for sale if someone has a vehicle that desperately needs it. There are cute grass huts that are much more common here than in Kenya. I see a lady cooking outside, so I walk over 
to greet her. She gets up from her cooking. She is happy to see me and suddenly gets down on both knees in front of me. I was not expecting this! “Please get up,” I told her. I did not desire anyone to worship 
me, only God. My companions then explained to me that it is culturally acceptable for women in Ugandan villages to greet men this way. It was simply an act of politeness and not worship. We walk together over to her small 
home. It has a solar panel on it. I get several pictures taken with her. The hospitality of people in Uganda are similar to that in Kenya. They are a very friendly people.
Our transport arrives and we finally reach the conference just after 12:00 pm. We are three hours late. But we are here, I am eager to teach, and it appears they are excited to hear from me. That’s 
what matters most. I am told I can teach for 2 hours. First, I teach on the new subject I had just put together this morning, “Do you know Jesus Christ?” Then I move on to some of my other teachings until the two hours are up. We eat a delicious lunch. I love the fresh 
avocados. After lunch I talk about the unconditional love of God. The church is packed. Every seat is filled. And hopefully, when I have finished, everyone’s heart has been filled to overflowing by the truth of God’s Word. 
As we leave the church there are a group of children smiling at me. I enjoy waving to them. There is a 
quick downpour of rain while we are driving. It doesn’t last long but it is enough to cause one dirt road to get flooded. We drive back to the hosts home where we eat dinner. Then I play indoor soccer and ‘keep away’ with the cute little children of our host. After that it is time to get 
some sleep. I’m going to need it. Tomorrow is going to be a very long and eventful day.
And having gone forward a little, he (Jesus) fell on his face, praying and saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”
Matthew 26:39 REV
This is how the love of God was revealed among us: that God has sent his only begotten Son into the world so that we could live through him.
In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Beloved, if God loved us in this way, we also are obligated to love one another.
1 John 4:9-11 REV