Betrayed!

 

They say to keep your friends close and keep your enemies closer. -- Sun Tzu, The Art of War

However, it like seems sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between the two. History has been filled with betrayals: , Marcus Brutus, Benedict Arnold, Guy Fawkes but probably the most infamous of all traitors was Judas Iscariot.

A kiss was and still is that traditional greeting among men and men in certain parts of the world. It was a kiss that signaled the guards that pointed out Jesus for arrest. In first-century Israel, a kiss was a common greeting, a sign of deep respect, honor and brotherly love.

Have you ever been betrayed by someone you love? If you have, you know the distinct pain. It may have been a former spouse or sibling. A child may betray the trust of a parent. A parent may betray the trust of a child. It's interesting that Judas was one of the original 12 disciples and knew Jesus more than most. And even though Jesus was betrayed, He still showed love to Judas.

Proverbs 20:6 says "Many will say they are loyal friends but who can find one who is truly reliable?" Are you a loyal friend? Loyalty can't be proclaimed. It has to be proven.

If you have been betrayed, Jesus knows exactly how you feel. Hebrews 4:15 Share your feelings with Him. Or maybe YOU are the betrayer. Confess your sins and brings them to Jesus.

One Necessary Thing

 "...but just one is needed. Mary has chosen the right thing, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:42

Have you ever had a very important guest stay in your home? It may be someone of great influence or some celebrity. Other people might be envious of you for having such a person staying with you. Of course, you would would want everything perfect; a spotless house and an awesome meal for your honored guest.

Sisters, Mary and Martha had such an important person visiting them, Jesus Christ. Martha is consumed by all the work that is in front of her. She even tries to get Jesus to rebuke Mary for not helping her complete the tasks on her to-do list. "But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” Luke 10:40

Martha was not doing anything sinful or wrong but verse 40 tells us she was distracted. She wants to make sure the meal is perfect. She wants to make sure the house is all in order. She wants everything to fall into place to impress and honor Jesus, her houseguest. She is captivated by the work in front of her rather than Jesus, the one who is saving her from her sins.

The trap that Martha falls into is much easier than we might think. We can so easily move throughout our days being very productive in a lot of different areas, but still missing our relationship with Jesus. We wake up in the morning ready to run, we run all day long, and then whatever is left at the end of all the running is what we give to Jesus as we close our eyes and fall asleep. We fill our days with tasks and work that we deem to be absolutely necessary, all the while neglecting the one thing that truly is necessary.

Fulfillment in life will only ever be found in relationship with Jesus. The work and the tasks will certainly need to be done, but there is no reason to get our priorities out of order. Just one thing is needed. Too often we allow the urgent to crowd out the important.

• But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well Matthew 6:33
• In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:6
• He [Jesus] must become more important, but I must become less important.” John 3:30

Got Hope

 

It's been said that you can go weeks without food, days without water, minutes without air but you cannot go five seconds without hope. You cannot live without hope. You may exist but you cannot truly live. During the Korean War, one of the tactics of the Korean army was to try to destroy the POW's hope. It's a fact that once a prisoner's hope was destroyed, a soldier would turn his face to the wall and die!

The Bible says the anchor of your soul is not money, it's not fames, it's not all these other things. The anchor of your soul is hope. Hebrews 6:19 If you ever been in a boat, you will discover it's easy to drift without even knowing it, without an anchor. It's easy to drift in life as well. It is easy drift in your marriage, from your goals and from God. When people go through life's storm they typically look to everything else except God for their anchor. The further away we get from God the less hope we have.

The purpose of the anchor is to keep you stable. In the storms of life you cannot trust your abilities, your intellect, your money, your job to hold you steady. Jesus is our anchor; He's the Rock of ages. As a young Christ-follower I remember singing "We have an Anchor." You need to have your anchor secured BEFORE the storm strikes.

I Deserve It

 Temptation; we have all experienced it. Temptation is anything that promises satisfaction at the cost of obedience to God. Yielding to temptation leads to sin. My definition of sin is fulfilling a God-given desire in a way that God never intended. I.e. God gave mankind the desire for physical intimacy but it must be fulfilled in the bounds of matrimony.

We have looked at the first two temptations Jesus faced in the wilderness. Matthew 4:1-11 Today, we look at the final temptation - the lust of the eyes. This temptation often says "I deserve it," Have you ever told yourself that? Satan shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and he tells Him he'll give Him all these if He would only bow down and worships him. If anyone deserves all the Kingdoms of the world it's Jesus. But that one simple act would be disobedience to God. Satan was offering a crown without a cross. A Kingdom without suffering.

Today we see the lust of the eyes in entitlement mentality of our culture. People say they deserve certain privileges that they are entitled to but have not worked for them. When tempted to say "I deserve it" let's replace it with "Only Jesus."

Look At Me

 

In my last blog, we looked at the first of the three temptations Jesus faced in the wilderness. Matthew 4:1-11 Today, we look at His second temptation, the pride of life. Pride says things like "I'm important or "I can handle it" or "I don't need any help."

 It is the John Wayne or Rambo syndrome. Self-confidence can be a good thing but there are limits to self-confidence. Even Dirty Harry (Clint Eastwood) said, "A man got to know his limitations." This is one area we can all do better. Instead of counting on our own strength, we need to count on God's strength. We can try and prove our worth instead of pointing to the one who is truly worthy.

Satan tries to tempt Jesus to throw Himself from the roof of the Temple to prove He is the Messiah. Jesus didn't need to prove anything. Later in Jesus' ministry, the religious leaders told Him to perform a miracle and thus prove He was the Messiah. (Same temptation as Satan but different setting.)

 When tempted with the pride of life let's replace "I can handle it" with I can't handle anything without God. John 15:5 Philippians 4:13 Let's replace "I'm important" with "More of Jesus and less of me." John 3:30

I Want My Lawyer

"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you."  John 14:16

I sometimes enjoy watching a crime show on television. It is interesting the different techniques that police detectives use to question a suspect of a crime. When the questioning gets a little heated, the suspect may refuse to answer any more question and demand an attorney. After the suspect "lawyers up," the detectives cannot legally ask them any more questions. 

Throughout the New Testament, Jesus Christ is referred as our Advocate, which could be translated as lawyer or attorney. An advocate is a person who comes to our aid or pleads our case to a judge. Advocates offer support, strength, and counsel and intercede for us when necessary. 

In the Bible, Satan is sometimes referred to a an "accuser of the brethren." He accuses us of our sins before God. In the book of Job, Satan stood before God to accuse Job of having an insincere love for Him; He said Job only served God because of the blessings God had given to him. Job 1:9 -10 

The next time Satan gets in your face reminding you of your past sins, tell him, "I want my lawyer!"