Sunday Devotional - This Easter, am I Judas or Peter?

It’s Easter Sunday, and I’ve had Judas on my heart. He walked closely with Jesus, saw the miracles, heard His voice and His teaching, even shared meals with Him, but Judas didn’t submit to Him. Even though he was that close to Him, Judas didn’t allow Jesus to change him. Am I the same? Even if I’m around Jesus, going to church, reading my bible, listening to worship music, am I surrendered? Am I allowing Jesus to change me and make me more like Him?

John 12:6 - Now Judas said this, not because he cared about the poor [for he had never cared about them], but because he was a thief; and since he had the money box [serving as treasurer for the twelve disciples], he used to pilfer what was put into it. 

Judas couldn’t be trusted with the little things. He made compromises on little things. What was the big deal? As long as they had enough money to do what the disciples wanted to do, did it really matter if he took a little bit of something for himself? Small compromises weakened his integrity and made it easier for him to make bigger ones. It opened the door for the enemy to work. When I make small compromises, what am I setting myself up for? Every choice I make draws me closer to God or further away. Every choice is a battle for my soul, so what will I choose today?

Luke 22:3 Then Satan entered Judas, the one called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve [disciples].

Because of Judas’s sin and his lack of repentance, Satan found a way into his heart and caused the ultimate betrayal of Jesus. But even after this horrible mistake, Judas could have changed, he could have repented and run back to Jesus, but the enemy lied to him, and Judas believed him. When am I guilty of believing the enemy’s lie that my mistake is too bad for the Lord to forgive? Or that I can’t face the Lord now that I’ve failed in resisting temptation. God’s mercy is always stronger, coming to Him dirty and broken is expected. My mistakes aren’t final if I turn to the Lord and let Him forgive me. Who will I choose to believe? 

Matthew 27:3-4 When Judas, His betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was gripped with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders,  saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They replied, “What is that to us? See to that yourself!”

Even though Judas felt guilty, he didn’t turn to the Lord for forgiveness, and he didn’t repent. Instead of going to Jesus, he went back to the religious leaders, and they offered him no forgiveness, no grace, and no mercy. They didn’t care. So the guilt that he had drove him to despair. 

Matthew 26:74-75 Then Peter started to curse and to swear with an oath, “I do not know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed, and Peter remembered the words Jesus had spoken, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

Peter also betrayed Jesus that night be denying Him three times. Adamantly, with curses. But with his regret and guilt came repentance. He sought the Lord, and when Peter finally saw Him, he leapt from his boat and swam to shore, coming directly to him rather than letting the enemy have the final word.

John 21:17 He asked him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved that He asked him the third time, “Do you love Me?” He said, “Lord, You know everything! You know that I love You.” “Feed My sheep,” Jesus said.

And the Lord gave him the opportunity to repent and say that he loved Him three times. One for each time Peter had denied Him. Each followed up with the command to feed His sheep. And Peter did as he was asked. He didn’t let his story end with his betrayal, but found repentance, love, grace, and redemption by coming back to the Lord.

Even when we mess up, Jesus loves us. He doesn’t quit just because we failed. He already knows everything bad we’ve ever done or are going to do and He still offers us forgiveness and grace. Even though Jesus already knew what Judas was going to do before he’d even started plotting, Jesus still washed his feet. He still looked at him lovingly at the Last Supper. His grace and love go beyond betrayal and denial. And He gives us the opportunity for redemption and repentance through is mercy and grace. 

Hebrews 4:16 - Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time.

So my prayer today is that we will be more like Peter than like Judas. That we will turn directly toward God when we make a mistake. That we will listen to Him rather than the enemy so that He can show us the mercy, kindness, and a love that can make us bold, even when we betray Him. Let us never let Satan have the final word and make us believe that we’re unworthy of even trying to come to Him. Of course we’re unworthy, but we’re not unloved. Let us remember that He already knows what we we’ve done, and there’s no reason to hide. He invites us instead, as always… to come.

Sunday Devotional ~ How is God not Disappointed in Me?

 

16 Proverbs 24:16a - for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again

When God chose us to be His, He knew everything we’d ever done and everything we were ever going to do. Nothing we do shocks Him or surprises Him. And nothing we do could separate us from His love. So what happens when we fail to resist temptation. What happens when we sin… again?

16 Joshua 1:9 - Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

Sometimes our reaction to our sin is similar to Adam and Eve’s reaction in the garden. We made a mistake and we want to hide from God. We don’t want to face Him. How could we be anything but a disappointment to Him? We don’t feel strong or courageous. Instead we feel weak and cowardly. How can we go to Him in prayer and ask for forgiveness again? And again? How can He not get tired of us?

Hebrews 4:16 - Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Come boldly. Don’t let fear or worry hold us back. Without fear, and with confidence, not letting guilt or failure stop us. We didn’t surprise Him, and we cannot hide from Him, so there is no reason to withdraw from Him because we are dirty or broken. In fact, He expects us to come then. It is required. He tells us to “Come…” and wants us to seek Him instead of hiding. He wants us to be focused on Him and take His hand and His help when we fall so that we can rise again.

Our brokeness doesn’t scare Him, and our dirt doesn’t make Him shrink back. He is there to give us the mercy and grace that we need to rise again. Staying down in the dirt doesn’t make us more humble. Self-punishment doesn’t help us to stop sinning. Wallowing in our misery doesn’t get us back on track. Hiding from the Lord doesn’t help us be less of a disappointment to Him. But coming to Him without fear and asking for help is exactly what He wants from us. 

This message is best summed up by the Psalmist in Psalm 139 (1-18):

O Lord, You have searched me and known me. 

You know when I sit down and when I rise up; 

You understand my thought from afar. 

You scrutinize my path and my lying down and are intimately acquainted with all my ways. 

Even before there is a word on my tongue, 

Behold, O Lord, You know it all. 

You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid your hand upon me. 

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; 

It is too high, I cannot attain to it.

Where can I go from Your Spirit?

Or where can I flee from Your presence?

If I ascend to heaven, You are there;

If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.

If I take the wings of the dawn,

If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, 

Even there, Your hand will lead me,

And your right hand will lay hold of me.

If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,

And the light around me will be night,”

Even there darkness is not dark to You,

And the night is as bright as the day. 

Darkness and light are alike to You.

For you formed my inward parts;

You wove me in my mother’s womb.

I will give thanks to you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.

My frame was not hidden from You. When I was made in secret

And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;

Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; 

And in your book were all written the days that were ordained for me,

When as yet there was not one of them.

How precious also are your thoughts to me, O God!

How vast is the sum of them, they would outnumber the sand.

When I awake, I am still with You.

So then, if God knows everything we were ever going to do, how can we surprise Him? How can we disappoint Him? He already knew everything before we were even born. Yet He chose to love us anyway. He has seen everything we will do or say, and yet He died for us anyway.

No matter what we are going through or how dirty or broken we are, let us still come to God boldly and not hide from Him or let distractions and guilt keep us from Him. It’s my prayer today that we will always look to Him for help immediately upon falling so that we can rise sooner rather than later and keep moving forward, day by day, toward our prize.

Fear of Fasting

 

Whenever I think about starting a fast, my mind quickly jumps to thoughts of unpleasant deprivation. Jesus fasted forty days and nights — yet how did he survive that long without food? Could I survive that long without it? Could I survive that long even in a partial fast?

The Daniel Fast is a partial fast where a person gives up processed sugar and carbohydrates, meat, and dairy for a time so that they can draw closer to the Lord. At this time of year, many people are declaring a church wide fast or doing things individually, to jumpstart the new year and declare it for the Lord.

But could I be capable of such a thing?

Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?  For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ (Luke 14:28-30)

What if I start and I’m not able to finish? What if I give into temptation and quit early? What if I fall and can’t get back up again?

Fear is full of what if’s - its goal is to get you to be so worried about failure that you never even start a task at all. 

When it comes to fasting, Jesus has told us that we should all fast - He said: “WHEN you fast…” in Matthew 6:16

When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.  (Matthew 6:16-18)

So what Jesus describes here is the cost of fasting. The cost is that we should not look for the approval of others but for God’s approval alone. To remember that fasting is between us and the Lord, and no one else. If we can’t “afford” that, then we shouldn’t even start. Otherwise, we should fast. Talk to the Lord and see what kind of fasting you should do, and how long. The Lord knows what you’re capable of and that we have to crawl before we can walk… and before we can run.

Yes, Jesus was capable of a 40 day fast. But without the kind of abiding relationship that Jesus had with the Father, we would not be capable of that sort of feat. And this kind of abiding relationship is fertilized through fasting and prayer. Without absolute reliance upon the Lord, we are not capable of feats of faith and fasting, bringing our flesh under God’s control, but it is one of the ways we cultivate our reliance upon the Lord.

God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13b)

So if God has promised to provide a way out of temptation when it comes, and to not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear, then we can step out in faith and do the fasting we need to to draw closer to Him. Pray about it, decide on a set amount of time and type of fast, and then trust in the Lord to help you endure it, to draw closer to you, and not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear. Today it is my prayer that I will be braver than my fear of fasting. 

God is in the Details vs. The Devil is in the Details

As Christians, we know that Satan is out there trying to replace God, and in this phrase, he is doing just that. The origin of this phrase is attributed to 19th century French novelist, Gustave Flaubert as "Le bon Dieu est dans le détail" translating,  “The good God is in the details.”

The meaning of this phrase was that one should pay particular attention to details, to not let your work or study be only about the big picture, but also about the smallest points. As believers, we often find God at work in the details of our lives. According to Luke 12:7, God knows the number of hairs on your head. Do you know the number of hairs on your head? I don’t. Not to mention that the number of hairs on your head changes daily as you lose a few or grow new ones. Yet, He knows.

As our creator, God knows every detail of our lives down to the smallest particle. Science is still in awe of how the smallest particles of our make up are so detailed, and how as we get stronger microscopes, we find even smaller particles exist. So God is very much in the details, and if we are paying attention and living for Him, we’ll see Him there and make certain that we don’t miss Him.

But in modern days, this proverb has been twisted. Replacing God with the devil wasn’t even part of the common vernacular until the 1960’s. And instead of talking about the need to pay attention to details when creating something, it’s speaking of the need to pay attention to the details when purchasing something, or taking something on. It’s talking about how the seller or creator is trying to hide things or con the purchaser into taking on something that he’ll find out isn’t as solid, as good, or strong as he thought it was when he was looking at the big picture.

The phrase is now referring to the evil that we will find when we look in the details of what has already been made. This is a sad turn of events. Because society has turned toward selfishness, and putting one’s own needs and wants above everyone else’s, we forget how detail-oriented God is. He hasn’t forgotten. If we are working to please the Lord instead of ourselves, we’ll make sure that our work is done honestly and that every detail is taken care of in a positive manner. A believer is not out to con others because he knows that God sees every detail of what we do and knows our heart, and there are no secrets from Him.

I know that I will purposefully be changing this phrase back to its original meaning in my life. Details matter. When we are creating, we should pay attention to the details to be sure that we glorify God with what we’re making. If everyone would feel this way, there would be no need to worry about fraudulent details instead.