><//>--------------------Thought for the Day
I have learned how to be honest. What a relief! No more ducking or dodging. No more tall tales. No more pretending to be what I am not. My cards are on the table, for the entire world to see. “I am what I am,” as Popeye used to say in the comics. I have had an unsavory past. I am sorry, yes. But it cannot be changed now. All that is yesterday and is done. But now my life is an open book. Come and look at it, if you want to. I’m trying to do the best I can. I will fail often, but I won’t make excuses. I will face things as they are and not run away, because my hope is in the mercy and grace of God through Messiah.
Am I really honest?
><//>--------------------Meditation for the Day
Hill of Sacrifice
You must trust to the end. You must be ready to go on trusting to the last hour.
You must know even when you cannot see. You must be ready, like My servant Abraham, to climb the very Hill of Sacrifice, to go to the very last moment, before you see My Deliverance.
This final test has to come to all who walk by Faith. You must rely on Me alone.
Look to no other arm, look for no other help. Trust in the Spirit Forces of the Unseen, not in those you see. Trust and fear not.
><//>--------------------Prayer for the Day
Father, we pray that we may believe in the Unseen. We pray that we may be convinced by the results of the Unseen that I do see. Amen.
A Disciple's Reflections: Bless or Betray
Beloved, today we will share one of the most important messages a believer could concern himself or herself with while still on the earth.
Yesterday morning I was on the operating table where a moderately sized growth was removed from my body. It was important that this growth be removed lest it seriously interfere with the processes of life. All went well, and now I am on my way better in every way than I was before dealing with this minor problem before it became more serious. Here's an important part of my own personal experience for you. I only found this possible fatal problem because I am willing to seek out that which is wrong with my body.
Beloved, this is the very same thing we need do regarding our character. Many times daily we should seek out that which is in our character that is wrong, un-Christ like, and hinders our relationship with God and others, hinders our spiritual growth, and our service in the Lord.
This is one of the greatest gifts God has given to each of us – the amazing blessing of grace in the Cross. We can see what hinders the sunlight of God's Spirit from entering our lives and have it removed by His power through prayer with absolutely no accusation or judgment. It is written that if we judge these things now, they won't have to be judged later in regard to our reward.
Keeping this in mind, let us see how quickly we can go from the personality of Peter to that of Judas. We can be richly blessed in our honesty and willingness that we may "...walk according to the spirit" in the knowledge of the truth.
Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. When they heard it, they were greatly pleased, and promised to give him money. So he began to look for an opportunity to betray him. – Mark 14:10-11
This has got to be one of the saddest passages in scripture. After having seen Jesus in action, hearing His word and walking in his footsteps, watching the faces of those he touched, Judas missed the point. He was disillusioned. Jesus wasn't what and who Judas expected him to be. So Judas sold him out.
Betrayal hurts. Betrayal particularly hurts when it comes from a relative or someone who you thought to be a close friend. Judas was a trusted disciple – he was the finance committee, the treasurer. But Judas wasn't all he appeared to be.
There has been plenty of speculation around Judas' motives in betraying Jesus. The most common argument is that Judas expected Jesus to be a political revolutionary. He thought Jesus would become a king like David who would toss the Romans out on their ear and restore Israel to the glory days of old. Obviously, that wasn't going to happen.
Jesus didn't move with the movers and the shakers. He didn't gather a band of hard-nosed revolutionaries. He stopped for dinner in the home of a leper and praised a woman who wasted a bottle of costly ointment on him! Its no wonder that Judas got fed up!
I remember a fellow believer commenting on the "accept Jesus in your heart as Lord and Savior" movement in the church. He said, "I accept Jesus and deny Jesus every day of my life. Whenever I choose to act in accord with God's will I accept Jesus. And whenever I choose to go my own way, I deny him. The truth of the good news is not that I accept Jesus but that Jesus accepts me!" I think he was right.
At the same time, Judas reminds us of how easy it is to get disillusioned along the walk of faith. It is so easy to confuse our will with God's will and our ways with God's. It is so easy to fall prey to the temptation to go our own way, regardless of the consequences of our actions. Knowing that, Judas becomes a very scary character... rather than seeing him as the ultimate bad guy, we see him as a reflection of ourselves.
How often, when our circumstances seem like defeat and we experience loss, or not receive what we perceive we need and want we may sense anger in our hearts toward God. If honesty is to prevail, at least a coldness enters our heart toward Him.
How is it, today, that we accept Jesus and how is it that we betray him for 30 pieces of silver?
Let us come together and fight this in our walk with continual praise and thanksgiving no matter how we may feel in the moment. We know that God is good, and that His judgments toward us are always just. We also accept that He loves each of us, though we may not be able to apprehend such love or feel it. This is the basic tenant of faith. To believe that which we know to be true though we cannot see or feel it. Of course, this certainly includes receiving God's love by faith?
Soon, after giving thanksgiving and praising God in all circumstances; the calm and joy and assurance of the spirit begins to fill our emotions and the unseen truth becomes the reality. Faith wins out over doubt, and we take on the personality of any other disciple but that of Judas. I have plenty of Judas's in my life experience, and I don't want to be that way. The Lord we know deserves so much better from each of us.
Let us pray: Dear Jesus, each day of our lives we accept and reject you many times over. We watch with horror as Judas turned his coat against you... but our horror isn't so much a reaction to him as it is a reminder to us of the possibilities that exist in us. Guide us in our understanding and our actions that we might stay close to you in our journey of faith. In Jesus' name. Amen.
God Promises to...
"He has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires."
– 2 Peter 1:4 (NIV)
God's divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness (2 Peter 1:3). Yet we all struggle in life with things like envy, greed, lust, jealousy, covetousness, anger, un-forgiveness, hatred and so on. Everyone has one or more possible several areas of vulnerability to evil desires. But God's promises are many and they are complete. They are so complete as to allow us to participate in God's divine nature and holiness. Let us hold close to God's promises and be equipped to escape any and all evil ways.
Webster's tells us that a promise is a pledge to do, bring about or provide. The word is full of God's "pledges" to you and I. He will never leave you nor forsake you. He will give you strength against temptation. He will provide comfort and peace in your time of need. He will give His grace, mercy, and forgiveness to all who seek Him. The list of things that God wants to "bring about" in our lives is lengthy and they can be found throughout His word. Today, may we BELIEVE in God's promises to us all, and sing His praise! Then, surely goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives.
"Then they believed his promises and sang his praise."
– Psalm 106:12 (NIV)
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Please have a blessed day, be hopeful, be encouraged, and know you are not alone.
“God Calling” compiled by A. J. Russell.
“"Twenty-Four Hours A Day"” Hazelton - adapted.
Kerry & Barry write Bless or Betray - adapted.
Greg Candelaria writes God Promises to...
Barry Gray writes A Disciple’s Reflections.
