Selling Out the Son of God

Dr. Ray Pritchard

“Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him” (Mark 3:19).
When the gospel writers give us their accounts of Jesus’ final days, two men take center stage: Peter and Judas. In every New Testament list of the twelve apostles, Peter is always first, Judas always last. They are forever joined together by the fact that they both failed grievously and in very public ways.
But only one man was restored.
The other man went to hell.
Let’s focus for a moment on Judas. Consider his experience leading up to his betrayal:
He was personally chosen to be an apostle by Jesus Christ. He forsook all to follow the Lord. He spent 3 1/2 years traveling the length and breadth of Israel with Christ. He saw all the miracles of Christ in person. He heard Christ give his famous discourses. He watched as Christ healed the sick, raised the dead, and cast out demons. He was sent out to preach the gospel along with the other apostles. He was one of the leaders of the apostolic band. No one ever suspected him of treason.
In terms of experience, whatever you can say about James, Peter and John, you can say also about Judas. Everywhere they went, he also went. He was right there, always by the side of Jesus. He heard it all, saw it all, experienced it all. However you explain his defection, you cannot say he was less experienced than the other apostles.
It is now A.D. 65. Thirty years and more have passed since the crucifixion of Jesus. Matthew sits down to write his gospel. When he comes to list the names of the apostles, he begins "Peter, James, John" and then the others. Judas is last, always. But never just "Judas" but "Judas who betrayed him." When Mark writes his gospel it is the same: "Judas who betrayed him." When Luke writes his gospel, it is the same: "Judas who betrayed him." Then 30 years after that, John—by now in his 80s or 90s—writes his gospel. He called him "Judas who was later to betray him."
They never got over what happened. The passage of time did not dim the enormity of his crime. It was as heinous to them in their old age as it had been when they were young.
When you get right down to it, Judas should have been a better man or a worse man. If he had been better, he would not have done such an evil thing. If he had been worse, he would not have felt such remorse. As it was, he was bad enough to do the deed and good enough to be unable to bear the guilt of it.
What would it take for you to sell out the Son of God?
Would you betray him for money?
Would you betray him for a better job?
Would you betray him to keep the job you have?
Would you betray him to save your own skin?
Would you betray him because he didn't live up to your expectations?
Would you betray him because you thought he let you down?
Would you betray him if you thought you could win the favor of important people?
These are searching questions that may be easier to ask than to answer. I ask you not to take them lightly. The one main lesson from Judas' life is lost unless we at least ask ourselves the questions.
My Lord, I pray for a faith so real and so deep that it cannot be bought or sold for any price. Amen.

Bickering at the Last Summer

Dr. Ray Pritchard

“Then a dispute also arose among them about who should be considered the greatest” (Luke 22:24).
This may be the strangest episode of all.
It’s not that the disciples were bickering. That happens all the time. Get a group of people together—any group of men or women—and soon they will start jockeying for position. We live in a dog-eat-dog world. You’ve got to look out for number one, climb to the top of the heap, and don’t look back because someone might be gaining on you.
Somewhere I picked up a cartoon that shows a man driving in his car on the expressway. The caption reads, “At 20, I couldn’t wait to get on the road. At 30, I learned how to go from 0 to 60 in eight seconds. At 40 I found that I’d been holding the map upside down and at 50, I discovered I had the wrong map altogether.”
That’s the story of an entire generation. My generation. The Baby Boomers. We were told, “Get up early, work hard, climb to the top, step on people if you have to, look out for number one, do it now.” Then when we got going about 150 miles an hour, we found out, to our utter dismay, the map was upside down. What we were looking for was in exactly the opposite direction.
So here are the disciples, gathered with the Lord in the Upper Room. In just a few hours, Jesus will be denied, betrayed, tried, beaten, scourged, humiliated, and then crucified. What do the disciples do? They start arguing about who among them is the greatest. But that’s not the worst of it.
This argument about “Who’s the greatest?” breaks out after Jesus shares the bread and the cup with his men. That’s almost unbelievable.
Or maybe not.
Holy moments don't last forever. Soon enough the flesh rears its ugly head. We do the same thing when we leave a worship service deeply moved by a sense of God’s presence and then get into an argument in the car on the way home. As James 3:9-10 reminds us, with the same tongue we bless God and we curse others. How quickly we turn from holiness to bitterness, from gentleness to contention. We pray and recite our memory verses, then we wound those we love most with unkind words.
Rather than indict the apostles, I simply observe how human they are. After sharing in the sacred emblems of the body and blood of Jesus, they begin to bicker about who is the greatest among them.
J. C. Ryle has an apt word about this sad state of affairs:

At this very season, the last quiet time they could spend with their Master before His death, this little flock begins a dispute, as to who should be the greatest! Such is the heart of man, ever weak, ever deceitful, ever ready, even at its best times, to turn aside to what is evil.   

He goes on to note that thousands who consider themselves humble cannot bear to see another promoted ahead of them. We should instead remember what John the Baptist said about his influence compared to Jesus’ influence: “He must increase, and I must decrease” (John 3:30).
If we truly want to be like Jesus, then we will take his words to heart: “I am among you as one who serves” (Luke 22:27). Rather than rebuke them for their selfish ambition, he calls them to a higher standard.
When I read this story, I remember the words of that old spiritual:
“It’s me, it’s me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer
Not my brother, not my sister, but it’s me, O Lord,
Standing in the need of prayer.”
Lord Jesus, when I am tempted to claim a higher place, remind me that you weren’t ashamed to become a servant and wash my dirty feet. Amen.

The Other Judas

Dr. Ray Pritchard

“Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, ‘Lord, how is it You’re going to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?’” (John 14:22)
Talk about a tough break.
Judah was the name of one of the sons of Jacob in the Old Testament. He became the founder of the tribe of Judah, from which the Messiah (Christ) would be born. In Jewish circles, Judah was a very good name. That’s why lots of parents in the first century named their sons Judah.
But there’s a catch. The name Judah is pronounced Judas in Greek.
Did you know there were two apostles named Judas? We know about Judas Iscariot who betrayed the Lord. But there was another Judas in the apostolic band. In Acts 1:13 he is called Judas the son of James. But when John wrote his gospel, he simply called him “Judas (not Iscariot).”
That’s what I mean by a tough break.
You followed Jesus for 3 ½ years, you walked the dusty roads of Galilee and Judea, you saw the miracles and heard the teaching. You were there the religious leaders accused Jesus of being in league with the devil. When so many others left, you stayed with the Lord because you believed in him. You were in the crowd during that midnight melee on the Mount of Olives when the bad Judas betrayed the Lord. You didn’t betray Jesus with a kiss. It was the other guy.
Now you’re stuck with a good name dragged into the mud by the treacherous act of the only Judas most of us know about. But that’s not fair because the “other Judas” was a righteous man who never betrayed Jesus. History suggests that in later years he took the gospel into the region of Mesopotamia.  
John 14:22 gives us the only recorded words of the other Judas: “Lord, how is it you’re going to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?” When Christ was on the earth, the only way to know him was in person. But when he left, he sent the Holy Spirit to indwell each believer.
We are not orphans.
Jesus did not leave us alone.
Here is a wonderful promise. You can know the Lord, and he can be at home in your heart every single day. The heart has a living room, a dining room, a bedroom, a kitchen, a computer room, a TV room, many closets, and an attic. Too many believers keep Christ in the entryway, as if to say, “Jesus, I’ve got you in the door. Now stay there and don’t bother the rest of my life.” But the Lord wants to enter every room. He wants to enter your kitchen, your bedroom, your library, your TV room, your computer room, and he wants access to every closet and even to the “attic” of your heart. As long as you keep the doors locked, he can never be “at home” in your heart. And you will never be happy as a Christian.
The question is not, “How much of the Lord do I have?” but rather, “How much of me does the Lord have?” Until Christ is at home in your heart, he will always seem like a stranger to you even though he lives in you.
He’s not just watching me; he’s with me.
He’s not just with me; he’s in me.
He’s not just a visitor; he’s at home in my heart.
This is a wonderful truth, and we have the “other Judas” to thank for asking the question in the first place.
O Christ, come in and make yourself at home in my heart today. Amen.

Are Christians Biased?

J. Warner Wallace

Christians are often accused of being “biased” simply because we believe in the supernatural. This accusation has power in our current pluralistic culture. Biased people are seen as prejudicial and unfair, arrogant and overly confident of their position. Nobody wants to be identified as someone who is biased or opinionated. But make no mistake about it, all of us have a point of view; all of us hold opinions and ideas that color the way we see the world. Anyone who tells you that he (or she) is completely objective and devoid of presuppositions has another more important problem: that person is either astonishingly naive or a liar.
The question is not whether or not we have ideas, opinions, or preexisting points of view; the question is whether or not we will allow these perspectives to prevent us from examining the evidence objectively. It’s possible to have a prior opinion yet leave this presupposition at the door in order to examine the evidence fairly. We ask jurors to do this all the time. In the state of California, jurors are repeatedly instructed to “keep an open mind throughout the trial” and not to “let bias, sympathy, prejudice, or public opinion influence your decision.” The courts assume that people have biases, hold sympathies and prejudices, and are aware of public opinion. In spite of this, jurors are required to “keep an open mind.” Jurors have to enter the courtroom with empty hands; they must leave all their baggage in the hall. Everyone begins with a collection of biases. We must (to the best of our ability) resist the temptation to allow our biases to eliminate certain forms of evidence (and therefore certain conclusions) before we even begin the investigation.
As a skeptic, I was slow to accept even the slightest possibility that miracles were possible. My commitment to naturalism prevented me from considering such nonsense. But after learning about the dangers of presuppositions at crime scenes, I decided that I needed to be fair with my naturalistic inclinations. I couldn’t begin with my conclusion, and if the evidence pointed to the reasonable existence of God, this certainly opened up the possibility of the miraculous. If God did exist, He was the creator of everything we see in the universe. He, therefore, created matter from nonmatter, life from nonlife; He created all time and space. God’s creation of the universe would certainly be nothing short of… miraculous. If there was a God who could account for the beginning of the universe, lesser miracles (say, walking on water or healing the blind) might not even be all that impressive. If I was going to learn the truth about the existence of a miraculous God, I needed to at least lay down my presuppositions about the miraculous. My experience at crime scenes has helped me to do just that. This doesn’t mean that I now rush to “supernatural” explanations every time I fail to find an easy or quick “natural” explanation. It simply means that I am open to following the evidence wherever it leads, even if it points to the existence of a miraculous designer. The evidence does point to the existence of such a miraculous Being. We just have to be fair and unbiased to recognize the strength of the case.
I didn’t become a Christian because I had a prior bias in favor of Christianity. In fact, I had a bias against Christianity. As I said in my scene in GOD’S NOT DEAD 2, “I’m not a Christian today because I was raised that way or because it satisfies some need or accomplishes some goal. I’m simply a Christian because it’s evidentially true.” This article is an excerpt from my book, Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels. For more information, please refer to Chapter 1: “Don’t Be A Know It All.”

Investigating Easter: Did The Disciples Lie About the Resurrection?

J. Warner Wallace

Did Jesus really rise from the grave on Easter Sunday? Is the Resurrection of Jesus a fabrication created by the disciples in an effort to start a world religion or accomplish some other nefarious goal? Some skeptics claim the disciples stole the body of Jesus from the grave and later fabricated the stories of Jesus’s resurrection appearances. While this explanation may account for the empty tomb and the resurrection observations (as lies), it fails to account for the transformed lives of the apostles.
In my years working robberies, I had the opportunity to investigate (and break) a number of conspiracy efforts, and I learned about the nature of successful conspiracies. I’ve written about this extensively at ColdCaseChristianity.com. Based on my experience, I am hesitant to embrace any theory that requires the conspiratorial effort of a large number of people, over a significant period of time, when there is personally little or nothing to gain by their effort. This skeptical apostolic conspiracy theory requires us to believe that the apostles were transformed and emboldened not by the miraculous appearance of the resurrected Jesus but by elaborate lies created without any benefit to those who were perpetuating the hoax. In addition to this concern from the perspective of a detective, there are other concerns that have to be considered when evaluating the claim that the disciples lied about the resurrection:

1. The Jewish authorities took many precautions to make sure the tomb was guarded and sealed, knowing that the removal of the body would allow the disciples to claim that Jesus had risen (Matt. 27:62–66).

2. The people local to the event would have known it was a lie (remember that Paul told the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15:3–8 that there were still five hundred people who could testify to having seen Jesus alive after His resurrection).

3. The disciples lacked the motive to create such a lie.

4. The disciples’ transformation following the alleged resurrection is inconsistent with the claim that the appearances were only a lie. How could their own lies transform them into courageous evangelists?

There are many good evidential reasons to reject the notion that the disciples lied about the Resurrection of Jesus. The best explanation for the empty tomb, the observations of the disciples, and the transformed lives of the apostles is simply the fact that Jesus rose from the dead, just as the Biblical account records. We’ll be examining all the alternative explanations for the Resurrection over the next few weeks. These articles are excerpted from my book, Cold-Case Christianity. For more information, refer to Chapter 2: Learn How to Infer. You can also purchase a brief Easter “tract” outlining this entire investigative series (perfect for giving to those seeking the truth about Easter) entitled, ALIVE.
J. Warner Wallace is a Cold-Case Detective, a Christian Case Maker, and the author of Cold-Case Christianity and God’s Crime Scene. He appears in God’s Not Dead 2 as an expert witness.

When Did Satan Enter Judas?

Dr. Ray Pritchard

“Jesus replied, ‘Did I not choose you twelve—and one of you has the devil in his heart?’” (John 6:70 Phillips).
Jesus always knew the truth about Judas.
We know that because Jesus told his disciples in John 6 that one of them was “a devil” or “the devil” or as J. B. Phillips renders it, has “the devil in his heart.” Two things are noteworthy about that revelation. First, it takes place six months before the cross, and second, when he says it, the other apostles have no idea he’s talking about Judas.
We don’t know everything we would like to know about Judas and his motives. We don’t know if he signed up with bad intentions. Or did he become disillusioned along the way? Did he expect Jesus to overthrow Rome and liberate the Jews? We don’t have to assume that Judas signed up with the intention of betraying Jesus. We only know that he never truly believed in Jesus the way the others did, and yet he managed to hide his true feelings for all those long weeks and months and years the apostles spent together.
On two separate occasions we read that Satan “entered” Judas. Luke 22:3 says that Satan entered Judas just before he approached the chief priests to offer to betray Jesus. John 13:27 says that Satan entered Judas just after he took the bread at the Last Supper and just before he left to lead the chief priests to find Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.
What can we conclude from this? First, his heart was never right. He never truly believed. Whatever his original motives for following Jesus, his heart grew hard and dark and cold. Second, his unbelief made him a prime target for Satan. Unbelief opens the door to all manner of sin. First we question, then we doubt, then we choose not to believe, and then we find ourselves falling into deep sin. I heard Chuck Swindoll quote these words:
“Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.”
On the day Judas signed up, he would have bristled at the suggestion that one day he would betray Jesus with a kiss. But that’s where he ended up, which makes his story all the more tragic.
It didn’t have to end that way. It never does.
Satan could not “enter” him unless Judas had left the door wide open. His anger, his greed, and his disillusionment all conspired to make him an easy target for the devil. It’s not like Satan is omnipotent. He’s not. He’s more like a burglar prowling through a neighborhood, trying one door after another until he finds one that the owner forgot to lock. Why break in the back door when you can stroll in through the front door?
I started by asking the question, When did Satan enter Judas? Certainly the devil entered him twice near the end to provoke him to betray the Lord. But in a deeper sense, Satan had his man all along.
Judas was the easiest target he ever had.
We should all take a solemn lesson from Judas. Don’t leave the door open for Satan to enter your heart. Please don’t say it could never happen to you. We all say that just before we fall.
Search me and try me, O Lord. Set my heart aflame with true love for you. I pray for your Spirit to burn away the smallest traces of unbelief. Amen.

When a Good Man Falls

Dr. Ray Pritchard

“Even if they all fall away, I will not!” (Mark 14:29).
Peter meant every word.
He really believed it.
That’s where we have to begin.
It’s easy to make him look bad because we know how this story ends, but give Peter his due. He really meant what he said.
He was boasting . . .
He was overly-optimistic about himself . . .
He was too dismissive of the other disciples . . .
He had no sense of the danger he was in . . .
That’s all very true.
But that’s not where we start. Say what you want about Peter (and there’s a lot to be said), but he was no coward. When trouble came, Peter’s first instinct was to run toward the battle and not away from it. Yes, his big mouth got him in trouble, but he’s also the only guy with the courage to get out of the boat. That’s why we don’t talk about “Bartholomew walking on water.” Only Peter was willing to risk it all.
How, then, should we understand his boastful words?
If you had asked Peter six hours earlier to name his strong points, no doubt he would have listed boldness and courage right at the top. He would have said, “Sometimes I put my foot in my mouth, but at least I’m not afraid to speak up. Jesus knows I’ll always be there when he needs me.”
But when Satan attacked, it came so suddenly, so swiftly, so unexpectedly that the “bold apostle turned to butter.” By himself Peter is helpless. In the moment of crisis, Peter failed at the very point where he pledged to be eternally faithful.
Should this surprise us? After all, why should Satan attack only at the point of your self-perceived weakness? If you know you have a weakness, that’s the very area you will guard most carefully. If you know you have a problem with anger or with laziness or with lust or with gluttony, will you not be on your guard lest you fall?
But it is not so with your strengths. You tend to take those areas for granted. You say, “That’s not a problem for me. I have other problems, but that area is not really a temptation at all.”
Watch out! Put up the red flag! There is danger ahead. When a person takes any area of life for granted, that’s the one area Satan is most likely to attack.
It happened to Peter. It will happen to you and to me sooner or later.
Never again would Peter brag on himself like he did that night. Never again would he presume to be better than his brothers. Never again would he be so cocky and self-confident. All that was gone forever, part of the price Peter paid for his failure in the moment of crisis.
It is a good thing the Lord allows this to happen to us. By falling flat on our faces we are forced to admit that without the Lord we can do nothing but fail. The quicker we learn that (and we never learn it completely), the better off we will be. Failure never seems to be a good thing when it happens, but if failure strips away our cocky self-confidence, then failure is ultimately a gift from God.
For Peter, the worst and the best is yet to come. For today, let’s remind ourselves not to boast. You’re not as strong as you think you are, and neither am I. Peter was a good man who thought too highly of himself, and under pressure he denied the Lord.
Don’t let that happen to you.
Lord Jesus, when I tempted to boast, remind me again of how weak I am. Without you I can do nothing. Amen.  
You can reach the author at ray@keepbelieving.com. Click here to sign up for the free email sermon.

Let God Have You

by Max Lucado How long has it been since you let God have you? I mean really have you? How long since you gave him a portion of undiluted, uninterrupted time listening for his voice? Apparently, Jesus did. He made a deliberate effort to spend time with God. Spend much time reading about the listening life of Jesus and a distinct pattern emerges. He spent regular time with God, praying and listening. Mark 1:35 says, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” Luke tells us, “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Let me ask the obvious. If Jesus, the Son of God, the sinless Savior of humankind, thought it worthwhile to clear his calendar to pray, wouldn’t we be wise to do the same?

Was He Really a Doubting Thomas?

Greg Laurie

Thomas, one of Jesus' disciples, had the nickname Doubting Thomas, but I think that is a bit unfair. I have always thought of Thomas as more of a skeptic than a doubter. After all, Thomas did not ask for a special revelation from Jesus. He simply asked for the same proof the other disciples had (see John 20:25). Thomas was the kind of guy who wanted to know for himself. He was his own man. He would not let others do his thinking for him.

What did Jesus do with such a man? He made a special resurrection appearance for him. He condescended to Thomas and his desire to know for himself. What amazes me about this is that Jesus came to Thomas on his level. He didn't rebuke him. He didn't humiliate him. He could see that deep down in Thomas's heart, he really wanted to know God. Jesus came to him and said, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing" (John 20:27).

I like Thomas, because by nature I, too, am a skeptical person. I have never been one to believe something just because someone says it is true.

You might be someone who is a bit skeptical, a bit unsure of your faith. You may have a lot of questions. Deep down inside, you want to know God. You want to know for yourself. The risen Lord has something for you. He can turn your skepticism into belief.

Just come to Him with your questions. Come to Him with your doubts. You, too, will be able to say, "My Lord and my God!"

Taken from "New Knowledge for the Skeptic" by Harvest Ministries (used by permission).

A Servant, not a Superstar - 03/01/16

by Chuck Swindoll

Matthew 11:28-30

"I like that, Dad." I remember those words. It's like they were said to me yesterday.

Actually, they take me all the way back to the late 1970s. In '71, Cynthia and I moved our family (four children, ages 1 through 10) from a sleepy, casual bedroom community outside Dallas, Texas, to rapidly growing Orange County in Southern California. Almost before we knew it, we had entered the fast-lane life of the West Coast, doing our best to keep up. As time passed, we found ourselves doing double-time driving freeways, leading an expanding church with a multi-person staff, hauling busy kids to and from school, mixed with holidays and birthday celebrations, sleepovers, and endless ball games. My publishing world had suddenly exploded, which resulted in too many trips around the country and not enough down time to rest my spirit and calm my nerves and be with those I loved the most.

Mother's Day was fast approaching, so my older son and I dropped into the local Hallmark store to find a nice card for Cynthia. As I thumbed through numerous Mother's Day cards, he wandered back to the section where the posters were displayed. Before long he asked me to join him. He was standing before a large poster portraying a serene scene. A well-worn fishing boat was out on a lake. It was early dawn, with the sun peeking over the horizon. Its warm rays reached across a deep blue-gray sky wrapped in lacy white clouds. Two thin lines were in the water—one hanging from a pole held by a father, sitting in the back by a little outboard motor, and the other held by his son, sitting at the other end. Their corks made gentle ripples on the water's glassy surface. You could feel the closeness. You could hear the easygoing conversation as father and son savored the morning together.

Two simple words appeared at the bottom of the poster. They stung as I read them:

TAKE TIME.

"I like that, Dad," said Curt. I reached an arm around the broadening shoulders of my growing-up teenaged son, looked at him, and then looked again at the poster. "I do, too, son . . . I do, too." He didn't want to buy it. I realized he simply wanted me to see it. To think about it. I did. In fact, it was a needed wake-up call to this too-busy dad, whose son had hurriedly come into the store looking for something to buy for his mother, but who left slowly, far more concerned about his dad.

How easy it is for you and me to get caught up in a "hurry-worry sindrome," doing too much, driving too fast, eating too quickly, juggling too many things. It all seems ultra-important at the moment—but later we realize much was done at the expense of cultivating deeper and more meaningful relationships with those we love the most. Being held hostage by the tyranny of the urgent is not how we were meant to live.

Knowing how prone we are to this, Jesus offered a very sincere and gracious invitation. You may have read it before . . . but this time, linger over it. Turn the words over in your mind; let them seep in.

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." (Matthew 11:28–30)

I suggest you accept Jesus's invitation—today. Come to Him. Tell Him how weary and over-burdened you are. Pull that heavy backpack loaded with all your stuff off your shoulders and drop it at His feet. Do it now. Then enter into His rest. Relax for a change—take an extra several minutes to enjoy His presence . . . embrace His peace. Before you turn in tonight, curl up alongside those who mean the most to you and tell them how much you love them, how valuable they are to you.

TAKE TIME.

Copyright © 2006 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.

A Servant, not a Superstar

by Charles R. Swindoll

Matthew 11:28–29

A familiar essay anonymously written many years ago says this about Jesus Christ:

Nineteen long centuries have come and gone and today he is the centerpiece of the human race and the leader of the column of progress. I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever were built; all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has that one solitary life.

Impressive words regarding the most phenomenal Person who ever cast a shadow across earth's landscape. Without question, He is unique. He is awesome in the truest sense of the term.

But what was He like personally down inside His skin? Is there any place in Scripture, for example, where He described Himself? The answer is yes. Does that description fit the common idea of human greatness? The answer is no.

I remember my surprise some years back when I received a slick, multicolored brochure in my morning mail announcing a series of lectures to be delivered in Los Angeles by a man who was a well-known Christian "superstar" of the day. He was a popular speaker who traveled all over the country, and his name is still familiar to most folks in the family of God. But I confess, I lifted my eyebrows in astonishment when I read the words used to describe him in that advertisement:

A phenomenal individual . . .

In great demand around the world . . .

Today's most sought-after speaker!

That's a far cry from the way Jesus Christ described Himself:

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matthew 11:28–29)

Unlike most influential, celebrity types, Jesus's description of Himself doesn't sound like the popular hype we've grown accustomed to hearing. Jesus was a servant, not a superstar.

Adapted from Improving Your Serve: The Art of Unselfish Living, Copyright © 1981 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc.

Open my eyes:

Christine (Tina) Berglund

   Of all the daylilies in the garden, the prettiest are the ones that appear to have eyes!

   In a few days,I’ll be having a procedure done in an attemptto heal my eyes. If some of the biblical scholars are right, Paul suffered from eye troubles; and I would have to agree that eye pain is truly a “thorn in the flesh.” It is not only painful, but it is terribly inconvenient.

   One place that eye pain isn’t so noticeable is in the garden. The eye doctors explain that it is because of the combination of near and far vision, and the extra moisture of our humid outdoor climate. The relaxing nature of the tasks that cause normal blinking action could also help.

   My theory is that there is so much that is pleasing to the eyes that it just feels better!I guess you could say that a garden is literally “a sight for sore eyes.”

   Revelation 3:18 admonishes the church in Laodicea to “anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see” (NKJV). The odd thing was, Laodicea was a city known for its eye salve! This play on words showed the Laodiceans that they didn’t really see as well as they thought.

   We sing the children’s song, “Be Careful Little Eyes What You See,” but maybe we miss the point. We are concerned, and rightly so, of guarding our eyes against the things we should not see.

“I will set no worthless thing before my eyes” (Psalm 101:3, NASB).

   We post sticky notes of this or similar verses on our televisions. We put filters on our computers so that pornography doesn’t pop up and assault our eyes, nor our children’s eyes.

But what do we TRY to see?

   Do we see the good in people, especially those with whom we don’t get along? Do we see the best in humanity, even when it’s almost invisible? The famous children’s television personality, Fred Rogers, recalls the advice of his mother whenever a terrible tragedy strikes. “Look for the helpers.”

   The key is to “look.” If we don’t make the attempt to look for it, immeasurable good and so much beauty will be overlooked!

Did you see your 3-year-old sharing his last cookie with his brother? Did you see the young mother smiling through the hymns Sunday morning as she wrestled her toddlers and quieted them with a prepared snack or book? Did you see the older man shuffle over to the table where the correspondence courses are kept, so he could send the next one to his eager student on another continent?

   Yes, there are beautiful moments that surround us in the garden of our everyday lives. God’s protection surrounds us, too; although we cannot see it with our human eyes. Elisha’s servant had to be shown.

   “Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, ‘Alas, my master! What shall we do?’ So he answered, ‘Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’ Then Elisha prayed and said, ‘O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.’ And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 6:15-17, NASB).

Our eyes are so very important to us, but we must not only see, but also LOOK.

Thou Hast Made Me Glad

“For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands.” (Psalm 92:4)

“It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High” (Psalm 92:1). So begins this “Song for the Sabbath day” (heading), the psalmist extolling the virtues of praising God both day and night (v. 2). The true believer, with a proper understanding of God’s majesty, can see, in every situation, His lovingkindness and faithfulness. There is no better way to begin and end the day than to rehearse manifestations of His loving control over each event and circumstance and express confidence in His ability to handle new situations. “O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep” (v. 5).

Vexation over the seeming prosperity of the enemies of God is understandable, but we must rest in the fact that God will act justly at the proper time, when it best suits His purpose. “The wicked . . . shall be destroyed for ever: But thou, LORD, art most high for evermore. For, lo, thine enemies, O LORD, . . . shall perish; all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered” (vv. 7-9).

Conversely, the righteous will ultimately flourish. Whether in this lifetime or in the next, God’s justice will prevail. “Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God” (v. 13).

The claim of ultimate victory must not be considered as vague, insufficient, and improbable, as skeptics have always claimed. The reputation of God Himself is on the line. He will not allow His name to be tarnished. He must act “to shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him” (v. 15). As in our text, we can even now be “glad” and “triumph” in His works, whether we see them in this life or in the life to come. “O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep” (v. 5). JDM 

Showing Genuine Love for Others

BIBLE MEDITATION:
“Thou hast also given me the shield of Thy salvation: and Thy right hand hath holden me up, and Thy gentleness hath made me great.” Psalm 18:35

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Can a person donate to the poor and not have love? Can a person work in a soup kitchen for the homeless and not have love? Yes. You say, “A person wouldn’t do that!” Oh yes, they would…if they had a guilty conscience. Sometimes it is neater to write a check or donate some used things than to give of our time.

Do you know what the world needs? Not more money, though I’m sure they’d be glad to take it. First Corinthians 13:3 says, “And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.” You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving of yourself to others.

ACTION POINT:
Ask God to show you the ways you can show His genuine love to others.

Devotions taken from the messages of Adrian Rogers.

Quotation

Bad situations don't have to make us bitter-they can make us better! God can use the good, the bad, the happy, the sad to mold us into the people He wants us to be. Our goal should be to focus not on what man does to us but what God will do through us. Rest assured, what man may intend for evil, God will use for good.

Skip Heitzig

Choose To Not Be Easily Offended

Ephesians 4:32 And be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you.

Do you walk in forgiveness or offense? Does every little thing someone else says or does bother you? Do you have a tendency to allow things to just roll off or do you hang on to offenses? Don’t be easily offended! We need to have our focus on God and not on every little thing others say and do. Now the really tough thing is to not allow yourself to get offended when someone else gets offended with you over something you said or did with a heart that was never intending to offend! Did you follow that? We could just keep the ball rolling with one offense after the next and one more person being rolled up in it all if we don’t just get a grip!

I have watched as some people seem to get offended over the silliest of things and then they hold onto it until the grudge is so overwhelming they can hardly stand to be in the other persons presence. We are talking silly things here, like: “have you noticed she had to ‘one up’ my story?” “I put my daughter in that dance class and now she has to put her daughter in it, why can’t she find her own” “Did you hear what she just said to me? I am sure she said she liked my outfit just to be spiteful!”

Give others the benefit of the doubt and stop taking what they say and adding an attitude to it that you don’t even really know exists! What purpose does it serve to make more out of something than is really there. Life on earth is too short to allow every little thing to offend you, seriously move on!

When you feel as though someone else is doing something or saying something just to be hateful, ask God to help you show them the love of Christ! Ask God to show you how to be kind to them and forgive them. If you deal with someone who is just incredibly spiteful and mean, ask God to give you a tender heart toward them so you can be who you need to be! We are called to forgive ladies and we are called to be kind, we all wish some people didn’t make those callings so difficult at times but that’s life. There are too many really important things to dwell on without making something out of nothing or taking things to heart that are better allowed to just roll of your back! If you find you are easily offended ask God to show you what insecurities or hurts you have buried in your heart that are causing you to feel that way. Ask Him to heal your pain and to help you forgive! Don’t waste another moment allowing the emotions of offense and unforgiveness to rule your day! Take control of those emotions and focus on God!

Quote:
“A person is not defeated by their opponents but by themselves.”
Jan Christiaan Smuts

Gathering in His Name

BIBLE MEDITATION:
“For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
There is something wonderful about unity.

I heard about a fellow who courted a girl by writing her a beautiful love letter every day for two years. He thought that would be a wonderful way to court her. Do you know what happened? She married the mail carrier!

There is nothing like being there. There is nothing like personal contact. There is a sense in which Jesus Christ is present when His people gather that’s not in any other sense. You cannot get it the same way at home.

ACTION POINT:
Do you have a church home? If not, I encourage you to find one today. If church attendance isn’t important, I wonder why Satan works so hard to keep folks away. If you do have a church home, make a special effort this week to meet a new friend and find a need they have which you can meet. Discover Jesus

Devotions taken from the messages of Adrian Rogers.

Five Things to Do While You Wait

By Rick Warren

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” ( Matthew 7:7 NLT, second edition)

When God has you in a waiting period, don’t put your life on hold. Instead, imitate the habits that grow strong faith.

The Bible says there are five things you should keep on doing even in the waiting period.

1. Keep on praying.

The Bible says, “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7 NLT, second edition). Keep on praying, and you will get your answer.

2. Keep on serving.

Romans 12:11 says, “Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.” Don’t worry about having a significant ministry. Just make your ministry significant.

3. Keep on going to small group.

The Bible says in Hebrews 10:25, “Let us not give up the habit of meeting together …. Instead, let us encourage one another all the more, since you see that the Day of the Lord is coming nearer” (TEV).

4. Keep on sowing.

Ecclesiastes 11:6 says, “Keep on sowing your seed, for you never know which will grow —perhaps it all will” (TLB).

5. Keep on believing.

The Bible says, “You must keep on believing the things you have been taught. You know they are true” (2 Timothy 3:14).

The point is this: Stay active. Don’t be passive. God cannot steer a parked car! Don’t tell God you’re waiting on him. Turn on the ignition, and just start driving. Where? Anywhere! Get involved in a ministry. Get involved in service. Get involved with small group. Do the things you know you could be doing to develop your skills and habits and become more like Jesus. 

Talk It Over

• How do you tend to react when God has you in a waiting period? 
• In what ways does a small group help you become more like Jesus, especially in the waiting periods of life? 
• What steps can you take today to be more active about your faith?