Matthew 4:1-4
Then Jesus was led out
into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, to be tempted there by Satan.
For forty days and forty nights he ate nothing and became very hungry.
Then Satan tempted him to get food by changing stones into loaves of
bread.
“It will prove you are the Son of God,” he said.
But
Jesus told him, “No! For the Scriptures tell us that bread won’t feed
men’s souls: obedience to every word of God is what we need.”
The
Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois
60188. All rights reserved.
Excuses! Excuses! We’ve all made them…
- “If I don’t look the other way, I’ll lose my job.”
- “If I make my kids behave, they won’t like me.”
- “If I speak out against racist remarks, I’ll lose my friends.”
- “If I don’t serve on high profile committees in my church, people will think I don’t love God.”
- “I don’t approve of this person, but if I don’t support him/her, things will be really tough for me.
You
and I are often very hungry…for attention, for reassurance, for
friendship, for acceptance and approval. It’s as if we have been in the
desert for 40 days without food, and the devil comes along and says,
“Have all you can eat. It comes with some ‘strings’ and some
compromises, but they won’t really matter. What’s important is how YOU
feel…what this means for YOU in the short run. I know what you’re going
through…and only I can make you feel better! So EAT!”
Here’s
the thing…when we compromise our values or fall victim to the devil’s
schemes – or when we succumb to his temptations, we lose big time. Not
only that…when we “eat” from Satan’s plate of lies, we totally deprecate
our faith that God can handle things. We are often so fearful of what
will happen to us if we stand up for what we KNOW God is telling us is
the right thing that we completely turn our backs on Him. Essentially
we say, “LORD, I know You SAID you could handle anything, but I really
don’t believe You!”
So where will you stand today? Are you
really ready to tell the devil to get lost - and trust God…for
EVERYTHING? Dare to say, “I have no clue what this may cost me in the
short run…but I am willing to risk it to stay in Your will, LORD.” God
will make a way where you see none at all. I know, because I have done
this…more than once!
More than a few of us are “wandering in the
desert” today…and we are starving. The devil is standing before us with
the most attractive and delectable offerings to tempt us over to his
side. But God is standing there, also…and I promise, what He offers
makes Satan’s enticements look like ridiculous.
Don’t be
fooled…and don’t make the mistake of choosing poorly. TRUST GOD! Allow
HIM to feed you and meet your needs. He can…and He will! Are you
ready to take a leap of faith?
©2016 Debbie Robus
Acts 1:14-22
The apostles often met together and
prayed with a single purpose in mind. The women and Mary the mother of
Jesus would meet with them, and so would his brothers. One day there
were about one hundred twenty of the Lord’s followers meeting together,
and Peter stood up to speak to them. He said:
My friends, long
ago by the power of the Holy Spirit, David said something about Judas,
and what he said has now happened. Judas was one of us and had worked
with us, but he brought the mob to arrest Jesus. Then Judas bought some
land with the money he was given for doing that evil thing. He fell
headfirst into the field. His body burst open, and all his insides came
out. When the people of Jerusalem found out about this, they called the
place Akeldama, which in the local language means “Field of Blood.”
In the book of Psalms it says, “Leave his house empty, and don’t let anyone live there.”
It also says, “Let someone else have his job.”
So
we need someone else to help us tell others that Jesus has been raised
from death. He must also be one of the men who was with us from the very
beginning. He must have been with us from the time the Lord Jesus was
baptized by John until the day he was taken to heaven.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
There
is much about the story of “Holy Week” that is sad and horrific. But
for me, one of the most hopeless parts is the story of Judas Iscariot.
Jesus knew that Judas would betray him…and yet, He washed his feet in
the Upper Room alongside the other disciples. Jesus shared the bread
and the cup with Judas. And Judas took a bribe of 30 silver pieces in
exchange for kissing Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane to “make” Him for
Roman soldiers.
Many are shocked to read this account in the
Book of Acts about how Judas died. In Matthew 27:3-10, we are told that
Judas threw the money at the high priests and then went out and hanged
himself. The silver was used to buy a “Potter’s Field” for burying the
poor and homeless, and it was given the name of “Murderer’s Meadow.”
There
is much argument about which account is more accurate…but the bottom
line is that Judas Iscariot realized that he had done a terrible thing.
He committed a truly egregious sin…he denied His Lord and Savior. But
Judas was not the only person who did this. Peter denied his own
association with Jesus THREE TIMES before the night was out. Yet he did
not take his own life. And the difference in the choice these two men
made had eternal consequences.
What does this mean for us? I
truly believe that had Judas come to Jesus and humbled himself, Jesus
would have forgiven him, just as he did for Peter and the thief on the
cross. Jesus forgives each of us when we ask Him to do so. And that is
the primary message of this passage from Acts 1. There is NOTHING that
can separate us from Jesus when we humbly admit our sins and failures
and ask for His forgiveness. We are human…we will all sin and fall
short. But Jesus stands ready, willing, and more than able to redeem
us. This promise turns a devastatingly dismal passage of scripture into
one of hope and promise!
I also find the last verses to be
interesting. The Disciples are told to choose a replacement for
Judas…someone who knew and loved Jesus and could speak of His teachings
to others. It seems to me that there is a message for us there, as
well. We can sit and wring our hands over all that is wrong in our
world. We can gripe and complain about those who speak and act in a
manner that is detrimental to the work of Jesus and furthering God’s
Kingdom. But we are instructed to get up and get going…to move forward
with the work of our discipleship…to select and encourage those who are
involved in this mission with us – and to nurture their efforts
alongside our own.
Two messages of hope vs. a choice mired in
despair. We can opt to wallow in our sin and self-pity…and maybe even
completely turn our backs on Jesus. Or we can learn from Judas’
critical mistakes and renew our efforts to serve in Christ’s army…to
seek His forgiveness and follow Him for all of our earthly lives – and
into Eternity. The choice may not be an easy one…but the path of Hope
and Promise seems pretty clear to me. What about you?
©2016 Debbie Robus
Luke 22:1-6
And now the Passover celebration was
drawing near—the Jewish festival when only bread made without yeast was
used. The chief priests and other religious leaders were actively
plotting Jesus’ murder, trying to find a way to kill him without
starting a riot—a possibility they greatly feared.
Then Satan
entered into Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve disciples, and he
went over to the chief priests and captains of the Temple guards to
discuss the best way to betray Jesus to them. They were, of course,
delighted to know that he was ready to help them and promised him a
reward. So he began to look for an opportunity for them to arrest Jesus
quietly when the crowds weren’t around.
The
Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois
60188. All rights reserved.
Do you remember when you
were a little kid, and maybe a group of other youngsters wanted to do
something that they knew they shouldn’t…so they sought a scapegoat?
Maybe they wanted to bust some windows in an old building…and they
encouraged a younger sibling or friend to actually do the dirty work
while they watched. Wanting to please…and maybe motivated by some sort
of incentive (like a candy bar or a special toy – or merely the approval
of the older children)…the younger child agreed to “do the dirty
deed.” And then, when the damage was discovered, the older kids
scattered like marbles…leaving their “patsy” to suffer the consequences.
I’ve
read the scriptures about Judas Iscariot…I’ve examined some writings
about his life and speculations on his motives. And here’s what I have
concluded…Judas loved Jesus. And Jesus surely loved Judas. But Judas
was “one of those people” who could be easily swayed, and this passage
from Luke 22 says that the devil took advantage of this character flaw.
He (the devil) started small…planting seeds of doubt about the
effectiveness of Jesus’ ministries…filling Judas’ mind with questions
about why such expensive perfumed oil was used to wash Jesus’
feet…creating seemingly tiny “frictions” between Judas and the other
disciples.
From there, it escalated to a point that Judas found
himself accepting a paltry 30 pieces of silver in exchange for a “kiss”
that he agreed to plant on Jesus’ cheek. I don’t know that Judas ever
in his wildest dreams imagined that the horrors of this Holy Week would
occur. At the most, he probably thought the Romans would rough Jesus up
a bit, detain Him for a few days, then release Him and maybe tell Him
to “hit the road, Jack - and never come back!” Judas’ suicide indicates
to me that he was remorseful…frightened…distraught over his mistake.
Taking his life was ultimately Judas’ worst transgression, because I
believe that Jesus would have forgiven him, had he repented.
But
this is how these things happen. They start small…often with something
that is seemingly innocent. We listen to a comment here…we laugh and
snicker at a racist remark there…we turn and look the other way when
someone is mistreated or discriminated against. And the first thing you
know, we’ve signed on for bigger “jobs”. We’re openly calling people
derogatory names…picking up our bag and moving to another row or seat
when someone we deem to be offensive sits beside us…or teaching our
children to hate certain races, ethnicities, people of different
lifestyles, those who do not fit our “model” of socio-economic success,
and those who are too fat or have a wild hair color or body art and
piercings. We “plant the kiss” that says, “This is the person to
persecute!” And it never even occurs to us that in doing such things,
we have just betrayed Jesus as surely as Judas Iscariot did that fateful
night in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Hear the Good News…just as
surely as Jesus loved Judas – He loves each of us. And just as I
believe that Judas could have been forgiven and set upright, I believe
that each of us can experience forgiveness – and salvation/restitution
through the blood of Jesus. THIS is the Good News of Holy Week!
We
are all potentially “Judas”…but we can turn this around…today…now…this minute! We
can close the door on the devil, drop the money bag, and “turn this car
around”! Don’t you want to do this? Aren’t you ready to sit at the
feet of Jesus once again…free of any guilt, shame or remorse? Will this
be the day that you seek His forgiveness and get started? Don’t you
think it should be?
©2015 Debbie Robus
