You know something needs to be said when you think it, write it down, share it with no one else, and then, you hear a person who you know is in tune with the Holy Spirit speak on it. That is exactly what happened with this blog. I wrote the concept early this week after having read the Scriptures about Judas several times. I thought about what must have been going through this disciple’s heart and mind when he decided to rat out Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. I was blessed with some insight about Judas to which I had never really paid attention.

Let’s start with the end of Judas. He killed himself. He realized what an awful thing he had done or he realized that he had been caught and he could not bear the shame, so he ended his life and he will burn eternally in hell; not because he committed suicide (not a debate I am going to get into today), but for the reason others go to hell. As my pastor explained, Judas never accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior; he was not saved by faith or any other means.

This revelation was shocking to me because Judas walked with Christ and they were friends; he was a disciple, a follower of Christ. Then, I began to think of all the people who come to church, but are not saved. They are around Jesus and His Holy Word, but they do so because of a ritual, or what they can get from Jesus, not because of a loving relationship with the one, true, living God. I admit this is something that I was taught, but having studied the Scriptures, I see no reason not to believe, as my pastor explained, that Judas hung out with Jesus because he thought Jesus would overthrow the Roman government and he wanted to be on the right side on earth. His thoughts were not about eternity. His suicide was an act of remorse, not repentance. Just thought I would share that with you; hope my pastor does not mind. So, what about the beginning of the betrayal?

In the Bible, it says that Judas allowed Satan to use him. We should not be shocked by this. Each and every day, I allow Satan to use me in some way; whether it is too watch television instead of studying God’s Word or to fall asleep instead of communicating heartily with God. If we truly examine our lives, we will all find places in our lives where Satan knows he can enter in and distract us. The sad part is that those distractions are usually wrapped up in doing something with good intentions, especially for those of us who Satan knows will not say ‘yes’ to  pure, unadulterated evil. He is a tricky fellow.

So, after Judas allowed Satan to use him, he went to the Pharisees and offered to give up Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. In Exodus 21:32, it says that if a servant is accidentally killed by an ox, the owner of the ox should stone the ox and pay the owner of the slave thirty shekels of silver. So, basically, Judas felt that Jesus was worth no more than a slave! Let that sink in for a moment. (SN: I learned this from my pastor, too. The man has a wealth of knowledge. If you are in the Jacksonville area and searching for a church home, come check us out at New Friendship)

Okay, now before we get all high and mighty about what Judas should or should not have done, let’s take a look in our spiritual mirrors and ask ourselves, “What’s Your Price?” Really be honest. We condemn Judas all the time, but sell Jesus out each and every day of our loves. Instead of cheerful giving to our local church, we buy more “things.” Instead of listening to the leading of the Holy Spirit, God’s gift to us, we choose to do things “our way” (because that always works out well -- insert sarcasm).

We may not literally be handing Jesus over to Pharisees, but we might as well be, every, single time we choose the people, things and issues of this world over him. So, what is your price to betray Jesus? Might I suggest that we all work on that price being so high that no one can pay it? Can you picture the nail-scarred hands and feet of Jesus Christ and imagine what it cost Him to save you? That’s how high our price should be. Ms. EV

I spend a lot of time reflecting on my life, not dwelling, but taking glimpses in the past to see what worked and what did not. Not only and I trying to avoid my past mistakes, but I am also looking for how the lessons I have learned can be a blessing to someone else. When I see someone headed down a familiar path, I cannot just stand by and watch them step in front of an oncoming train of heartache and disappointment. I feel I have to say or do something to get his or her attention. Now, I have learned that the person will not always listen to me, which is fine, hurtful, but fine. Sometimes in life we have to learn lessons for ourselves in order for them to stick. I mean, honestly, I don’t always listen to my warnings, so I can be mad when someone else ignores me. Nevertheless, I hope this blog will continue to help me and will help someone else who is trying to stay on the path to his or her dreams because I have discovered how to get everything you want in life.

Step One: Offer honor and respect where it’s due

Step Two: Believe in God’s Word

Step Three: Esteem others higher than yourself

Step Four: Yield to God’s Will

You call out to God for help and He helps—He’s a good Father that way. But don’t forget, He’s also a responsible Father, and won’t let you get by with sloppy living. Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ’s sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. …It’s because of this sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God. 1 Peter 1:17-21 MSG

I am what some have called, “bossy.” Others have different, less appropriate names for it. But, ever since I was a small child, I have had a knack for commanding people’s attention and getting them to do things my way. As a youngster, I skipped the third grade, so I was always younger than most of my friends. To compensate for being younger, I learned very quickly how to manipulate people into following my lead. Of course, as a child/teenager/young adult, I didn’t look at it as manipulation. I simply thought that everyone recognized that I did things the right way, so why wouldn’t they want to follow me. It is only now, upon reflection, that I realize that I was just plain bossy. So, imagine my surprise when, as an adult, people started pushing back and my way didn’t always get the results I wanted.

“But God,” I would whine, “You said, you would give me the desires of my heart! What’s up?” I seriously don’t know why God even pays attention to me when I am being ridiculous, but He does. I imagine He gets a little bit of a chuckle out of it. He calmly reminds me during my child-like fits from not getting my way, that I forget the first part of that verse, “Delight yourself in the Lord.” Of course, I am sure I am the only one who ever takes Bible verses out of context to make them say what I want them to say (read with sarcasm). In any case, I have learned, many times the hard way, that I must put God first. When God is truly at the center of it all, life is so much easier. Not easier in the sense that troubles cease, but easier in the sense that no matter what happens, I am confident that God knows what He is doing. When we get to that place of no longer having the desire to be in control of everything and acknowledging that God’s thoughts and ways are higher than ours, it is much more feasible to abide by His will rather than our own.

I love the way The Message Bible interprets Peter’s description of God, the Father: “You call out to God for help and He helps—He’s a good Father that way. But don’t forget, He’s also a responsible Father, and won’t let you get by with sloppy living.” God wants to help us, but He is not going to stand for sloppy living. We need to stop asking God to bless our mess. We need to start asking for Him to help up get out of and avoid the mess in the first place. How do we end up with sloppy living? We yield to temptation instead of yielding to God’s will.

But, Ms. EV, I don’t know God’s will for my life? Well, it’s not a secret. It’s published in the most popular book in the history of the world, the Bible. And, if you don’t know specifically what applies to you, the answer is ALL OF IT, in one way or another. You say you don’t know how to apply it, ASK GOD. Notice I didn’t say ask your pastor or your best friend. Now, God might use those people to answer the question after you ask Him directly, but we have to stop taking the word of ourselves or others more seriously than the Word of God. And, once you know better, then do better. As God reveals His plan, His will for your life, yield to His will. It won’t always make sense, but it will always work out for your good.

So, how do you get everything you want in life?

Offer honor and respect where it’s due
Believe in God’s Word
Esteem others higher than yourself
Yield to God’s Will

OBEY! Obedience is better than sacrifice. All the blood, sweat, and tears in the world won’t matter if you are living contrary to God’s Word and His Will. You may get accolades and possessions, but you won’t enjoy them with any joy or peace. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I wouldn’t want prosperity that I cannot enjoy. To obey God, not for things, but because of who He is and the sacrifice He gave is the key to having everything you want (and need) in life. Ms. EV

Who is holding you back from being the best that you can be? Who is keeping you from being a better friend, child, parent, spouse, sibling, or Christian? I bet I know one person we all have in common. Much of our lives, we play the blame game and take the Flip Wilson defense of, “The devil made me do it!” Yes, Satan is evil. He is the prince of darkness, the ruler of hell, and the tempter of the children of God, but even Satan is not responsible for everything we choose to do in our daily lives. Perhaps, before we are saved, the devil had more control over our choices. However, once you are saved, your soul belongs to God and the devil can’t make you do anything. Jesus proved that to us in Matthew 4.

Now, I am not saying that the devil will not mess with you. If he was brazen enough to mess with the Son of God, surely we are not immune to his deviance. He would love to fill our minds with oppressing and depressing thoughts, but we, children of God, are not his and he is not responsible for the bad choices that we make. We must take a good, long look in the mirror before we make excuses about who exactly is putting us through hell.

Most people grew up with a dream of who they wanted to be. For me, I wanted to be a rich attorney with a powerful husband. I had my life all planned out; however, I never really spoke to God about what kind of life He had planned for me. I just assumed that my dream, which was based on money and fame rather than building His Kingdom, was the dream God gave me. Nonetheless, as big as my dream was, God had something even greater planned for me. Yet, I chose my plan over His plan.

There were several signs that my plan was not going to work, but I decided to force myself into the mold that I had envisioned and I ended up being miserable. Then, I started blaming God for allowing the devil to mess with my life, but truth be told, I was the only one to blame. I was giving the devil way too much credit and pointing the finger at God for where I was in my life because I thought He should have protected me from my worst enemy. Well, you know what they say, “When you point the finger at someone else, there are three pointing back at you.” And, my worst enemy, on any given day, is not the devil; it is me! I am pretty confident that if we are honest with ourselves, many of us would answer the question, “Who is holding you back,” with, “I am holding me back.”

As I said last week in God-Robots, God does not want mindless worshippers, so we have free will. He wants us to have life and life more abundantly, but that starts with taking responsibility for our own actions. The quicker we can admit to making mistakes, the sooner we can get out of God’s way and let Him lead our lives. Yes, Satan will challenge us, but, ultimately our choices are ours to make. We should be making them with God’s plan for our lives in mind. Are you willing to move out of God’s way, so that you can live your best life? Ms. EV