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Posts Tagged ‘betrayal’

Satan Entered Judas

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , on April 9, 2009| 1 Comment »

Luke 22:3-4
Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus.

How does it happen this “entering” of Satan? I don’t believe a person is just fine one day and like a virus or bacteria, he or she picks up Satan off of a doorknob. And yet, in the same way that Jesus spoke of the fertile soil that is needed to nurture the seed of the gospel, there is also fertile ground for Satan.

Satan is not a person but an entity who is a ruler of that other plane (For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12) And so, we are dealing with the matters of the heart, soul, and mind.

Galatians 5:19-21 gives us a pretty good list of Satan’s fertile soil: …sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. So often, as we read through this list, we feel smugly safe, thinking how we haven’t participated in any orgies or witchcraft lately. But, we gloss over the other plants that may have found root in our inner garden: discord, jealousy, envy, idolatry… we have ALL experienced these to one degree or another.

Who knows what drove Judas? Some have said greed, but I don’t think so. I believe he had his own idea of how things should go. He disagreed with Jesus’ plan. And so he put his own plan into motion and Satan nurtured and watered that notion. And then the idea became an action and eventually had a life of its own that ultimately played itself out on the cross.

Each day, we must choose to pull weeds from our inner garden or they will grow and grow and soon, very soon, they take over.. It is much easier to pull them out when they are small… of course, if we take this gardening metaphor even further … it takes some knowledge to know which plants are which, what is a weed and what is not because, when they are very small, we don’t always recognize them.

So, we must be diligent, we must be knowledgeable and ask for help from the Master Gardener.

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Let Me Not Betray You

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , , on February 27, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Matthew 26:20-21, 25
When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me” … Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” Jesus answered, “Yes, it is you.”

Here’s the thing… Jesus didn’t stop Judas. And I’m thinking, oh Lord, if I mess up so badly, please stop me. If I hold back, send me forward. If I start to speak evil, still my tongue. If I contemplate sin, scramble my thoughts. I invite you to interfere in my life, Lord. I invite you to make a difference. I need your wisdom and governance.

I had one of those teen/adult conversations with my daughter in which she insisted that teens just need to experience the sin sometimes to “get it.” They need to have the repercussions and the consequences of their choices. And isn’t that what we, the parents, are always trying to protect them from. Sometimes we can, but often, our advice, our instructions, our rules, don’t work and they go ahead anyway. And I confess, I do too.

But not today, then. Today, I yield.

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On Faith 4

Posted in Fifty days with Jesus, tagged , , , , , , on October 8, 2008| Leave a Comment »

These 50 days with Jesus will be based on II Peter 1:5-7: “For this very reason [the reason being that he has given us everything we need for life & godliness, vs 3], make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.”

So, faith is the foundation for the rest… the first building block. But as I contemplate faith this week, I am struck by its two aspects, belief and trust, and find trust the more dynamic. The verb, trust, can replace the word “faith” in many verses. It carries a lot of power and revelation. In the end, it is in the trust I struggle the most.

When the disciples said (Luke 18:8), “Increase our faith”… I think they really meant “increase our trust.” Try these verses on: “…if you have trust as small as a mustard seed…” [Matt 17:30] or “…I live by trust in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” [Gal 2:20b]

I’m just saying, trust is an issue for me and I believe, if I could really trust the Lord with all my heart [Prov 3:5], the rest (goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love) would come more easily. I would be leaning on Jesus and yet never feel off balance. To trust someone is a choice, usually based on experience. And if we have experienced betrayal, loss, and disappointment (among others), trust is broken. But in the end, to build trust requires a leap of … what else? … faith! The part of faith that is belief… the part that may not have any logic or reason. But once we make the first step on the path of trust, the rest come more easily.

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