Tag: Judas

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Did Jesus love Judas?

In a ministry I am a part of, our ministry leader has asked us to take a look at the disciples of Jesus and look at the grace He showed each of them.  Below is what I have studied on and found in this journey.

There were 12 disciples -ALL Jesus chose. They weren’t a mistake and chosen for a reason. He knew the hearts of those who he chose and how they would decide to live their life.  Not one of them was perfect, but one has always been thought of as despicable – Judas Iscariot.

The man who betrayed Jesus. The one who sent Jesus to the cross. How awful was he? My question for you is – did Christ die for everyone BUT Judas? Was Judas’ sin too great to be covered by the blood?

Answer: NO! Jesus knew he had to die. Someone had to betray him. Reality is that Jesus was born to die. If Jesus decided to give up His purpose, he could have called the Angels down and the Cross would have had to be for someone else. But He didn’t. God used Judas’ sin for the good of the world. Jesus believed in Judas’ potential or He wouldn’t have chosen him and ministered with him. Just because Judas decided to make a horrible, awful mistake didn’t mean God still didn’t want him.

Every time we sin we decide that God’s law, provision, demands are not important and therefore, we are Judas. We sell our God to walk in greed. Yet, Christ chose us. Jesus doesn’t turn our back on us. He died for us!!

Think about this – if Judas hadn’t hung himself, but came to Jesus after He had risen to repent, would Judas been redeemed & restored?  I, personally, think so. Jesus chose Judas for a reason.

Remember this: Jesus chose YOU for a reason. No matter what you have done, you are not too far gone for the love of God to reach you. Don’t give up. Jesus atoned for your death 2,000 years ago. All you need is a repentant heart – go to Christ and ask Him for forgiveness.  Then watch Him turn your life around!
Never give up – always be blessed!
Much love, dear readers!
“I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night— but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139:7-12‬ ‭NLT‬‬“This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. This is my command: Love each other.”

‭‭John‬ ‭15:12-17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

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It’s how you see it

My current job is in insurance.  I take policies and ensure they are completed accurately following the laws and regulations before booking and then in the actual paper policy that is sent to the insured.  Sounds fun, huh?  

It’s not all that bad.  The one part that is the most stressful is a checking system set up to grade our quality.  This process ensures that everything set up either in the pricing or in the paper has no error.  If one is found, then you get a bad score.  You can only get 10% incorrect.  That’s not a lot when some policies are 200+ pages.  We strive for perfection, but even my company knows that humans cannot be perfect – we will fail at some point.

When we fail, there are two choices we make at how we deal with the failure.  We either choose to look at it from a conviction standpoint or a condemnation standpoint.  One is of God and one is of the Devil.  

I just completed reading the book – Crash the Chatterbox by Steven Furtick.  Great book about how our thought patterns can really get messed up and how we can fix that problem.  Pastor Steven spends some time talking about the difference between condemnation versus conviction.  I’d like to share with you what I learned.

 Let’s look at two people who both made the same mistake: Peter and Judas.  Both were Jesus’ disciples and both betrayed Jesus.  One chose to deal with this failure through condemnation and the other through conviction.

Judas betrayed Jesus by working with the Pharisees to get Jesus killed.   (Luke 22:3-6)  For 30 pieces of silver, Christ was betrayed.  After his eyes were opened to the severity of the situation, Judas gave the money back and hung himself. (Matthew 27:5)

Peter’s betrayal did not send Christ to his death, but it was hurtful for another reason.  Peter was essentially Jesus’ best friend, His closest friend among the 12.  When Christ told Peter that he would deny Him, Peter refused to believe it (Mark 14:26-31).  But, in the heat of the moment, Christ’s prediction was fulfilled and Peter denied that he knew Christ three times as Jesus was on trial.  After he realizes what he did, Peter ran off and wept. (Matthew‬ ‭26:69-75‬) After Christ’s resurrection, Peter ended up leading the early Christian church in it’s infancy. 

You see the difference?  Where one desided he no longer was good and ended his life, the other was able to step into his purpose.  Was it because Jesus loved Peter more?  Personally, I don’t think so.  I believe it is because Judas saw his betrayal through condemnation (you are no longer good) and Peter saw his betrayal through conviction (you are better than that).  

God operates in conviction- showing us our mistakes and telling us we are too good to do what we did and should hold ourselves to a higher standard.  The Devil uses condemnation to tell us we are no longer good and therefore no longer worthy, keeping us locked up in personal disdain.  

I encourage you to recognize the difference next time you mess up.  Know that, regardless of the sin, God loves you and still has a plan for you.  Don’t ever give up.  

“Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭12:9-10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Be blessed, dear readers!!  Remember whose you are.