Mark 14:42-46 "Rise up, let us go;
lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand. (43) And immediately, while he
yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with
swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.
(44) And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever
I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead him away safely.
(45) And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him, and
saith, Master, master; and kissed him. (46) And they laid their
hands on him, and took him."
People have their own thoughts about Judas Iscariot. I'm thankful that eternity is not based upon other people's judgments toward me. I have no way of knowing the eternal condition of Judas. I'm very satisfied to leave that, as well as my own eternity, in the hands of the Almighty Sovereign Lord. Any judgment that any man would make would be based solely on the works of Judas. We always quote Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." We do not want to be judged by our own works; yet sometimes are we not guilty of wanting to judge others according to their's? To me, this is what Jesus was saying when He spoke the words, "Judge not, lest ye be judged." So, I will leave the righteous judgment in the hands of the Almighty God who knows the heart.
I didn't mean to get onto that subject this morning; rather, I want to think about how we do not always think through to the end the results of our actions. As I read these passages this morning, I saw the words of Judas that I had not noticed before. When he was telling the soldiers how he would identify Jesus by the kiss, he said, "and lead him away safely." As I read those words, it came to me that it seems Judas did not thoroughly think through to the end concerning his actions. It almost seems to me that he had no idea they would actually crucify Jesus. It seems he felt they would scold Jesus, reprimand Him, maybe give Him a slap on the wrist and then send Him away. Those are my thoughts and if you do not agree, its fine.
But as I thought on that, I realized that I am so often guilty of not thinking about my actions all the way through to the end. I'm guilty of doing what I thought was right at the moment only to find out the consequences were more far reaching than I had anticipated. So my morning devotion for today is that I want to pray that the Lord will bless me to have better foresight into my actions. "Father, I ask you to help me with Godly wisdom to stop and think before I actually proceed with a thought. In Jesus' name. Amen."
People have their own thoughts about Judas Iscariot. I'm thankful that eternity is not based upon other people's judgments toward me. I have no way of knowing the eternal condition of Judas. I'm very satisfied to leave that, as well as my own eternity, in the hands of the Almighty Sovereign Lord. Any judgment that any man would make would be based solely on the works of Judas. We always quote Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." We do not want to be judged by our own works; yet sometimes are we not guilty of wanting to judge others according to their's? To me, this is what Jesus was saying when He spoke the words, "Judge not, lest ye be judged." So, I will leave the righteous judgment in the hands of the Almighty God who knows the heart.
I didn't mean to get onto that subject this morning; rather, I want to think about how we do not always think through to the end the results of our actions. As I read these passages this morning, I saw the words of Judas that I had not noticed before. When he was telling the soldiers how he would identify Jesus by the kiss, he said, "and lead him away safely." As I read those words, it came to me that it seems Judas did not thoroughly think through to the end concerning his actions. It almost seems to me that he had no idea they would actually crucify Jesus. It seems he felt they would scold Jesus, reprimand Him, maybe give Him a slap on the wrist and then send Him away. Those are my thoughts and if you do not agree, its fine.
But as I thought on that, I realized that I am so often guilty of not thinking about my actions all the way through to the end. I'm guilty of doing what I thought was right at the moment only to find out the consequences were more far reaching than I had anticipated. So my morning devotion for today is that I want to pray that the Lord will bless me to have better foresight into my actions. "Father, I ask you to help me with Godly wisdom to stop and think before I actually proceed with a thought. In Jesus' name. Amen."