How Much Do I Sell Jesus For?

"So what the prophet Jeremiah said was fulfilled: they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price the sons of Israel set on him. And they gave them for the Potter's Field, as the Lord commanded me." - Matthew 27:9-10

Jesus was betrayed by Judas and put to a death on the cross for only thirty pieces of silver. But I want to ask you, how much do you sell Him for? Every time we sin, we sell Him off. We put to waste His passion and death on the cross. You might not be committing any huge sins against the Lord, but one way or another we all sell Him off. When we choose not to pray, not go to church, we sell Him off. But we also sell Him off when we put other things before Him - ourselves, money, people. Anything we do which we know in our hearts the Lord won't approve of, is selling Him for cheap. Judas is seen as the great betrayer in the gospel but the truth is that we're all guilty of it, each and everyone of us. Everytime you act on a temptation, remember that just as Judas sold Jesus off for only thirty pieces of silver, so are you selling Jesus off for sin.

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, help me to keep Your passion and death ever before me when I am tempted. Make me strong so that I don't sin against You and betray You over things that are simply not worth it. Strengthen me Lord so that Your will is always mine. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Trust in Humans

"This is what the Lord says, 'Cursed be the man who trusts in human beings and depends on a mortal for his life, while his heart turns away from the Lord.'" - Jeremiah 17:5

One of the most emotionally painful things anyone could go through is betrayal. It's called betrayal because it's a deception we receive from someone we love with all our hearts and someone we confided in. God knows this pain and knows how damaging it is. The effects of a betrayal stay for a life time causing pain, hate, and distrust in the person betrayed and guilt in the one who betrayed. You see, God created us and knows how weak our human nature is. Like the verse says, we're mortals, we're all flawed creations and intentionally or unintentionally we will get hurt and we will hurt others. That's why we need to learn to never, ever trust someone with all of our heart except for God because only He is eternal and only His love is unconditional. You cannot put all your faith and trust into your wife, husband, parents, siblings, best friends, no one. As long as we're mortal and human, we will hurt others. We need to accept this and not be surprised when we're dealt hurt from the people we love since at one point or another they will disappoint us. That's not to say we shouldn't love others and be close to others, but we should never trust anyone but the Lord.…that way, we are not devastated when the blows come. And honestly, the only way to do this is to put your trust in God and pray to Him all the time. God is a rock we should depend on. He will move our hearts to where they need to be so that when the pain comes, we won't be as affected by it as when we solely loved and trusted in a flawed human being.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, guard my heart from all betrayal and pain caused by others. Whether they mean it or not, the lies and deceptions they plotted have hurt me and caused a deep pain in my heart. Let me only trust in You my Lord so that I will never be let down again. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Peter and Judas

Peter:
"And Peter remembered the words of Jesus, 'Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.' And he went away weeping bitterly." - Matthew 26:76

Judas:
'"When Judas, the traitor, realized that Jesus had been condemned, he was filled with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, 'I have sinned by betraying an innocent man to death.' So, throwing the money into the Temple, he went away and hanged himself." - Matthew 27:3-4, 5

Judas has gone down in history as the man who betrayed Jesus, when in reality, he went back to the temple and gave the money back while Peter went on to deny he even knew Jesus three times, so who is the bigger traitor? Looking at the passage and comparing these two people, I would say that the crime was not the betrayal, but the sin was not asking for forgiveness. Both of these figures denied the man they followed, both of them regretted it whole heartedly, but only one went off to repent while the other took the easy way out by taking their own life. Since we are all sinners, we need to ask ourselves if we are Peter or if we are Judas. When you sin, do you hold it inside of you until you start to feel dirty and even grow to hate yourself like Judas did, or do you practice repentance, do penance and emerge stronger as Peter did? Make no mistake about it, the ultimate sin was not the betrayal, so if Judas would have repented, turned back to Jesus and asked for forgiveness, he would have been one of the original leaders of the church, just as Saint Peter is today. Peter spent his life struggling to calm his anger, fight grudges and his own imperfections, but his redeeming quality was that he took his sin and purged it, always seeking God even when he fell time after time. He went away to strengthen himself, get himself on his feet and he came back to lead the church into Pentecost. Judas let the sin and the self-hate fester within him so that no forgiveness was possible and his life was lost forever.

You, like all the sons of Adam and Eve, are a sinner, but are redeemable. You can be made clean, but you have two paths in front of you, two solutions for your sin. Do you take the path of Peter, or do you take the path of Judas?

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank You for the gift of Your body and blood. Through it, You grant forgiveness of all of our sins, no matter how evil. Please Lord, let me take full advantage of your redemption so that I may never let my sins eat away at me, but that I may find peace in You to be healed and restored. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Gossiping, First Impressions and Talking Behind Backs

"Do not let them wink maliciously - those who hate me without cause. But it is You, O Lord, who see the truth. Do not keep silent. Do not stand afar off." - Psalm 35:19,22

Although I try to keep a thick skin, something that really hurts me is to hear when people say things behind my back, or I hear they have a different impression of me than who I really am. I've heard so many people say about me that I'm conceited when the truth is that I'm actually really shy and feel intimidated in groups of 3 or more people. Gossiping is something we've all been guilty of but ever since I've been trying to move closer to God, it's something I want to let go of completely. God keeps reinforcing that each and every one of us is His child and until we accept that, we put up walls that prevent us from forming true friendships with people. It's so easy to meet someone and just think "uhg, I can't stand this person," but a lot of times, there is someone really great behind that first impression, or first few impressions. People change, for the better or the worst. Someone you probably couldn't stand in the past has learned from their mistakes and is now a great person. We should always give someone a shot because God could be bringing a great friendship into your life that you're not being open to. And if you're the one right now being brushed off by someone, remember that God loves you and if your intentions are good, no matter how you are perceived, God will clear your name.

Today's Prayer:
Lord God, You know how my heart hurts when others judge me negatively. And I know You feel the same way when I judge others. Please open the eyes of our hearts so that we could see past these layers around a person and into who they really are. In Your Name we pray, amen.