The Kiss of Judas

I recently listened to a message of Pastor Paula White's back from 2012. I was absolutely amazed by what she had to say about Judas. It is so insightful. I will share my thoughts on this and put the link to her message at the end, so that you may watch the video in its entirety. There's some very powerful truths here.

Many of us love to hate Judas. We've probably even thought he got what he deserved for betraying Jesus. Whether you hate him or not, Judas had a God ordained purpose in Jesus' life and ministry.

To understand this, we need to look at how Jesus responded to Judas, whom He knew was about to betray Him in the most heinous fashion. In Matthew 26:50 NIV we find Jesus calling Judas "friend." ⁵⁰ Jesus replied, ‘Do what you came for, friend.’ In Hebrew, the word for friend is "Chaver." This is how Jesus refers to Judas, whom Satan had entered into.

Now, contrast this to what Jesus says to Peter in Matthew 16:23 NLV. ²³ Then Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are standing in My way. You are not thinking how God thinks. You are thinking how man thinks.” These are harsh words for someone who was in the inner circle of a very close friendship with Jesus. Peter said what he said to Jesus out of love for Him. Peter did not want to see Jesus die, but He didn't understand God's ultimate plan.

So, what would make Jesus refer to one of His best friends as "Satan" and the disciple that is betraying Him as "Friend."? It all comes down to the will of God. Jesus was obedient to the will of His Father. We have much to learn from this truth. He did nothing without knowing that it was the Father's will. That alone should preach to all of us!

Jesus was and is our example for how we are to live, treat others, pray, minister to people, and serve God. He said we would be persecuted just like He was. He said the world hated Him and would treat us the same way. He is our pattern and our blueprint to follow.

Just as He had friends who needed correcting when they stepped out of God's will, so it is with us. Just as He had someone sent to betray Him in order to fulfill the Father's will, so it is with us. There is a connection here for us all to get. Further, Jesus led the way so we would know how to behave when the same things happened to us.

It was God's will for Jesus to be betrayed and go to the cross to die for all of our sins. If Peter could have stopped this (and we know how hard he tried), we'd all be lost. As painful as the whole process was (from the betrayal of a friend, to the 39 lashings, to the cross and an agonizing death), it HAD TO happen! The beauty in all of it is that God's plan for the redemption of all of humanity was hidden in the betrayal and death of Jesus.

So, now this is the important question for us. What is God's will for you and for your life? What is your path? Is it that job? Is that the person God says you are supposed to marry? What is the Father's will for your life Dear One?

Is it possible that the very ones who have hurt us the most in this life were meant to put us on the right path? What if your Betrayer's kiss was ordained to be the very thing to put you in perfect alignment with the Father's will? What if it's out of the pain and the hurt that something beautiful is the result? Is it beauty for ashes as the Bible tells us?

Makes you think differently about all those who've hurt you over your life, doesn't it? Love interests, best friends, parents, siblings, pastors, teachers, and so on... It's those that are closest to us that have the ability to hurt us the most. It's not our enemies.

The key is in your response to it all. Are you thankful for the Judases that God has sent into your life to bring about the Father's perfect will for you? Do you embrace their betrayal or reject it? Think about it. These betrayals of Judas are the keys to our breakthroughs.  The quicker we can retrain our brain to accept this as something that is actually good for us, the faster we'll break through!

Remember, Jesus is our example. So, think about it as He would. He called Judas "friend."

http://youtu.be/Wn1M70_UR9Y

Let it go

This is an excerpt from a chapter in my book, "Daddy Issues," which will be available this fall.

There is a reason why the song, “Let it Go” from Frozen was so popular. There is so much truth to it. The world wants us to hold onto the pain of the past. “Don’t let them in.” “Don’t let them see.” “Be the good girl (boy, man, or woman) you always have to be.” “Conceal, don’t feel.” “Don’t let them know” are all lies the enemy hopes we’ll all fall for. No one was made to take that much pressure. The truth is freeing. Being genuine, real, and authentic are the keys to your freedom.

“A kingdom of isolation, and it looks like I’m the Queen” (or King) is exactly what the enemy wants you to feel like. He wants you to think you are all alone in your battle. He wants you to think that bad things only happen to you and he wants you to go off by yourself where you are easier to attack. The top predators on the savannah of Africa know that in order to go in for the kill, they have to drive their prey away from the safety and the protection of the herd. The enemy works the same way with us. 

Now think about your situation and circumstances. Get ready to release all of that junk from your past. All the hurt, all the pain, every last bit of it is getting ready to vacate your heart and mind. It’s not going to hold you back or control your future any longer. Are you ready to sing it? Go ahead and belt it out!

“Let it go, let it go”
“Can't hold it back anymore”

“Let it go, let it go”
“Turn away and slam the door (on your past)”
“I don't care”
“what they're going to say”
“Let the storm rage on.”
“The cold (that situation) never bothered me anyway”

Ahhhh! A breath of fresh air just entered your lungs and you feel lighter already. You’re not done yet. There’s more to sing. It’s time to go full throttle for your healing, restoration, and breakthrough. Are you ready? Here comes the second verse. One, two, three, go!

“It's funny how some distance”
“Makes everything seem small”
“And the fears that once controlled me”
“Can't get to me at all”

“It's time to see what I can do”
“To test the limits and breakthrough” (The enemy puts limits on us, but we can breakthrough them)

I’m sorry to break into your song, but I must tell you that there is right and wrong and rules we must all follow. This is what keeps chaos and confusion at bay. The good news is right and wrong and rules are for our good and protection. If you had a young child and you let him do anything he wanted, he could get hurt. If you let him play in the street, he could get hit by a car. So, making a rule that he cannot play in the street protects him and keeps him safe. It’s wrong to kill someone. If this was a right, then murder could be justified and none of us want that. Right and wrong and rules are a good thing.

Now the next part is amazingly great news! The Bible says this in John 8:36 NKJV, “³⁶ Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” Jesus is the Son of God who came to set us free from all of the bondages and tricks of the enemy. So, now you can resume the song with a hearty declaration.

“I'm free!”

“Let it go, let it go”

As much as I love Frozen, we are not fairytale prince and princesses with magical powers, so we are not “one with the wind and sky.” Don’t be bummed out by that. I have more good news for you. You can be one with your Creator God. In fact, that is what He wants. He loves you that much and He wants a relationship with you like a husband and wife have. The Bible says a husband and wife become one flesh. Now, God is not flesh. He’s spirit. So, His desire is that you would be one with Him in spirit. Okay, keep on singing…

“Let it go, let it go”
“You'll never see me cry” (Tell the enemy he can’t get to you)
“Here I stand” (Draw the line in the sand today)
“And here I'll stay” (Be bold and courageous. Do not fear)
“Let the storm rage on”

“I'm never going back, the past is in the past” (This is the key to it all my friends)

“Let it go, let it go”
“And I'll rise like the break of dawn” (Beauty for ashes, He makes all things new)
“Let it go, let it go”
“That perfect girl (or guy) is gone” (Simply because no one is perfect, so stop pretending)
“Here I stand” (Declare this is your moment of breakthrough from the past)
“In the light of day”(Truth always brings what’s hidden in the dark to the light)
“Let the storm rage on”

“The cold (that situation) never bothered me anyway!”

“Let it Go” was composed by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez for the 2013 Disney movie Frozen.