I’ve wondered, at times, what kind of man this Judas was. What he looked like, how he acted, who his friends were. I guess, I’ve stereotyped him. I’ve always pictured him as a wiry, beady eyed, sly, wormy fellow, pointed beard and all. I’ve pictured him estranged from the other apostles. Friendless. Distant. Probably the result of a broken home. A juvenile delinquent in his youth. Yet I wonder if that is so true. We have no evidence (save Juda’s silence) that would suggest that he was isolated. At the Last Supper, when Jesus said that His betrayer would be at the table with Him, we don’t find the apostles immediately turning to Judas as the logical traitor. No, I think we’ve got Judas pegged wrong. Perhaps he was just the opposite. Instead of sly and wiry, maybe he was robust and jovial. Rather than quiet and introverted, he could have been outgoing and well-meaning. I just don’t know. But for all the things we don’t know about Judas, there is one thing we know for sure: he had no relationship with the Master. He had seen Jesus, but he did not know Him. He had heard Jesus, but he did not understand Him. He had religion, but no relationship. As Satan worked his way around the table in the Upper Room, he needed a special kind of man to betray the Lord. He needed a man who had seen Jesus, but who did not know Him. He needed a man who knew the actions of Jesus, but had missed out on the mission of Jesus. Judas was this man. He knew the empire, but he had never known the MAN. We learn this timeless lesson from the betrayer. Satan’s best tools of destruction are not from outside the church, they are within the church. It will die from corrosion within — from those who bear the name of Jesus but have never met Him, and from those who have religion, but no relationship. Judas bore the cloak of religion, but he never knew the heart of Christ. Let’s make it our goal to know Him — deeply.
Out of love for one another…….
We are currently requiring everyone attending the Sunday morning worship assembly and Wednesday evening Bible study to wear a mask in keeping with the Health Departments guidelines. We thank you for your consideration of and care for others. Masks are available if you need one.
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35 ESV)
Scripture of the Week
“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of the deer; He enables me to go on to heights.” ~~ Habakkuk 3:17-19
Something to Smile About
History According 5th and 6th Graders . . .
• Ancient Egypt was old. It was inhabited by gypsies and mummies who all wrote in hydraulics. They lived in the Sarah Dessert. The climate of the Sarah is such that all the inhabitants have to live elsewhere.
• Julius Caesar extinguished himself on the battlefields of Gaul. The Ides of March murdered him because they thought he was going to be made king. Dying, he gasped out “Same to you, Brutus.”
• Joan of Arc was burnt to a steak and was canonized by Bernard Shaw for reasons I don’t really understand. The English and French still have problems.Think About It
Amen to What is Right
Of all the goofy, depressing, and astounding things that happened recently (take your pick), my jaw literally dropped at the choice of a veteran congressman and denominational minister to finish his congressional prayer with “amen and a-woman” (not to mention the blasphemous content of his prayer!).
Did you know the word “amen” is the favorite word of Jesus in the book of John? It is commonly translated “truly” or “assuredly” and the word literally means, “may it be” or “let it be.” It is ironic that Christ used it most at the beginning of His statements, as one man observed, to punctuate His authority and Christians now use the word today at the ends of prayers to invoke His authority.
There is something special about God’s people “amen-ing” what is right. What Mr. Emanuel (or is it Ewomanuel?) Cleaver prayed is a mockery of God and a signal to us about the gross disparity and ignorance of God and His will. Christians, wake up to our work, especially if he is a representative of Americans! May God be merciful to us (the church) and provide grace to herald what’s right while we’ve still got time (Prov. 14:34). AMEN!
It’s going to be a great week to His glory! – Andy Baker Graeber Road church of Christ Rosenberg, TX