With Easter Sunday approaching, I’ve been hearing a lot of sermons on Judas Iscariot. I’m not sure if we could definitely know why he’s betrayed JC. But, from all of the preachers I’ve heard, they all seem to agree that perhaps it was his disillusionment of what JC did not turned out to be – instead of being the earthly king w/ earthly glory, he was headed to Jerusalem, the place of death and destruction, while his kingly glory remained well hidden beneath this frail humanity…except for the few moments in the mountain w/ his 3 close disciples…no, Judas wasn’t among those...
As I was pondering about the implication of his life, I was struck w/ the thought that the times when things don’t work out the way I want it to work is the time when I am most vulnerable to Satanic attack. It was helpful reminder [thru C. Swindoll’s sermon] that Satan entered Judas after the rebuke he received from JC for speaking against Mary [c.f. Luke 22]. Not only he was growing more disillusioned w/ this whole JC movement, he also received a harsh rebuke, in public, exposing his hypocrisy. This made his heart fertile for Satan to enter his life. And we all know the outcome of it.
Often, when we are hurt and disappointed, we rightly see ourselves as victims of circumstances. And we further think that the good and loving God would finally come thru for us. But, I haven’t heard much of warning that this is the time when our hearts are very vulnerable to temptations and attacks of Satan. C. Swindoll warned that such is the time when Satan would disguise himself as the beautiful angel of light w/ the promises that he could never fulfill, enticing us to take him into our hearts, ultimately leaving us in the seat of despair and destruction.
Judah’s life is a solemn warning that when things don’t go as we hoped, we need to be extra vigilant and alert b/c Satan will come to us w/ those sweet temptations. Our reasoning must not be clouded w/ emphasis on release from such pressure. No, if anything, we must be suspicious of the promises of quick relief. We must preach to ourselves the goodness of God in spite of the circumstances he puts us thru. Rather than seeking a way out, we must seek the way thru, never losing the hope that after all of our trials, GOD will bring us to the green pasture and gives us the desire of our hearts, his way, his time. But in the mean time, we must learn to enjoy GOD in the midst of our trials – our joy and happiness does not come by removal of difficulties, rather, it’s on the intimate relationship we have our GOD.
As I was pondering about the implication of his life, I was struck w/ the thought that the times when things don’t work out the way I want it to work is the time when I am most vulnerable to Satanic attack. It was helpful reminder [thru C. Swindoll’s sermon] that Satan entered Judas after the rebuke he received from JC for speaking against Mary [c.f. Luke 22]. Not only he was growing more disillusioned w/ this whole JC movement, he also received a harsh rebuke, in public, exposing his hypocrisy. This made his heart fertile for Satan to enter his life. And we all know the outcome of it.
Often, when we are hurt and disappointed, we rightly see ourselves as victims of circumstances. And we further think that the good and loving God would finally come thru for us. But, I haven’t heard much of warning that this is the time when our hearts are very vulnerable to temptations and attacks of Satan. C. Swindoll warned that such is the time when Satan would disguise himself as the beautiful angel of light w/ the promises that he could never fulfill, enticing us to take him into our hearts, ultimately leaving us in the seat of despair and destruction.
Judah’s life is a solemn warning that when things don’t go as we hoped, we need to be extra vigilant and alert b/c Satan will come to us w/ those sweet temptations. Our reasoning must not be clouded w/ emphasis on release from such pressure. No, if anything, we must be suspicious of the promises of quick relief. We must preach to ourselves the goodness of God in spite of the circumstances he puts us thru. Rather than seeking a way out, we must seek the way thru, never losing the hope that after all of our trials, GOD will bring us to the green pasture and gives us the desire of our hearts, his way, his time. But in the mean time, we must learn to enjoy GOD in the midst of our trials – our joy and happiness does not come by removal of difficulties, rather, it’s on the intimate relationship we have our GOD.
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