Destiny Of Judas Iscariot And Mary-2

Conclusion to Destiny of Judas Iscariot and Mary, where we discover the truth about predestination and free will.

Destiny Of Judas Iscariot And Mary-2

Continued from Destiny Of Judas Iscariot And Mary

Judas resented the choice Mary made that day, and the waste of money it represented. His greed was probably well known by the most observant of the disciples…surely Jesus knew Judas had been stealing from Him. Maybe Peter, James and john had already had conferences with Jesus, suggesting He make someone else treasurer. It's clear at least some of the disciples knew Judas had been stealing, because John recorded the fact Judas "loved" money, and had "helped himself" from time to time. It was this greed that made him angry when Mary performed this act of great generosity. Let me ask you…if someone you love is given a Lexus, are you going to be happy or angry? Obviously, Judas loved money more than Jesus. It was the motivation behind his betrayal. A lot of people want to cut Judas some slack, saying, "He didn't know what he was doing, so he's not responsible." Bull! Jesus had told the disciples for months, if not years, that He would be betrayed and crucified. Judas had to know what the Priests were going to do or he wouldn't have known to offer Jesus to them for a price. The only time he showed sorrow was when he realized it was truly the Son of God who was killed. The fact is, Judas knew Jesus would be killed…and that was O.K. as long as he got his 30 pieces of silver. Mary's unselfish decision was "the straw that broke the camel's back." It led to Judas's very selfish decision.

2. One Destiny: Mary and Judas each made a decision for their own reasons, Mary, out of incredible unselfishness; and Judas, incredible selfishness. But, these two decisions, though made from human free will, fulfilled God's will for Jesus and all humans, forever. Think about that for a minute! God's whole plan hinging on the free will of one or two people. Skeptics will say, God had to have a backup plan incase these people decided differently. No! God's the only one in history that doesn't need a plan B. That's just how powerful He is. From the beginning, He knew exactly when and how everything would play out…based on OUR decisions. You mean He wasn't surprised when Adam and Eve invited sin into the world? Nope! Jesus wasn't God's "plan B" because Israel failed to do its job? Nope! Jesus was prophesied in Scripture long before Israel existed. Did you know that, over 400 years before Jesus was born, the Old Testament prophesied that He would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver? God knew the decisions of all of them in advance and documented the fact.

This is how human will and God's will become one, how our decisions become our destiny from the beginning. Aren't these the decisions and destiny we're truly concerned with? Not some remote thing that happened in history, but what it means to us! Just like Mary and Judas, getting up, eating and drinking, never realized the eternal consequences of their decisions; we make decisions every day. What do our decisions say about our destiny and the destiny of those we impact? God's Word says we have a choice…we can decide our destiny. If you knew what you decided today would affect eternity, what would you decide? Today may be all we have. Tomorrow isn't guaranteed. I'm sure, when they were counting out the silver into Judas's hand he wasn't thinking, "I'm going to be dead in a week."

If our decisions reflect our destiny, which destiny do we want? The Bible teaches us we can choose to believe in Jesus or not. Choosing to believe is the beginning point of the destiny of a Christian. Have you made that choice? You can choose right now in the privacy of your own mind. The Bible also teaches that our belief in Jesus will affect the rest of our decisions for the rest of our lives. Every day, we get opportunities to choose the destiny of Mary or that of Judas. This isn't to say that any little slip will end in eternal punishment. The Bible teaches that Christians sin, but He forgives us. It's clear from the Bible that Judas had dishonesty and greed as a character trait. The Bible also says Christians won't continue in a life of sin. Each of us must evaluate our lives with the help of the Holy Spirit to learn how to live in Christ. The focus and direction of our walk clearly should be toward the destiny of Mary, rather than Judas. Quietly spend a few minutes asking God to reveal to you areas where He wants to improve you and give you a new destiny. Ask Him where you've screwed up…not in a self-condemning way, but in an attitude of willingness to let him change you.

Dear God! Some of us are coming to you for the first time today. Forgive us and cleanse us, give us a new destiny in you. Take our lives and lead us in your power and your will. Some of us came to you long ago, but still have kept parts of ourselves "off limits" to you. God, help us open our entire lives to your will and your destiny. Help us understand that decisions we make may have eternal consequences, that we must make them all with your will and destiny in mind. Help us to seek the selfless, sacrificial destiny of Mary.

Destiny Of Judas Iscariot And Mary-2

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Love & Hugs,
Glen

Conclusion to Destiny of Judas Iscariot and Mary, where we discover the truth about predestination and free will.