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Ruth 1:14 – …And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law (Naomi); but Ruth clave unto her.

 A quick background of this story:

Naomi had two sons that died in a foreign land.  They had married women who were not from their native country.  Naomi tried to convince her daughters-in-law to go find new husbands from their homeland.  Orpah obliged and kissed her mother-in-law goodbye.  But Ruth decided to stick with Naomi.

A kiss…

• Is usually a response of affection or infatuation.
• Something we use to say, “Hello!”; “Goodbye.”; or “Goodnight!”
• Is sometimes a sign that things in a relationship are progressing to the next level or getting a little more serious.
• Is a way for us to show someone we love them.

At the end of the day, a kiss is not the most desired evidence of affection.  Take these examples as evidence of that fact:

• A cancer patient would rather one walk the halls of the hospital with them and sit with them during their chemotherapy treatment.
• A wife or husband would rather have someone be present to listen to them, rather than just a kiss.
• A child wants the security of knowing his parents are there for him or her when a nightmare comes.

A kiss doesn’t do those things.  In order to fulfill those examples one must move beyond the kiss!

Orpah’s love for Naomi was undoubtedly real.  I look at this story and know that Orpah truly adored Naomi.  But Ruth was committed.  Ruth’s love ran deeper!

At youth camp you “kissed” Heaven.  God touched your heart and changed your life.  You had an experience with Him that you so desperately needed.  You fell in love with Jesus and committed yourself to Him again (or perhaps for the first time).  But you must move beyond the kiss!

Now that you are home and back to the normal routine, your experience and commitment to Christ will be put to the test.  You will have to show that your love for Him is real and that your promises you made during camp were more than just empty words.  You have to move beyond the kiss!

Some of you have gone back to environments where things are hostile and full of trouble.  Some of you have no level of spiritual support outside of your youth pastors, pastors, and church friends.  Some of you went back to places where your bad habits are beginning to draw you back in.  Some of you went back to situations that you had hoped would have gone away but haven’t.  Some of you have been tempted to do wrong and have already made some mistakes.  But you must choose to move beyond the kiss!

Check out what Ruth said to Naomi in Ruth 1:16-17:

“Where you go, I will go.  Where you lodge, I will lodge.  Your people are now my people.  Your God is now my God.  Where you die, I will die.  Where you are buried, I will be buried.” (paraphrased)

That is what moving beyond the kiss looks like.  At youth camp you had a connection with Christ that caused you to “kiss” heaven and make some commitments to follow Jesus for the rest of your life.  Now you must follow through and move beyond the kiss. 

How do you do that?  Establish a daily routine of prayer and Bible study.  Stay involved in church services, attendance, and activities.  Talk to members of your youth group.  Talk to others about what Christ did for you at youth camp.  Pray with your youth pastor or pastor.  You can do this!  Move beyond the kiss!  We are praying for you!

Recently in our city – Lorain, OH – there have been two teen deaths that have touched the lives of some of the young people in our youth group.  As I was speaking with a man about one of these deaths he made a statement, “There is no hope!” 

Now, I do not believe he meant that as definitive as it sounds.  I believe he was saying that many of the teens have no hope.  If they have no hope – which is evident by the staggering numbers of teen suicides, teens dealing with depression, teens addicted to drugs and alcohol, etc. – then what can be done?  When I was in Bible college one of my fellow students would often go through a list of how long one can live without things like food, water, air; but at the end she would say, “But you can’t live one second without hope.”

Is there hope?

There is hope, but it cannot be found in a bottle, syringe, or in suicide.  Hope in friends is fickle.  Hope in parents or family can deteriorate.  But there is hope.  In fact, the Apostle Paul said in the book of Romans, chapter 5, verse 5 that there is a hope that will never disappoint!  That hope is found in Jesus.

How can I, how can you, lead others to this hope?

1 Peter 3:15 – But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: 

The context of this verse is dealing with persecution and dealing with accusations.  But there is a great principle evident here: when we live a life that has been changed by the power of the cross there will be opportunity to show why we have hope and how others can find it.

In all honesty, you can tell people until your breath runs dry where to go for hope; but the choice is up to them if they run there.  I do know this, if you are living your faith through life’s circumstances, others are taking notice.  They will see there is a hope inside of you that they do not have, and they will be drawn toward that.  So how do we lead them to hope?  By being the church.  By being the people God has called us to be.  By not allowing our lives to be dictated by the world around us and the circumstances going on in our lives.  We can lead them to the hope that is our anchor (Hebrews 6:19) by living by faith, by being who we are supposed to be.  What that means is the only way we can lead them to hope is by really possessing hope, leaning on that hope, living in that hope, and being an expression of that hope.

Pray for opportunities to help someone find hope.  Let God lead you to those opportunities.  Then follow through.  We most likely can’t save every life, but we can save one at a time.  There is hope!

1 Corinthians 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 

About 20 or more years ago I was taught a song during kid’s crusade that went like this:

“Temptation – it’s a tricky time, when doing wrong begins to look just fine!”

I have used that song many times since then when doing kid’s ministry or family devotions at home.  It illustrates a powerful truth about what temptation is.  Temptation is a time where our hearts are deceived into thinking that sin is worth it.  Even though we know the truth – that sin’s pleasures quickly dissolve into guilt and regret – temptation is at times hard to overcome.  Here are a few important points to remember about temptation:

• The source of temptation is Satan, not God.

In the verse above we see that God suffers (allows) us to be tempted.  He does not tempt us to sin.  He tests our faith, but He never tempts us to sin.  In the Garden of Eden God set the forbidden tree in the midst of the Garden as a point of choosing for Adam and Eve.  The serpent was the one who tempted them, not God. 

• Temptation touches every person.

Again, the text said that temptation is common to man. While the avenues of temptation may be different, the areas and appetites in which we are tempted remain the same.  Everyone is tempted in these areas: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.  All temptations will fall under those categories.

• Temptation is not sin, but giving in to temptation is sin.

Jesus was tempted, yet without sin.  I think that is a good enough answer.  But I would like to add this statement here: we must make sure we are not allowing ourselves to do things that cause self-inflicted temptation.  We need to set up boundaries in areas that we struggle in.  How do we do that?  Find someone to which we are accountable to.  Stay away from people and things that have caused us to fall in the past.  The list goes on.

• Finally, God always makes a way for us to escape.

I have heard some say recently that they have prayed for God to take away something they have struggled with, but because they haven’t gotten relief they have chosen to embrace the wrong.  God already has provided a way of escape – it is through the cross of Christ.  Run to Jesus in the face of temptation.  In Him there is relief.  Temptation does not have to result in sin.  It can result in your victory!

John 3:19 – “…men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” 

That verse answers the question put forth in the title pretty clearly.  I want to dig a little deeper into the subject of darkness.  First, let me express something I find alarming.  This generation has a fondness for all things dark.  Media outlets have latched on to that fact.  Disney movies now showcase the witch instead of the princess.  Online streaming sites and other TV stations push witchcraft, the occult, and the homosexual agenda in most of their productions.  I recently heard a lyric from a song saying, “darkness makes everything better.”

Darkness and light are often used as symbols of good and evil.  Keep that in mind as you read the following.

Why is everything so dark?

The lie is what that song said: darkness makes things better.  My son has migraines, and one of the things that we do to help him recover is to put him in a dark room so he can sleep and avoid exposure to light which often enhances the pain of the migraine.  So, in a sense, darkness makes that better.  But the song lyric is talking about a different kind of ache.  Heartache is much different than headache.  Darkness cannot heal heartache.  It only can numb it while it festers inside. 

THE TRUTH ABOUT DARKNESS IS THIS: it hides us from reality.  I hate clutter.  I would rather leave the light off in a room that is full of clutter so I don’t have to see the mess.  The moment the light comes on I see the problem that needs to be addressed.  Darkness hides the problem.  But the light, while exposing the issue, leads to the solution. 

Another truth about darkness is that the longer you are exposed to it, the more adjusted to it you become. 

I have been trying to get on a running routine.  Many days I don’t have time to run until the sun goes down.  So I run in the dark.  The more I run in the dark the less the darkness becomes a problem.  My familiarity with the darkness has led to my being comfortable in the dark. 

The more you expose yourself to sin, the more comfortable you become with that evil, eventually creating a union that you never set out to be a part of.   This union with darkness creates a separation with the Light, Jesus.  The only Source of healing, deliverance, redemption, and restoration is the Light.  That is why everything is dark. 

In order to escape darkness and its effects, you must expose yourself (a deliberate choice) to the LIGHT, Jesus.  This is done by spending time in His Word, in prayer, in church, etc.  Turn off the TV, take out the ear buds, clean up the newsfeed, delete some of the songs, and get a relationship with Christ.  You won’t regret it!  The Light makes things better!  And that is the TRUTH!

“Ye are of more value than many sparrows” – Matthew 10:31

Prior to the above statement we find Jesus speaking to those around Him about the provision and providence of God the Father.  As an illustration Jesus points the crowd to notice how sparrows continue to thrive in nature because of God’s continued provision for them.  What Jesus is trying to get at is this: don’t you think you mean more to God than a sparrow?  Don’t you think you, as a person created in the image of God, have value?

One thing this generation struggles to see is personal value.  This struggle is not unique to one gender.  Young ladies and young men alike are dealing with this feeling of worthlessness.  Where does that sense of having little to no value come from?  That answer is loaded with possibilities.  Here are a few:

• The lack of a positive relationship with one or both parents, especially the father
• The chaotic, undisciplined environment at home
• The presence of divorce
• Being bullied at school or in the home
• Not being accepted by peers
• Not fitting the mold that our culture has created for the individual
• Paying too much attention to magazines and what is praised by media (as far as external beauty)
• Getting bad grades
• Comparing one’s self with a sibling / friend / peer
• History of abuse (verbal, sexual, emotional, physical)
• Being fired / kicked off the team / not making the team
• Condemnation or guilt because of past sin (or current sin that one has yet to repent of)

The list could go on and on and on, but I think you get it.  The devil has been playing this game with teenagers for generations.  But he has amped up his game.  You may be one who thinks very little of yourself.  That way of thinking has often been confused with humility.  Humility is recognizing that without God you can’t make it.  Humility is realizing you didn’t make it this far on your own.  Humility is not trying to be in front all of the time.  Thinking that you have no value is not humility.  That mindset is a deception of the enemy of your soul.  That mindset has driven people to regrettable decisions as they try to find their value in relationships with people rather than with God; as they harm themselves thinking that is what they deserve; as they give in to drugs and alcohol to try to escape their sorrow; or even as they try to end it all by taking their own lives.

BUT YOU HAVE VALUE!

Christ gave you value when He died on the cross to save your life!  God gave you value by giving you breath!  There is a higher purpose for your life than you realize right now.  Your earthly father or mother may not have been there, but your Heavenly Father always will be.  This world may not accept you, no matter how hard you try to fit in; but you belong in the family of God!  The devil will always try to deceive you into thinking that you matter to no one.  But he has been lying since day one.  YOU HAVE VALUE!

And that is the truth. 

2 Corinthians 7:5 – “For when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears. 

When I read the above text in my devotion time recently I was thrown aback.  Paul experienced intense fear in the face of adversity.  I was shocked by that.  My past looking at Paul’s life, his missionary work, and his writings has never left me with any impression of fear’s existence in his life.  I guess I must have skimmed over 2 Corinthians 7:5 because he says it plainly, “I was afraid!”

I’ve heard that we are only born with two innate fears (the fear of falling and of loud sounds) and that every other fear is learned.  Fear is often our response to any adverse situation.  We fear the dark, we fear drowning, we fear cancer.  Fear often becomes a prison.  This even takes place in the life of believers sometimes.  I have seen people succumb to fear of what might happen based on their past experiences.  Here are a couple of truths I have observed about fear:

Fear is life-threatening.

Shokoi Yokoi was a Japanese soldier during World War II.  He was so afraid of being captured by American forces that he ran into the jungles to hide.  Even after reading a pamphlet declaring the end of the war that was dropped from an airplane into the jungles, Yokoi would remain hidden in a cave for 25 years.  He created his own prison of fear.  And it stole his life! 

Fear keeps you from living.  Sure, you may be walking and breathing.  But you are not really living because of the fear that has gripped your heart.  Some fear death.  Some fear eternity.  Some fear what people are thinking.  Some fear being alone.  Fear is sucking the life out of those bound by it.

Fear is also a liar.

Satan is the father of all lies.  Fear is one of those lies he loves to use against humanity.  Fear keeps people from asking for forgiveness, confessing their wrongs, forgiving others, trusting people because they have experienced betrayal.  I have seen people who had bad relationships with their fathers struggle to believe that the Heavenly Father will be enough for them because of the fear from their past experiences.  Fear is a liar! 

Fear is overcome by Christ.

Even though it can drain your life and lie to your mind, fear is futile when it tries to fight against Jesus.  The Lord spoke to Joshua, “Be not afraid for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest!”  His presence gives us victory over our fear.  David said in Psalm 23, “I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me!”  Knowing that He is present – with us – at all times gives us an assurance when fear tries to overwhelm us.  Also we are told in 1 John that perfect love casts out fear.  The simple explanation of that verse is this: Christ showed that He loves us more than anything when He died on the cross.  He also told us that He is working everything out for our good because of His love.  Therefore, we ought to trust our future to Him, knowing His love has our best interest at heart. He will work it all out; don’t fear!

His presence, His power, and His perfect love give us the victory over fear.  I am praying for your victory today!

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness – 2 Timothy 3:16 

In 2 Timothy 3:16 the word inspiration literally means God-breathed.  The Bible is God-breathed.  As with all things spiritual, the foundation of believing in the Bible as the express Word of God is our faith.  It takes faith to believe in God.  It takes faith to believe that He spoke, and that the Bible is His Word spoken to us.  Where there is an absence of faith, it will be difficult to convince anyone of the truth about the Bible.  However, there is evidence that supports the fact that the Bible is God’s eternal Word.

• The harmony of Scripture is evidence.

The Bible was written over a period of 1500 years.  40 different authors put their pen to paper under divine unction.  These men included King David and King Solomon, Moses, a learned Pharisee (Paul), and even a fisherman (Peter).  It was written on three different continents and in three different languages.  There was even a period of silence between the Old and New Testaments that spanned 400 years.  Yet the Bible carries one message throughout the many pages and stories: God’s love and pursuit of man through His Son Jesus Christ!

• The preservation of Scripture is evidence.

The writers of the Bible did not have a backup hard drive or a cloud to send their writings to for safe keeping.  Yet centuries later we are still reading the Bible.  There have been over 24,000 manuscripts of the New Testament uncovered by archaeologists.  That is by far the most of any ancient literary document.  Homer’s Iliad comes in second with only 643 uncovered manuscripts.  Prior to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which contained copies of the Old Testament that predated Christ, the oldest copies of the Old Testament were from around 900 AD.  When comparing a copy of the book of Isaiah from the Dead Sea Scrolls and what had been previously discovered, there were only seventeen letters in question.  The documents were around 1,000 years apart in their dates of writing. 

Another point of preservation is that there are more Bibles in print than any other book.  It has been printed in more languages than any other book.  There are cities that you can visit in the Middle East that were mentioned in the Bible.  There have been artifacts, ruins, and remains from battles described in the Bible excavated by archaeologists.  The preservation of the Bible is unmatched!

• The fulfilled prophecies of Scripture are evidence.

Take a look at all of the Messianic prophecies fulfilled by Christ.  Jesus fulfilled over 300 such prophecies.  The odds of someone fulfilling eight prophecies is 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000!

It was foretold in the Old Testament about the Jews being taken into exile, and it happened.  It was also foretold that the Temple would be destroyed.  That took place in 70 AD.  There are many more examples that we could go into, but we will move on to the final piece of evidence that I want to talk about today.

• Personal experience with the power of the Bible is evidence.

Psalm 119: 130 – “The entrance of Thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.”  Another translation of the Bible uses the word inexperienced instead of simple.

A twitter handle, @ChristianDefORG, recently asked this question: “How did you become a Christian?”  One man replied, “I was an atheist.  I decided God might exist and if He did I should at least ‘check it out’.  I looked into other things a bit but also started reading the Bible.  Several months later while reading 1 John I had a ‘Holy Spirit’ encounter.  I saw God was real and I needed to repent.” (italics mine)

Did you catch that?

The man, an atheist, thought God might be real.  Then while reading Scripture he had a life-changing encounter with the Holy Ghost and became a Christian. 

The Word of God is alive!  It can touch you, heal you, encourage you, strengthen you, etc., because it is the Word of God!  And if the Bible is God’s Word then it will reflect His character.  He cannot fail, and His Word cannot fail.  He makes no mistakes, and in His Word we will find no mistakes.  He does not change, and His Word does not change!  You can take Him at His Word!

“Jesus saith unto him, ‘I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life…’” – John 14:6

“Pilate therefore said unto Him, ‘Art Thou a king then?’  Jesus answered, ‘Thou sayest that I am a king.  To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth.  Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.’  Pilate saith unto Him, ‘What is truth?’” – John 18:37-38

Recently Pastor Clifford Hurst of Union Pentecostal Church in Dayton, OH wrote a blog post in which he referenced a particular strip from the iconic comic strip Peanuts.  One character was shooting arrows at a fence.  Wherever the arrow landed the character would draw a bullseye around the arrow and then draw circles to create a target around the bullseye.  Another character saw and marveled at how accurate the archer was until the archer revealed his process of hitting the mark.  I believe we can all agree that the character shooting the arrows was cheating.

In our culture there is an attempt to cheat when it comes to what is truth.  I want to address the broad topic of the truth today, and I will try to get into some more specific truths in the future.

What is truth?

TRUTH IS NOT RELATIVE: IT IS ABSOLUTE

Sure there are some things that can be debated and left up to opinion.  One person can believe that Michael Jordan was the best basketball player to ever play, while another argues that Lebron has superseded him.  Some might say Chick-fil-a is the best fast food restaurant in history, while others say it is overrated.  Those topics are matters of opinion.   But real truth is concrete. 

Here are some examples of absolute truths:

• Two plus two always equals four.
• What goes up will eventually come down (gravity).
• You cannot create or destroy energy.
• Water is always wet.
• The angles of a triangle always add up to 180 degrees.

 There is another source of truth that is always concrete, though under fire.  It is the Word of God.  The Bible is not relative.  Relativism wants to establish that all opinions are valid.  But that is not so!  What each individual chooses to believe about the truth is up them.  But the truth is fixed.  It does not change.  It does not change from culture to culture, from generation to generation, or from era to era.  TRUTH is always TRUTH!

Truth is eternally established.  When God says something is sin, that means it is sin forever.  When God says something is right, that means it is right for eternity.  The Truth does not change because God does not change!  In reference to the comic strip mentioned earlier, Pastor Hurst said, “God has already drawn the target on the fence.”  Our culture is trying to create a target around the arrows they are aimlessly shooting.  But truth is absolute.

 TRUTH IS NOT RUINOUS: IT IS RESTORATIVE

The purpose of the Truth (God’s Word) is to restore what is broken.  We have a broken fellowship / relationship with God that only His Truth will heal.  Yes, the Truth does hurt sometimes; but it always wins.  Truth brings freedom.  While it may destroy your already crumbling and faulty foundation that has been established by this world, it will afford you to be placed upon a solid foundation that will last throughout eternity.  Your life will continue to crumble until you allow the Truth to restore you. 

The purpose of the Law or the Truth or the Word of God is meant to show us where we have come short and where we can go to for redemption.  Jesus came and fulfilled the Law (ceremonial); but Jesus never gave us a license to live outside of the boundaries established in His Word. 

TRUTH:  God is love.  God loves ALL people.  God’s grace is sufficient and available for ALL people.  This is a truth we can rejoice in!  But it is also a truth that the “church culture” is abusing, misusing, and twisting by refusing to pay attention to the following:

TRUTH.  God is just.  God hates ALL sin.  God will punish ALL sin how He has set forth in His Word. 

Real Truth: God’s Truth is solid, unchanging, and unending.  Don’t settle for less.

Questions and comments can be sent to Kenneth Crews at [email protected]

Keep (guard) thy heart with all diligence… – Proverbs 4:23

And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart… – Deuteronomy 6:5

…with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. – Acts 11:23

 When the Bible speaks of the heart it is often referring to the place where our will, conscience, emotions, and appetites are harbored.  It is that place where our decisions are really made.  Notice what Jesus said in Matthew 15:18-19: But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies…

 The prophet Jeremiah even said that the heart is deceitful!  That, coupled with what Christ said in Matthew, should make us aware of the importance of guarding our hearts. 

But how do we do that?

From what I have been able to tell from Scripture, the best way to guard your heart is to give it completely to God.  The keyword is completely. 

In our culture people like to keep their options open.  They don’t really like the idea of long-term commitment.  If they get married, they always have divorce as plan B.  Loyalty is often a forgotten quality regarding the workplace, houses of worship, relationships, etc.   But God requires that we keep our options closed when it comes to our relationship with Him.  He wants all of our hearts!

Imagine being in a relationship with a boyfriend or girlfriend who only wants to talk to you every other day.  On the days they are not talking to you they are hanging out with another boyfriend or girlfriend.  Your relationship with them wouldn’t last long because you want to be the one.  God’s desire to be the one is not petty or born out of jealousy.  He knows what is best for us.  So He requires our all so He can keep our all from falling. 

Giving our hearts completely to Him requires faith and purpose.  Giving ourselves to Him is not accidental.  It is an act of the will.  That is why He gave us a free-will, so we could choose Him.  Purpose of heart…this is so important. 

I’m going to get real with you in conclusion.  I have had several counsel sessions with young men about different things in their lives that are drawing them away from God and into relationships or lifestyles that would be destructive.  Whether it was something like drugs, girls, or just friends, I have tried pointing out to them the Biblical reasons why they should change their direction immediately.  Many times they have agreed with what I have said, but their actions spoke a different story.  They wanted to keep their options open, and they lost their hearts to sin in the process. 

 Purpose in your heart to be different.  Give it all to God so He can guard your heart.

Mattew 27:3-5 – Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.  5  And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. 

Reading the above text it is easy to deduce two things about Judas: he felt guilty for what he had done to Christ, and he was remorseful for his actions.  Guilt and remorse are dealt with differently per individual.  That fact is easily seen in the way Peter and Judas responded to their denial and betrayal respectively. 

Peter went out and wept bitterly.  He expressed his sorrow for denying Christ.  He waited with the other disciples in the upper room.  He ran to find the tomb empty after hearing what the women had to say about it.  Then he saw Jesus.  He witnessed Thomas’ breaking free from his doubt.  He went fishing; and, again, Peter had an encounter with Jesus.  This third encounter was one of spiritual revival for Peter.  From then on he served the Lord with the passion he had promised he would prior to the crucifixion.

But Judas…

Judas didn’t wait in the upper room.  Judas didn’t run to the empty tomb.  Judas didn’t go fishing and have a conversation with Christ by the Sea of Galilee.  Judas responded to his emotional guilt and remorse by committing suicide before Christ even died. 

What if Judas would have waited?

 Judas’ betrayal was a fulfillment of prophecy (Psalm 41:9, Acts 1:16); but his death was not.  Judas did not have to die the way that he did.  He didn’t have to die guilty and remorseful.  His betrayal of Christ was not unforgivable.  Jesus died for Judas!  But Judas wouldn’t wait. 

What if Judas would have waited?

 We know he could have had an opportunity to be forgiven.  We can’t speculate and add to the narrative of Scripture, but we do know that Jesus would have been willing to show Himself to Judas.  If only Judas would have waited…

In conclusion there are two things I want to drive home to you, the reader:

• God is not willing that ANY should perish, but that all should come to repentance – 2 Peter 3:9. If you are dealing with sin and the guilt of that sin in your life, repent and experience His forgiveness right now.  He died so you could be free from all sin.  Your guilt and remorse is meant to draw you to Him, not to push you away.  Respond like Peter did.
• The second point I want to make is this: give God time to work. If Judas would have just waited until Monday instead of making a rash decision, things could have been much different.  The hours and days following the betrayal, God was finishing the work that would lead to our salvation, if even behind the scenes.  If only Judas would have waited…  Whatever the problem, the struggle, the sickness, the pain, etc., give God time to work.  Be still and know that He is God.  He is working.  I promise you that!

Questions and comments can be submitted to Kenneth Crews at [email protected]