One of the most tragic stories in the entire Bible is the story of Judas. Judas was a disciple of Jesus. He was called by Jesus personally to be one of His followers. The Bible says that Jesus trusted Judas so much that he put him in charge of the money. Jesus and the disciples had money that would come into their ministry that they would disperse to needy people. We know that this is true from the account of a woman named Mary who came to anoint Jesus while he was at his pal Lazarus’ house. Jesus was visiting with some people and Mary busted through the door with some perfume that was worth 1 years wages. Judas watched all of this happened and said the following as recorded in John 12:5-6.
”Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.[b]” 6He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.”
It’s clear that Judas was a thief and didn’t really have an interest in following Jesus. Jesus after hearing Judas speak these words sternly corrected him by saying, “ leave Mary alone!” It was after this encounter that Judas got offended and thought to himself…..”Who does Jesus think He is calling me out like that?” Judas then went to the high priest to arrange a way for him to betray Jesus.
Fast forward to the night of the last supper. Jesus is sharing one last meal with all 12 of his disciples including Judas. Jesus is in a very somber mood clearly realizing all that He is going to have to go through in the coming days. He tells the disciples that one of them will betray Him. Upon hearing this, the disciples go into freak out mode. They begin questioning each other….”Is it you? Is it you? No way, it’s not me…..Is it you?” Jesus told them…..”Guys….relax. The person that I dip this bread with….that is the one who will betray me.” After hearing that the disciples are like……”Ummmmmm ok?” Then something amazing happens. Jesus calls Judas over to him and dips bread with him. Basically he took some bread and dipped it into some wine. Now this next part baffles me. Jesus just told the disciples whomever I dip bread with…..they are the one. Jesus dips bread with Judas. Check out what the disciples response is.
”"What you are about to do, do quickly,” Jesus told him, 28but no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. 29Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the Feast, or to give something to the poor.” John 13:27-29
Hello?!?!?! Didn’t Jesus just say the person whom he dips bread with is the one? He dips the bread with Judas and they say……Why did He say that to Judas? He is probably on some secret assignment. Here is the point. Judas had all of the disciples fooled. The never suspected Him in a million years. I bet Judas would have made an incredible poker player. He bluffed his way through Jesus’ entire 3 year ministry. The only problem was even though he had the disciples fooled, Jesus saw right through him. Jesus always sees right through us. Some of us may think we are doing ok because everyone around us thinks we are godly. The real question lies in who you are when no one else is around. Jesus knows. And His opinion is the only one that counts.
With Expectancy!
Corey
Selling your soul on eBay?
I picked up a book a few days ago that was based on an interesting concept. An atheist, named Hemant Mehta from Chicago placed his “soul” up for auction on eBay. The purpose was that Mr. Mehta wanted to find out a little more about Christianity so he decided he would place himself on eBay to the highest bidder. Whoever bid the highest would be able to take Hemant to the church service(s) of his or her choice. The winning bid was just north of $500. Now before you lambaste the author for doing such a thing, I do want to point out that he did donate the money to charity so this wasn’t just some sort of scam. The gentleman that ended up purchasing “Hemant’s soul,” paid enough money as to allow him to attend church for a year. He instructed him to visit a variety of different churches. Some were big and some were small. They represented a myriad of different representations of the gospel. Some were Baptist, some Methodist, Catholic and so on. As Hemant visited these churches, he was to do so as a student. That is he was there to take notes and observe why people of faith believe the things that they believe. He visited powerhouse churches like Mars Hill in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Willow Creek in Chicago and Lakewood church in Houston with Pastor Joel Osteen. He also visited several smaller churches in and around his hometown of Chicago.
This book is very intriguing. I appreciate Hemant’s honest evaluations of faith. As Christians, we have to look at people that are not of faith through the eyes of Christ. I received a phone call a few days ago from a member of our church who needed some advice in talking to a friend of theirs. Their friend was trying to explain that Jesus only cares for Christians. He has no concern for those that are lost and only cares for those who are inside the church. Our church member was looking for a way to respond and wondered if their friend was right. As ridiculous as that concept is, I think there are many others that share that view. My problem with that idea is that Jesus himself said that he has come to seek and save that which was LOST. So many times in church, we fail to present the gospel in ways that people like Hemant can understand. We need to stop looking at people who are not of faith as enemies and start looking at them as people who need to hear the gospel presented clearly in a way that makes sense.
I appreciated Hemant’s sincerity with which he writes. I honestly believe that the purpose of this book was not to bash those who believe. He is honestly coming over to our “side of the fence” while saying…….”explain this to me.” I wish I could tell you that Hemant’s year of visiting churches resulted in his salvation. As far as I can tell, that has not happened as of yet. What was encouraging was I honestly believe that he went into this journey with an open mind. If someone came to you today and said, “why do you believe what you believe…” what would your answer be?
I Peter 3:15 tells us to always be prepared to give a reason for why we have the hope that we have. We don’t need to be embarrassed or ashamed. I love reading books by people who claim to have different beliefs than I do. It makes my faith stronger. If your faith can’t stand up when it is put under the microscope of scrutiny, you shouldn’t be surprised when people start to question. I do have a reason for the hope that I have. Believing in God certainly requires an element of faith but it is by no means blind faith. I was challenged by this book to make sure that when I communicate the gospel, to do so with the understanding that there may be someone listening who has never heard the message before. Or maybe they have heard a message that has been clouded or confused. Just because a person believes something different than you doesn’t mean they can’t teach you something. I certainly don’t agree with Hemant Mehta on issues of faith, but I appreciate his willingness to not only listen to the gospel, but also give pastors pointers of how they could better explain it. “I sold my soul on eBay,” by Hemant Mehta is a very interesting book that Christians and especially pastors should seriously consider reading.
With Expectancy!
Corey
worshipping worship
Ok it’s confession time. I am generally not a big music guy. I don’t mind music but it is not a huge driving force in my life. I have always been interested in sports. I have never played an instrument…….unless you count playing the trombone in 5th grade for 3 weeks before I quit. I don’t like watching American Idol except of course for the first few episodes where we get to watch classic acts such as William Hung and the “Pants on the Ground,” guy. I occasionally listen to music on my iPod primarily to country or contemporary worship.
I understand that our culture has an intense passion for music. Music defines a lot of people. It is what they live for similar to an athlete that lives to play their certain sport. Many Christian people share that same intense love for music. As a pastor, I have found that worship preference is a very big deal for most people. Some people like the old hymns. Some prefer modern contemporary. Some like loud music and others think loud music hurts their ears too much. We have large numbers of people that are leaving churches in America today simply because they don’t like the type of music that their church has or doesn’t have. Can I be 100% honest with you? Do we really think that God himself prefers one style of music over another? When we sing songs in a church service……who is the attended recipient of who we are singing those songs to? The obvious answer is God.
I always find it fascinating when a person says to me, “man that worship was awesome.” Every time I hear that statement, I always ask myself who the worship was awesome for. Was it awesome for you or was it awesome for God? We as Western (American) Christians have a love affair with our own feelings. If a worship service makes us feel a certain goose bump, than it must have been “anointed.” I believe that we are missing the mark if we think that worship is something that we do only when we sing. We can worship as we sing……but that is not the end. We can worship by giving. We can worship by sharing our faith with others. We can worship by not sinning. We can worship by being obedient to what God has called us to do. Jesus himself told the Pharisees and other religious leaders that He asks for obedience not for sacrifice. I don’t think we should consider ourselves as “godly” people if we raise our hands and jump in a church service and then go home and disobey God. I think God loves outward expressions of worship like singing, and dancing and shouting. But you know what I think He likes more? Inward obedience.
- Obeying our parents when we don’t feel like it…….worship
- Sharing our faith even when it makes us feel uncomfortable……worship
- Giving to God……..worship
- Helping the needy……worship
- Serving someone who can’t repay you……worship
- Forgiving someone who hurt you…….worship
- Loving your enemies……worship
May we be people that do ALL that we do as unto the Lord. Should we give our all when we sing in church services? Yes, Yes, Yes! But let’s not just be people that give our all when the worship band plays our favorite song. Let’s be a people that give our all when no one is watching but God. I leave you with the Lyrics to a song by Clint Brown.
“You don’t majestic choirs, with awesome voices raised. You don’t a congregation, just to offer me your praise. You don’t need a mighty orchestra, to bless me with your song. You get all of my attention, when you worship me alone.”
With Expectancy!
Corey
Review of “The Unlikely Disciple”
I have just finished reading a great book. A few weeks ago, my wife and I took our daughter to Barnes and Noble. During this trip, we happened to realize that we locked both sets of keys in our car. While waiting for a good friend (Mark Betzen) to come and help us with our predicament, I began to browse the latest titles in the Religion section. I came across a book called “The Unlikely Disciple,” by a guy named Kevin Roose. Kevin is a young man who is a student at Brown University. Kevin is sophomore journalism major at Brown and is not a follower of Christ. He decides that he wants to get an undercover look at what a real evangelical life truly likes like so he decides to enroll at Liberty University in Virginia. If you don’t know a whole lot about Liberty, it is a Christian college founded by the late Jerry Falwell. Liberty is considered a right wing fundamentalist school especially from those outside of a faith in Christ. Jerry Falwell himself dubbed Liberty as “Bible boot camp.” Comparing Liberty to Brown is like comparing South Beach to the North Pole. Kevin wanted a behind the scenes look at what this “Christian thing,” was all about so he enrolls for a semester at Liberty. His objective was simple. Go to Liberty. Pretend to be a Christian and write down his thoughts on things that he has learned. I think it is safe to say that Kevin had some pre-conceived ideas about what Christianity was all about. I think it is safe to say that we as Christians have some pretty strong convictions about some things that mainline American’s simply do not. I also think that Kevin does a great job of helping people realize that all Christians don’t have to be white, middle class republicans.
Like it or not, we as Christians are living in a new day. I respect Kevin’s book because I think it is a fair and balanced view at what the non-Christians think of us. The Bible says that we are to be salt and light to the world. We are not called to hold protest rallies and bash government and condemn to Hell all of those who don’t agree with our viewpoints. Jesus was very likeable. He didn’t candy coat the gospel. He told it like it was. Yet sinners were mesmerized by his teachings and drawn to Him everywhere He went. The Bible says that when we as Christians have the spirit of Jesus Himself living inside of us. Our lives should be giant arrows pointing people towards Him.
There were times during reading this book that I cringed as there were “Christians” at Liberty portrayed as living a lifestyle that is far from one that I believe would make Jesus proud. There were also people portrayed who lived as modern day Pharisees. That is their actions didn’t back up the beliefs that they said they had. Some gave Christians a black eye in the way they failed to show the love of Christ towards those who lived alternative lifestyles. Yet I was encouraged that the writer did get a glimpse of true Christianity from most of the students that he came in contact with at Liberty.
I don’t want to give away what happens in the book but I think one of the clear messages in this book is that Christians and non Christians have a lot that we can learn from one another if we would simply let go of our preconceived ideas of how people different than us live. I certainly don’t share Kevin’s viewpoints on a lot of his “core” beliefs. But I respect his willingness to give Christianity a fair shake by doing something that was very clearly not easy. We as Christians are admonished to be in the world but not of the world. While we should be separate in our convictions, we should also reach out with the compassion of Christ to a world that is clearly starving for truth. Jesus himself said it best when He said, “I am the way. I am the truth. And I am the life.” God wants to impact this world through you. One thing is clear to me more now than ever. The world is watching us as Christians. They are studying us. They want to know if our beliefs are backed up by our actions. They want to know if Jesus really can change lives like we claim He can. They want to know if the Bible really truly does answer life’s most difficult questions. They want to know if there really is a personal God that created us and wants to have an intimate relationship with us despite the wickedness that lies deep within us. Most people won’t pick up a Bible to read for themselves. For most people, the only Bible they will ever read is the one that is being portrayed by your life. Are you sending the right message? Are you being salt and light to a lost and dying world? Is your life painting the right picture of what a true Christian is supposed to look like?
Let me clarify that this book was written by someone who is not a Christian therefore some of the language that is used may come across as offensive if you aren’t ready for it. I think you will find that the language the Christians in the book use is far worse anyway. I strongly recommend the read. It’s a great reminder for us that there are lot’s of Kevin Roose’s out there that are looking and searching for the question of, “Who really is this Jesus and what can He do for me.”
Go buy it and read it.
With Expectancy!
Corey
to journal or not to journal……
Yesterday I was going through some of the books in my office when I came across a journal of mine that is about 10 years old. It was given to me before I started working for Master’s Commission in Fort Myers back in the fall of 2001. A couple things stood out to me as I thumbed through some of my entries. First of all, my handwriting is absolutely abysmal. If you compare my handwriting now to what it looked like when I was six, there would be no difference other than my 6 year old writing may have been a tad more legible. The second thing that stood out to me was how real and honest I was. I found myself blushing at some of the things that I wrote. I guess I felt that if I was going to journal, I wanted it to be real. There were several times yesterday that I literally laughed out loud at some of the things that I experienced that at the time I felt like were life and death situations. I read about some victories and defeats. I read about times I liked life and times when I didn’t. I read about serious times and funny times. There were things that I had completely forgotten about that came racing back into my memory banks. What a refreshing time!
I think what stood out to me most as I read through my journal from 10 years ago was realizing how far I have come in my walk with Christ. At 21, I had been saved for several years but had still not grown into a mature follower of Christ. I found myself questioning a lot of things about life, about myself and even about God. That year was a real desert time for me. I am so glad that I didn’t quit. I’m glad that I didn’t give in to the feelings of loneliness, bitterness and anger that I felt inside. I didn’t really have any outward reason to feel those things. I had a good life. On the outside I was put together but on the inside I clearly wasn’t. God had allowed me to go through a dry season in my life so that I could find Him in the center of my storm. I am reminded of a quote that says, “Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of a desert. And sometimes in the middle of a desert, you find yourself.”
I found myself in the middle of a desert about 10 years ago. God proved to me that He is faithful. God has given me an incredible life. I have a great wife, a beautiful daughter, a fulfilling job, and amazing friends. I am so glad that I didn’t throw in the towel when I had the chance to. To be honest with you, I haven’t been that great of a “journaler” over the past several years. After reading through yesterday’s journal however, I think that may change. I was so encouraged to see that God is still in the business of changing people. I know because He changed me. Trust me, if God can take an empty, self conscious, hurting and scared 21 year old kid and use him for His ultimate purpose, he can do the same with you.
Pick up a notebook today. Allow yourself to be authentic and real with who you really are. Not who everyone thinks you are. Who you really are. Write down your fears and worries. Write down your victories and defeats. Write down your honest thoughts about God. Did you know that God doesn’t mind it when we question Him? Read the Psalms. But at the end of the day, in spite of my questions, He is still God and is worthy of every ounce of passion and energy that I have. I guarantee that if you can learn the spiritual discipline of journaling, you will find yourself looking back at old entries thanking God that He is still in the business of changing people’s lives. He changed mine and I am certain He can change yours.
With Expectancy!
Corey
With Expectancy is a blog written by Corey Baker, Lead Pastor of First Assembly West in Cape Coral, Florida.
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