Scripture
Matthew 26:22-25
22 And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, “Lord, is it I?”
23 He answered and said, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me. 24 The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”
25 Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, “Rabbi, is it I?”
He said to him, “You have said it.”

I think this portion is tough because it shows what separates those who are saved from those who are not. Paul says in Romans 10:9 that it isn’t simply believing in Him (even the demons believe, James 2:19). We must make Him Lord of our lives and believe, and not with surface belief. “With our heart” means with all that is within us.

I want to point you to something in our portion: all the disciples except Judas call Him Lord when they ask, “Is it I?” Judas calls Him Rabbi (Teacher). This is easy to miss. It’s possible to never have a relationship where you surrender your whole life to Jesus and make Him Lord, meaning He has full authority in your life. You may see Him as Healer (Rapha) when you’re sick, Provider (Jireh) when you’re in need, or Deliverer (Mephalti) when you’re in trouble. But is He Lord, or is He just the sum of what you need?

Today our God-Shot is more of an examination. Ask yourself, “Who is Jesus in my life?” Does He have lordship in my life? Have I invited Him into the deep places where no one else is allowed? Do I consider what He would have me do in every situation? Or have I become a consumer, where He is only “Healer, Provider, Deliverer, Peace-Bringer...”?

Today is the day to make Him Lord of your life.

Father, I pray that You would reveal the areas of our lives that we have not surrendered to Your lordship, the places where You are not Lord. Help us surrender them completely to You, so that we not only believe with all that is within us but also give our lives over to Your plan. In Jesus’ name, amen!

Scripture:
Matthew 25:37–40
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’”

Jesus tells this story about a day you and I will all face: our day before the King of Kings, when each of us will give an account of how we spent our lives. Time has always been your most precious commodity, so you will give an account of it.

When I read this passage, I’m reminded that everything I do should have a Kingdom purpose. I’m meant to be His hands and feet, an extension of Christ in this broken, lost world. Notice that Christ names six acts of service they did for Him: caring for the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned. But I’ll tell you, everything you do “for Him” matters. You and I are meant to use our time, our treasure, and our talents for the Kingdom of God. And here we see that it matters to God.

Q: What will you do for Him?
Q: How will that change what you’re doing now?

Today our God-Shot is this: don’t miss the contrast Jesus draws between those who served and those who didn’t. By nature, you and I aren’t very giving or very serving. We have selfish tendencies, whether we want to admit it or not.

In all fairness, we would rather relax and take care of ourselves than put ourselves out for others. But just as we can be taught to be thankful, we can learn to serve. And as we learn that, we discover what Jesus meant when He said it is better to give than to receive.

The good news is that Jesus told this to His disciples to remind them, just as He reminds you and me, that there’s still time to turn this around in our lives and become His hands and feet.

Lord, I pray that this would stick to our ribs, that it would get into our spirits and produce fruit. Don’t let us slide past this passage because it hits harder or because it may require sacrifice. Instead, make us always willing to “do for You,” to lay down our priorities and our wants to help those You have put in our paths, so that they may glorify our Father in Heaven. In Jesus’ name, amen!

Scripture:
Matthew 24:37–39
³⁷ But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. ³⁸ For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

Jesus compares His coming to the days before the flood. What happened in Noah’s day? For 120 years, Noah built an ark for a great flood at a time when no one had ever seen rain (Genesis 2:5–6). Through that act of obedience to God, he preached to a generation that did not listen, did not repent, and did not turn from their rebellion. They were oblivious to the destruction ahead, even when salvation was only a 2x4 away on the day the waters came.  They carried on doing what they had always done, let that simmer.

Jesus is warning you and me to be diligent and watchful. We do not know the hour, but we can be assured that there will be signs. Just as in the days of Noah, the signs were there; the people simply didn’t pay attention.

Recently, the Word of God has been speaking to me about not wasting time, not spending it on things that will not matter in eternity, and valuing the things of the Kingdom with greater urgency.

Q: What will change in your life as you become aware of how short life is? How will that change what you do, what you say, what you plan, and the mark you leave?

Today our God-Shot is this: don’t wait until it is too late to start doing what we know is right, the things the Holy Spirit has already revealed that we need to change. Life is short. We need to be aware of the times and let that move us to live our lives for Him.

Lord, I pray that we would not waste our time or our resources on things that don’t matter. Keep us from getting caught up in the patterns of the world and the rhetoric of these times. Help us to place all of our energy, time, treasure, and talents into what You have purposed for our lives. Make us aware of the times, aware that Your coming is drawing near, so that we reach as many as possible with Your good news. Let us be aware. In Jesus’ name, amen!

Scripture:
Luke 20:38
“For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him.”

It’s About Relationship

Today’s reading would normally come from Mark 12, but I chose Luke’s version of the text because Luke is the only Gospel writer who includes the words “for all live to Him.”

A little context: the religious leaders have been trying to trap Jesus with questions. The Sadducees, who don’t believe in the resurrection, are trying to read their own beliefs into God’s Word. They took the levirate marriage law (Deuteronomy 25:5–6) and used it to argue that there is no resurrection. That only shows they didn’t understand who God is. Jesus answers by reminding them that God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and then He closes with this: “He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him.”

It’s about relationship. God wants to live with us. He sent His Son to DIE so that we might LIVE.

Today our God-Shot is in Jesus’ words, “for all live to Him.” We were created to live our lives “TO HIM.” We were made by Him, for Him, and to be with Him. So today’s question is: how are you living for Him right now? Does your life reflect this relationship with Him, or is the picture hazy?

Today you and I have the chance to reflect on that question and answer it honestly: Am I living for Him?

Lord, today I pray that our lives would be lived with You and for You. Help us to invest in the things that last, building crowns in heaven rather than palaces on earth. Help us to bring Your Kingdom down into our homes, our lives, and the lives of the people around us. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Scripture:
John 12:9-10
9 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. 10 But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also,

Deeper than the Surface
Sometimes we get so stuck in our trauma, our pain, our suffering, and our situations that we miss the work of God in them, and even through them. We are in chapter 12 of John, but in chapter 11 the whole story of Lazarus’ resurrection unfolds. Jesus said these words: “And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless, let us go to him.” This reminds us that sometimes we miss the story unfolding and the movement of God in it, and it was no different this time, as we see later in this story. See, just like yours and mine, Lazarus’ story was so much bigger than his personal resurrection.

The bigger part of the story was the revelation of Christ in it: how He would be glorified, and how that would change the hearts of so many that the chief priests would plot to kill (get this) a man who had already been raised from the dead. Kind of ironic, isn’t it? The point is that because of Lazarus, many believed. Have you ever thought that your circumstances, your past, and your victories could be the reason others are set free and come to know Christ?

Today our God-Shot is that God is still in the business of turning our past into victory. Our story, our testimony, is the key to many people’s prisons. We have a place in His storyline, and like Lazarus, through your story of the greatness of God, others could come to know Him, be transformed by Him, and seek Him too.

Q: Who have you shared your story with lately?

Lord, let us not keep quiet. Let our story be heard and Your glory be seen. Let us shout it from the rooftops, that all who hear might bring You praise. Let our pain, our past, and our victories not be wasted, but let them serve the bigger plan: to reach the lost, to heal the broken, and to set at liberty the captives. Let it accomplish Your good work. In Jesus’ name, Amen!