Scripture:
John 13:2
2 And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him,

Like the Casting Crowns song “Slow Fade” says, you don’t drift away all at once, and neither did Judas. It was the little things, the decisions he made, that gave the enemy (Satan) access to his life and his heart. David did not become an adulterer and a murderer all at once either; it was the little things. Drift one: at the time when kings go out to war, David remained at home. Drift two: David could not sleep, because he was meant to be out at war with his men, so he went up to his balcony, where he saw Bathsheba. You know the rest of that story. You wouldn’t point to any one of these moments and say, “Aha, that was it!” It was the subtle, ignored decisions he made that led to him being dragged away by sin. So you and I need to be awake and aware of the little things in our lives that are causing drift. They might not be bad in themselves, but we shouldn’t do them, because they lead to other decisions that drag us away. Guard your heart. Guard where your feet take you, and make sure it is where God has purposed you to be. Examine your motives. Trust the Holy Spirit.

Q: When can you recall your little decisions leading you in the wrong direction?

Today our God-Shot is that we would guard the gates of our lives and examine our motives: what we plan, where we go, and who and what we allow to speak into our hearts. The Word of God says, “Guard your heart above all else” (Proverbs 4:23). Don’t allow drift in your life. The enemy’s plan was planted in the heart of Judas and led to his betrayal of the Lord, but it was the decisions Judas made (John 12), driven by greed, position, and power, that gave the enemy access to his life. Don’t let the world and its passions suck you into the enemy’s trap.

Lord, I pray that You would expose any plans that don’t belong to You and the things that have caused drift in our lives. Show us what we need to step out of and what we need to watch out for. Help us to discern and to guard our gates: what we see, what we allow into our ears, and where we allow our feet to go. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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!