Tag Archives: The Twelve

What Will You Give Me?

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Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver Him over to you?”  Matthew 26:14-15 ESV1

Read Matthew 26:14-16, 20-25, 47-50 & 27:3-9; Mark 14:10-11, 17-21, 43-46; Luke 22:3-6, 47-48; John 13:18-30 & 18:1-6

I fear many of us who consider ourselves Christians have chosen Jesus but with false information and inaccurate expectations. We haven’t been given the full Gospel nor considered the whole cost. We may have said a special prayer, tried to sneak into the Kingdom as we raised our hands when every head was bowed and eye closed, or even boldly responded to an altar call. But that doesn’t mean much if we did it to please others or solely for personal gain. Some well-meaning people might have assured us we have free tickets to Heaven or eternal safety with our spiritual fire insurance. But if we chose Jesus for the wrong reasons, our commitment to Him is fraudulent. If our Christianity is self-focused, our following of Jesus is much like Judas Iscariot’s.

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Knowing What You’ve Got

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Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, that He had come from God, and was going back to God … John 13:3 ESV1

Read John 13:1-17

If you had a money tree in your room that produced $100 bills and every time you picked one, two more grew back in its place, would you be stingy with your spending? Wouldn’t there be something seriously wrong with your thinking if you lived in poverty? Likewise, wouldn’t you be incredibly selfish if you refused to be generous?

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Am I a Friend of Jesus?

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“She has done a beautiful thing to Me.” Mark 14:6b ESV1

Read Matthew 26:6-16; Mark 14:3-11 & John 12:1-11

One of my favorite hymns is “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” by Joseph Medlicott Scriven (1819-1886). Mr. Scriven suffered much loss in his life. He penned the words of this hymn in 1855 after the tragic loss of his second fiancée. The trouble in his life drove Mr. Scriven into a deeper relationship with the only One he could never lose. Thus, the words of this hymn are especially encouraging to anyone struggling in any manner. Likewise, singing this hymn is particularly moving to many who know Jesus intimately because of the times He has met them in their need. The powerful words of this hymn are as follows:

“What a Friend we have in Jesus; all our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!

Oh, what peace we often forfeit; oh, what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!

Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?

We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.

Can we find a Friend so faithful, who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy-laden, cumbered with a load of care?

Precious Savior, still our Refuge; take it to the Lord in prayer.

Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer!

In His arms, He’ll take and shield thee; thou wilt find a solace there.

What a Friend we have in Jesus; take it to the Lord in prayer.”2

Indeed, Jesus has been a tremendous Friend to me, but have I reciprocated? I have been looking at a well-known and often referenced passage of Scripture in the light of friendship with Jesus.

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You Might As Well Ask

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And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to Him and said to Him, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.” Mark 10:35 ESV1

Read Matthew 20:20-28 & Mark 10:35-45

When my children were small, I used to get together with my sister frequently. My sister also had small children, and the cousins enjoyed having playdates together. Once, when we came to visit my sister’s family at her home, we found her standing at her kitchen counter, eating a piece of candy. The other children ran off to play, but my son recognized what his aunt was doing. My son watched my sister nibble and said to her, “That piece of candy looks really good.” My sister continued to enjoy her piece of candy. My son noticed a bag of like candy lying open on the counter and stated, “Wow, I could really use a piece of candy.” My sister smiled and took another bite. My son, a little louder, exclaimed, “A piece of candy would really hit the spot for me right now.” My sister popped the remaining bits of her piece of candy into her mouth, closed up the bag, and placed it on top of her refrigerator. My son was shocked, but saying no more, he walked away saddened. My sister then turned to me and said, “You know, I would have given him a piece if he had just asked.”

I have the feeling God could say the same thing about us from time to time; He probably wonders why we don’t just ask. We spend a lot of time meditating on our problems. We mull over in our minds what we think we may need. We go to God and worry before Him, but do we really end up asking for anything? In the passage we will consider today, some people came to Jesus, and they audaciously asked for something they desired. They were surprisingly bold and asked for a grand thing. Let’s look at Jesus’ response?

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Truly Amazing

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Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven; and come, follow Me.”  Matthew 19:21 ESV1

Read Matthew 19:16-26, Mark 10:17-27 & Luke 18:18-27

Most of us want to be amazing at something. We want to stand out above the crowd in some area. We want to be noticed for some significant accomplishment. As a society, we venerate the surprisingly talented. We revere the exceedingly intelligent. We are mesmerized by the astonishingly beautiful. We worship the incredibly athletic. We esteem the exceptionally wealthy. And we honor tremendously influential. Because we are constantly trying to earn accolades and be more amazing than the next guy, we completely miss a great secret: it is actually a blessing to be extraordinarily average, because those who do have a great deal of talent, intelligence, beauty, athletic ability, wealth, or influence are often at a disadvantage.

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Eradicating Wild Lilies

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“If your Brother sins against you…” Matthew 18:15 ESV1

Read Matthew 18:15-22

When we first moved to our house, I purchased and planted hostas with pretty, bright-green leaves. To complement them, I planted live-forevers which I brought from our previous home and irises that a new neighbor gave me. It was the beginning of a beautiful flower bed, but there was still much open space. So, each Spring, I would add many annual plants like geraniums, marigolds, and impatiens. With consistent watering and weed pulling, I had a flower bed that earned me many compliments.

But the constant work was tiring. I thought if I added more perennials to my flower bed, I wouldn’t have to work so hard. So, one day, when I noticed wild lilies flourishing along the roadside near my home, I thought I had found exactly that for which I was looking. I was excited about the thought of planting fewer annuals. I imagined how the bright orange of the lilies would complement the purple hues of my other perennials.

Something in my spirit told me not to dig up those wild, roadside lilies and add them to my flower bed, but I justified my actions. It was not like the lilies belonged to anyone, and no one would notice or even care if I took them. So, I ignored that still, small voice warning me, and I added the wild lilies to my flower bed.

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Who’s Your Daddy?

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“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.” Matthew 18:3-4 ESV1

Read Matthew 18:1-14, Mark 9:33-50 & Luke 9:46-50

In my life, I have worn a variety of hats. My different responsibilities have put me in positions where I have observed many arguments. Some of these arguments have been laughable, others hurtful. Many were passionate discussions which worked out themselves; others become quite heated and needed intervention.

When working with people, it doesn’t take long to discover competition is part of the human make up. We instinctively want to be on top. We tend to assume we are right, and when there are conflicts, we feel others must be wrong. We humans continually evaluate where we fit in any given group. From the time we are children, we compare ourselves and consciously (or unconsciously) compete in attempts to be the best, the fastest, the smartest, the prettiest, the most talented, etc.

An argument common among young boys takes the competition past their own abilities and focuses on the attributes of their fathers. It is not unusual, from time to time, to hear a boy exclaim, “My daddy is stronger than your daddy!” The argument need not necessarily focus on strength; maybe a boy claims his father is smarter, or richer (or any other appropriate adjective) than the fathers of those around him. But the statement is always made with the child’s confident expectation that his assertion will put him on top and finalize the argument.

Once, when Jesus’ twelve closest disciples were arguing among themselves, Jesus extinguished the heated debate by drawing their attention to the greatness of His Father.

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A Little Change and Much Change

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Jesus said to [Peter], … “Go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to [the collectors of the two-drachma tax] for Me and for yourself.” Matthew 17:26b & 27b ESV1

Read Matthew 17:24-27

My favorite motion pictures are those which are based on true events. Because they deal with real people overcoming genuinely insurmountable challenges, these movies inspire me. They give me the confidence to believe that if these ordinary people with extraordinary character can prevail in such difficult circumstances, maybe I, too, can make a difference in the situations which I face.

Often these films conclude with photos of the actual people on whose lives these stories are based. Some directors are better than others at choosing actors who authentically represent the physical characteristics of those they are portraying. But what about films depicting the events surrounding Jesus’ earthly ministry? Almost every such movie I have ever seen characterizes Jesus’ twelve closest disciples as older men—some balding, others with salt and pepper hair and beards, and still others with ample waistlines. We don’t have any photographs to make comparisons, but I don’t believe The Twelve looked like that at all!

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He Provides

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“For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” Matthew 10:20 ESV1

Read Matthew 10:5-33, 40-42; Mark 6:7-12; & Luke 9:1-6, 10:1-12

If you are a Believer, you already know that God has plans for you, “plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11b). You believe you “are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that [you] would walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). And you are confident that “if you don’t grow weary of doing good, … in due season [you] will reap, if [you] do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).

At times, I am confident you are pretty excited about the call God has on your life. Other times, you are probably entirely overwhelmed. You are not alone in feeling overcome by the weight of the divine appointment on your life. You are not the only one who has ever considered quitting. When Jonah felt God was asking too much, he tried to run from the responsibility (see Jonah 1:1-3). When David got weary, he allowed himself to get temporarily distracted from his call (see 2 Samuel 11:1-9, 16-17 & 26-27). When Moses was insecure about his abilities, he pleaded with God to send someone else to do his job (see Genesis 3:10 & 4:1, 10-13). At times, even Jesus got overwhelmed with His God-given assignment. When that happened, what did Jesus do?

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Sure and Ready

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Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” Matthew 17:19 ESV1

Read Matthew 17:14-20, Mark 9:14-32 &            Luke 9:37-43

“And Jesus went on with His disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi” (Mark 8:27). “And after six days Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves” (Mark 9:2). Much of spiritual significance happened on the mountain near Caesarea Philippi, but our focus today will be on what happened in the valley.

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