From Passion to Resurrection #03 Wednesday

Hi everyone,

how are you doing? I hope and pray that all of you are okay in your new normal life at home. Please make a call to one of our church members every other day so that we can encourage and comfort them by letting them know we are family of God even though we can’t gather together at church. I hope all of us can enjoy a special fellowship with our church families. Today I just want to share this with you, not video message. Today is Wednesday of passion week. One of the key events on Wednesday was Judas’ betrayal plan and negotiation with the chief priests and the elders of the people. Matthew 26:14-16 14 Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him. While Jesus was teaching His disciples as much as he could even in the last minute, one of His disciples, Judas, was negotiating with the chief priest to hand over Jesus to them to earn money. Jesus was trying His best to teach them what is going to happen soon and how they need to prepare for because He loved His disciples so much. However, Judas, one of His disciples, was planning to make money because he was full of his own benefits by selling Him to the religious leaders. He was totally absorbed in his own benefits. I often remember these questions when I think about Judas. Am I using God for my life? Or Am I using my life for God? As we live as Christian, we have a tendency to get more blessings from God. When I was young, when I was in Korea, I had this kind of understanding that I can be rich when I have strong faith in God. However, I got a chance to learn when I went to Youth Retreat that I needed to use my life for God’s dream and His Kingdom because God saved me through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. I realized that I need to do something for God rather than expecting God to do something for me. I hope and pray that all of us can live for God’s glory and His Kingdom because of His love and grace through Jesus Christ rather than expect God to do something for me. Father, we thank you for bringing our attention to how we are supposed to live through Judas’ betray. We confess that we sometimes look for something from You rather than give something for Your Kingdom. Please be mercy upon us so that we can use our lives for You rather than use You for our lives. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.