What will you give me?

“For you will certainly carry out God’s purpose, however you act, but it makes a difference to you whether you serve like Judas or like John.” ~ C.S. Lewis

Some scholars speculate that Jesus and the disciples rested on the Wednesday before the Passover. Maybe they stayed with Lazarus, Mary and Martha in Bethany, which was about two miles east of Jerusalem. It is just speculation but it had only been a short time since He had raised Lazarus back to life. And also, just a few nights earlier in Bethany, Mary had anointed His feet with expensive perfume.

Let’s look a little closer at Judas… It wasn’t just his betrayal, there were also the betrayals yet to come: Yours and mine. His blood covered them all. We have all been betrayed at one time or another and because of sin and iniquity, we have all betrayed Jesus. But the Good News is that His blood still covers!

“Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests and asked, ‘How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you?’ And they gave him thirty pieces of silver. From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.” Matthew 26:14-16 NLT. 

From this scripture text, and the account in Mark and Luke, it is apparent that Judas went to them. It doesn’t mention them coming to Judas and asking him to betray the Lord. He went on his own! Perhaps it would have never entered the minds of those in the Sanhedrin that one of Christ’s very own would turn on Him.

But he did. “How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you?” Was Judas so desperate that He would sell out the Lord of glory for money? To give away the Everlasting for something that would not last, that would pass away? 

Did you know that Judas was the treasurer for the followers of Christ? He wasn’t voted on or suggested by the others, he was chosen by Jesus! According to Augustine, tradition says, “Jesus had delivered Judas often from death, and for his sake healed his father of palsy and cured his mother of leprosy, and next to Peter he honored him above all the other apostles.”

Judas became a traitor. A traitor is someone that is WITHIN the camp, so to speak. You can’t be a traitor if you are not in the inner circle! The enemy was in the camp, right with the disciples, one of the chosen, one of those closest to the Master. As many times as I have heard this story and read it over and over again I have never thought about what made him do it. What happened to him over time that caused him to fall away?

Luke 22:3 “Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot…” 

Maybe he began to doubt, perhaps he was listening to outside voices that were constantly berating that Jesus wasn’t who He said He was. We aren’t given all of that information but we are told that he was listening to one distinct voice and that was the voice of the enemy of our souls.  

It really wasn’t about the money because thirty pieces of silver, research reveals, likely would not set you up for the rest of your days. Whatever caused Judas to first become frustrated, aggravated or disillusioned with Jesus became an open door for Satan to come in and begin his whispering.

It doesn’t take long, when you entertain lies from the betrayer, you  eventually become one yourself.

And if it can happen to Judas, who walked with Jesus, shared supper with Jesus, heard Him speak, watched Him work and even saw Him pray, what will keep us from doing the same? What must we do to keep ourselves from straying from this Truth, from losing our way like a lost sheep or worse yet, turning on the very One who would give His life for us?

We look at the story and think we would never do such a thing as walk away from the Lord for 30 pieces of silver. Maybe not but are we replacing Him with other things in our life? Are we busying ourselves so much that we don’t have time for a talk with the King of Kings? Is our relationship faltering or failing because we no longer put Him first?

This Holy Week is a good time to reassess our walk with the Lord. He is either Lord of everything or He isn’t Lord at all. Let’s see what we might be allowing to get in our way. It may be the love of money or the accumulation of stuff.  Perhaps it is things that cause us to habitually waste time. Or it could be friends or co-workers, maybe family members that we know bring us down. We should take inventory every now and then and ask God to show us those things that may trip us up!

We must make sure that He is first in all things and our relationship with Him is the most important thing in our lives.

“What will you give me?” Judas asked this question of the Sanhedrin with the worst in mind; he was no longer a servant of Christ. Let us ask THIS question of our Lord, “What can I give YOU?” And then be prepared to offer ourselves as a LIVING sacrifice, holy and acceptable, which is our reasonable service.

 

For the kingdom

Two chairs…no waiting

        Don’t pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it. A man is powerful on his knees.                   – Corrie ten Boom

There is a scene from an episode of the Andy Griffith show where Floyd, the barber, is offered the chance to take on a partner. Andy is encouraging him to take a gamble; he is swamped with business, can’t keep up with the demands, and is overwhelmed with the stress of it all. Sheriff Taylor tells him that he could have a two-chair shop. That pushes Floyd into the confidence he needed to seriously consider taking the plunge.

Then Andy says these words that not only resonate with Floyd but with me too: (don’t get carried away and watch the entire episode yet!!)

Two chairs, no waiting.

I pictured it in my mind. I have the opportunity every single day to walk into the presence of the King of Kings and take a chair right across from Him. I can talk, I can share, I can pour my heart out with needs and petitions for myself, my family, friends, the state of the country and even those on the other side of the world.

I do not have to wait.

He doesn’t push me aside, doesn’t tell me to take a number or to come back later.

He is never too busy. He is never late. He is just there.

He welcomes me in. I don’t even have to speak if I do not want to. Sometimes that is good, I need to just listen.

two chairs no waiting 2

We call this time Prayer. It is simply conversation with God. We truly make it too difficult, too complicated and even too scary. We think we have to say certain words, others think those words have to be repeated a particular number of times.

Some believe we must be in the right position to pray;

  • kneeling
  • standing
  • on our face
  • hands folded
  • hands raised
  • hands outstretched
  • eyes open
  • eyes closed
  • scream at the top of your lungs
  • speak audibly
  • whisper quietly
  • only pray inside your thoughts

The cool thing about prayer? All of these are acceptable! There is no right or wrong way, no certain place, and no definite time that we must pray but making a habit of meeting with God at the same time every day will help you keep that appointment and not allow the day to get away from you.

We just need to pray.

Naturally, beginning your day with conversation with God is wise. He wants to hear from you and you need to hear from Him. He gives strength for each new day. “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23.

Ending your day with prayer is comforting, peaceful and a great way to thank God for all He has kept you from and blessed you with for the day!

Kneeling before God, if you are able, shows reverence and awe. Sometimes you are not physically able or not in a place where you can actually kneel. King David sat and prayed at times! “Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and prayed, “Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?” 2 Samuel 7:18 NLT.

There may be other times when you will just stand to pray as you talk to a friend. “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’” Luke 18:13 NIV.

Doesn’t it get easier to share with a friend when you know them better? Talking with the Lord is the same way. The more time we spend with Him, the better we know Him and the easier it is to share. He truly is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.

What do I receive for taking the time, making the time, to pray? Untold benefits!

  • Peace
  • Joy
  • Confidence
  • Strength
  • Power
  • Wisdom
  • Direction
  • Answers
  • Boldness
  • Patience
  • Compassion
  • Humility
  • Forgiveness
  • Relief from Anxiety

This list could be infinite. There are endless benefits to prayer and spending time with God. In the Old Testament, there were times priests or others could be killed for not approaching God the right way. Today? The veil has been torn! No longer do we need a mediator, Jesus did away with that when He died on the cross. The veil in the temple was torn in two signifying that ANYONE, EVERYONE could come before the throne without fear. You can approach God (in reverence and awe) as a friend or a Father, He is all in all.

Don’t hesitate to bring your greatest needs, your simplest thoughts and your heaviest burdens to Him.

Jesus longs to hear from you and He is saving two chairs…no waiting.

 

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Happy 90th Birthday Charles Richard Elkins!

Happy 90th Birthday Charles Richard ElkinsI met Charles Richard Elkins 42 years ago at an old country church in southern Indiana. He was the song leader, long before there were worship pastors (and if you know me, I am not against worship pastors!) He had a booming, yet not overbearing, beautiful tenor voice. It would carry without need of too much sound equipment, although there was one microphone protruding from the wooden pulpit.

He sang songs such as In the Sweet By and By, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms, O I Want to See Him, Victory in Jesus, I Need Thee and How Great Thou Art. He could lead a group of people in congregational singing like few could. He wasn’t an outwardly emotional person, although, down through the years I did see an occasional tear being wiped away when ushered into the presence of God or a new grandbaby came along.

He was faithful. Being a masonry contractor and a farmer, he was a very busy man. But when it would come church time, there he was, with his family, sunburned with his famous red face and white head. (John Deere hats were a necessity to keep that head from being the color of his face!) He owned two cars the entire time I knew him. Both bought new and driven until Tava probably insisted it was time to trade. He could have bought a new one whenever he wanted but that would have been wasteful and he was never wasteful.

He loved his work and was one of the best. You can drive around our college town and see so many structures that he created or helped restore. From houses to banks, hotels, office buildings, or my favorite, a brick serpentine wall that seems to crawl down Second Street, he could do most anything in our opinion.

Serving at the end of the war, he was sent to process POW’s as a dental assistant. He even considered that line of work after the war but never pursued it. He was to be outside, working with his hands and giving others opportunity to learn the craft as well. He hired his brother and brother-in-law, among others, and Elkins Masonry was born. All three of his sons helped him at some point in the business but he truly didn’t want them to follow in his footsteps, the work was hard.

While in the service, still stateside, he helped start a brand new work in a small town outside of Camp Crowder, Missouri. He wasn’t a preacher, but of course we all know God doesn’t require a license to spread the Gospel. He just saw a need and with the help of a few of his buddies, began a storefront church to bring others to know Jesus Christ.

This unassuming, 6 ft. tall man with a limp, was my father-in-law, Dick Elkins. Today would have Happy 90th Birthday Charles Richard Elkinsbeen his 90th birthday but, unfortunately, he passed away in August, 2001 from amyloidosis, a disease where your body makes too much protein. (It’s much more complicated than that but I’m not complicated.)

I can only remember having one argument with this man-of-few-words in all the years I have been in the family, which is a long, long time. We were making our first move away from our hometown, the first of the kids to do so. He was sure that we were making a huge mistake and let me know that. I had never seen him so upset. Our only child at the time was only four years old and I know that was a huge part of it. But just a few short years later when that son, the one we call The Sweetheart around here, graduated fourth in his class, and went on to be an air traffic controller and supervisor at the Indy Center, he was nearly beaming from his seat at the graduation ceremony in Oklahoma City.

Several years later, we found ourselves buying the farmhouse where they had raised their kids after Dick had subdivided the farm and built a new house for him and Tava. We were ecstatic to be back by family even though it meant an hour commute for The Sweetheart. As much as we loved raising our boys there, God had other plans and seven years later we were moving again.

By then he was not doing so well in health and didn’t have much strength in his legs. That didn’t keep him from puttering around the subdivision, checking on new houses being built and getting in his visiting on his golf cart. We gave them the news and as was his nature, his silence was deafening. Finally, he just wheeled the golf cart around and drove away.

Does that mean he wasn’t supportive? Absolutely not. He understood the call of God on a family’s life, they all had one, but theirs didn’t mean leaving family and that made it just plain hard.

His wife, my mother-in-law, Tava, will be celebrating her 90th birthday April 29, which is also always their wedding anniversary. She is excited to know that she has made it that far. But today, we will celebrate and remember that Dick would have turned 90 first, on March 8. I don’t think that has registered with her yet, that he would have made the milestone before she did had he lived. (smile)

Happy 90th Birthday Charles Richard ElkinsHappy 90th Birthday, Charles Richard Elkins, and thank you for all you did for your family to make life easier and memorable. You would be proud of your 13 grandchildren, some you were never privileged to meet, and your two great-grandchildren, plus two on-the-way, and of course the new inlaws that have joined us to make our family complete.

Because of your sacrifice and dedication, your family is serving God today. All of your children are in the ministry in some capacity. Your grandchildren include a pastor’s wife, two worship pastors, church board members, praise singers, Sunday School teachers, choir directors and musicians. And who knows what the great-grands will be called to do in the Kingdom of God. Our lives are centered around that and we thank you.

If any of the rest of the family were writing this today, they would add their love and memories of things you have done for their families as well and how much we miss your words of wisdom. We also wish you could see how we fill up the house when we gather together. It won’t be long until we will have to find other places to meet to accommodate the crowd that started with only two so many years ago.

Happy Birthday!