In Jesus’ time of greatest need, two of his most trusted companions betrayed him.
- Judas
- Peter
Judas ended up hanging himself and died while Peter ended up becoming a pillar in the church of Jesus. 🤔Why such extremely different outcomes?
If we read very well, the answer is actually quite clear. It lies in the actions they each took after realizing they had fallen short
Peter’s action: Luke 22:61 And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
62 And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.
Judas’ action: Matthew 27:3 Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
4 Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.
5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.
Even though their responses both looked similar, there was actually a world of difference.
Peter wept, he repented, but somewhere in his heart he knew that there was hope. He believed that Jesus was indeed God and was able to forgive his sins. You see, Peter had faith.
Judas on the other hand never really believed that Jesus was the son or God, he did not believe He had the power to forgive sins. This was why he sold Jesus off in the first place. And when he realized they had killed Jesus, he felt there was no hope. Jesus was dead and gone to him, so he chose to commit suicide instead of bear his guilt forever.
The bible says, Godly sorrow (not any kind of sorrow) leads to repentance.
When you have done something wrong, and you suddenly realize it, do not just shrug it off and say it doesn’t matter. There is a place for genuinely feeling sorry for you sins and just coming to God to say you are sorry. He is your Father so you can safely pour out your heart to him, knowing that there is hope and forgiveness for you.
But when you do not ask for forgiveness, you give the devil a chance to bury you in a sea of guilt and shame. He begins to make you feel you are the worst and nothing good can come out of your life. He tells you that God will not even forgive you, that its too late
This is what Satan did to Judas. He lied to him.
When you try to pray with such guilty conscience, things won’t flow well. Your walk with God is automatically hindered.
All Christians must learn to be tender hearted. We must know that God loves us and is always willing to forgive us. We must run to him the moment we realize that we have fallen short. Lest we give the devil a chance.
May God teach of more of his abundant grace and mercy in Jesus name, Amen.
ACTIVATION | GETTING PRACTICAL WITH IT
- Do you feel that God is somehow angry with you? In your secret place tomorrow, pour out your heart to God and ask him to forgive you of every known and unknown sins
- Pray for your family members, perhaps they are suffering some form of depression due to overloaded guilt and shame. Ask God to help them.
I love you all🤗. JESUS LOVES YOU MORE ♥️♥️♥️
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