“Then one of the Twelve, the one called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver.” Matthew 26:14-15
What amount of money would it take for you to sell out Jesus Christ? For Judas, it was 30 pieces of silver. What’s your price?
We live in a society where we are so interconnected… we have the ability, in the blink of an eye, to post, snap, tweet, share, pin, link, blog, ping and tag any and every fleeting thought, or random idea or belief to family, friends, colleagues and strangers around the world. But what if our family, friends, colleagues and strangers don’t agree with our thoughts and beliefs? What then? At what point do you stop posting, snapping, tweeting, sharing, pinning, linking, blogging, pinging and tagging?
What if someone completely disagrees with you and doesn’t like what you have to say? What if those strangers don’t like what you have to say? Do we change what we stand for, for the sake of harmony? Or do you stand? Are you willing to loose the approval of strangers for your thoughts, ideas or beliefs? What about friends, family, and colleagues? Are you ready to possibly have your feelings hurt?
I imagine that most here are thinking… well if I say something uncomfortable and a stranger doesn’t like what I’m saying that I am not going to change what I stand for. I get that.
What about colleagues? What about your livelihood? What if what you spoke was “not allowed” or considered improper because of your employer? Are you okay to loose your income for what you believe?
Perhaps you will stand strong in your beliefs? What about when it comes to friends… long-time, life-long friends? Probably if you are the sensitive type, you might tone down your thoughts, ideas or beliefs. Family? Are you willing to risk loosing family relationships for your beliefs? Are you willing to be the butt of jokes and innuendo… the things that great gossip is made up of?
Because you see… that’s what can happen when you choose to stand up and proclaim your beliefs. I choose to stand for my beliefs. I choose to post, snap, tweet, share, pin, link, blog, ping and tag my belief in Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of my life and of this world. I choose to say that there is just ONE way to Heaven and it is not what Hollywood or Oprah tells me it is.
But what I’ve seen is strangers, colleagues, friends and sadly family turn away. I’ve been excluded; I should say that Mike and I have been excluded. We’ve been mocked and laughed at. We have actually heard the words, “you’re just so holy” – with an inflection on the word “holy” as if it were a cuss word. I’ve seen eyes roll back in contempt when we’ve spoken out and stood firm on what we believe. We’ve had the kids tell us that they’ll be happy to talk with us, but not if we’re going to talk about Jesus. But that’s okay. You see, Jesus knew what would happen to all of those who believe in Him. He said:
“And you will be hated by everyone because of [your association with] My name, but it is the one who has patiently persevered and endured to the end who will be saved.” Matthew 10:22 AMP
He knew that those who loved Him and gave their lives to Him would be “hated by everyone”. But He also tells us to rejoice and be glad, because GREAT is the reward in Heaven for those that are persecuted.
“Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.” Luke 6:22-23
What I’ve seen lately, especially in these last years since I started this blog, is that TRUTH is the new hate speech. To speak the truth… the unvarnished, bold-faced, universal truth is a dangerous thing to do. If you do not believe as the world believes, then you are intolerant and hate-filled… and must be silenced. Well this is our TRUTH…
Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior of our lives. In Him, we live and breathe and have forgiveness of our sins and His guarantee of eternal life.
“Therefore, the one who confesses and acknowledges Me before men [as Lord and Savior, affirming a state of oneness with Me], that one I will also confess and acknowledge before My Father Who is in heaven. But the one who denies and rejects Me before men, that one I will also deny and reject before My Father Who is in heaven.” Matthew 10:32-33
We have made our choice and it clear. There is not enough silver, gold, diamonds, rubies, fame, fortune, wealth or riches that would give us pause to even consider selling out our faith in Jesus or to stop us from proclaiming the Glory of Jesus. We don’t have a price, so don’t ask us to sell.
What is your price?
“But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, … But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15
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Saved Because of His Mercy 