REMORSE’S REMEDY! When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”  “What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”  So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. —Matthew 27:3-5             Remorse—- regret, sorrow, guilt, shame— can lead a person down the road to doubt, discouragement, depression, despair, despondency and death— suicide.  There is a hopelessness that seizes a person and they do not see any way out of…

OUR MESSIAH, THE SON OF GOD! The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”  “You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”  Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?”  “He is worthy of death,” they answered.  Then they spit in…

WATCH AND PRAY! Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. —Matthew 26:41           How do we keep from entering temptation?  First we need to be watchful and alert.  “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings” (I Peter 5:8-9).  So make it a priority to be watchful and to be on your guard.  We are in spiritual warfare and…

THE BETRAYER And as they were eating, he said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?” He answered, “He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” Judas, who would betray him, answered, “Is it I, Rabbi?” He said to him, “You have said so.” —Matthew 26:21-25 Judas would…

SALVATION LEADS ONE TO SERVE “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’” —Matthew 25:34-36             Here are some areas where our Lord expects His people to be involved in.  Are we? I…

THE PACIFICATION BY FEAR If anyone sins because they do not speak up when they hear a public charge to testify regarding something they have seen or learned about, they will be held responsible. —Leviticus 5:1 The partner of a thief hates his own life; he hears the curse, but discloses nothing.  The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.. —Proverbs 29:24-25 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. —Ephesians 5:11             If we know something that we have seen or learned about and do not bear witness to it then it is sin.  That is a challenging…

THE COMING SHOCK OF REALITY! “Immediately after the distress of those days “‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’  “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. —Matthew 24:29-30 See, the day of the Lord is coming —a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger— to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. The stars of heaven and…

A COUPLE INDICATORS OF THE END And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold… And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.— Matthew 24:12,14             Lawlessness will be increased… It is interesting that this does not simple say that lawlessness will increase, but that lawlessness WILL BE INCREASED.  There will be an intentional, active and purposefulness for someone(s) to cause lawlessness to intensify.  That is one of the signs that the end is getting nearer.             As we look at the United States there is a deliberate destabilization…

RELIGIOUS HYPOCRITES Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! —Matthew 23:13, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29             Those who are “religious hypocrites” only play the part of what they portray to be.  There has been no change in them, just an outward appearance of change.  What they are on the outside is not what they really are on the inside.  Jesus said of these type people— They hinder people from entering the kingdom of heaven. They are not themselves entering the kingdom of heaven. They will travel long distances to make a convert. They make that convert twice as much a child of hell as they…

PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH! Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. —Matthew 23:1-3             Do we live our lives according to what we say?  Do we practice in our own lives what we preach to others?  Are we living out what we say we believe?  Is what we say really what we believe?  A lived life will reveal if one truly believes what is spoken as belief.             It is a…