"Then when Judas, who had betrayed (Jesus), saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse..."
-Matthew 27:3a
Recently I've been thinking a lot about what guilt is. Guilt is a very interesting and revealing of human nature. What is guilt? The dictionary definition is "a feeling of responsibility, regret or remorse for some offense". If you have experienced guilt before, which I am sure you have, then you know that feeling guilty is not pleasant at all. Guilt eats away at you and sometimes even causes you to act out of the ordinary. Feeling guilty is a terrible feeling, but I think it reveals many important things.
I want to pose a question as I often do, why do we feel guilt? Usually we will feel guilty when we do something we know hurts someone else. A feeling of guilt is especially strong when the person we hurt is someone we know. It's even stronger when the blame is placed on someone other that yourself. If I hurt a good friend by revealing a secret or something, I will feel that I betrayed his trust. If he comes to believe that someone else shared his secret and now continually blames the other person for this offense, I will feel even more guilty. Why would I feel guilty? Why should I care if I hurt someone else?
I want to talk about an example of guilt in the bible. Judas followed Jesus for a very long time, and Judas must have known and believed that Jesus was an innocent and kind man. Despite this, Judas gives Jesus over to the chief priests. Later Judas realizes that Jesus is falsely condemned, Judas felt strong guilt in his heart. He handed Jesus, an innocent man, his friend, to be punished as a criminal. This leads Judas to try to free Jesus, and when he fails, Judas ultimately ends his life. Guilt was so strong in Judas that it caused him to take his own life.
Why would Judas feel guilty for betraying Jesus? Looking from a completely objective and practical viewpoint, Judas traded someone who constantly took attention away from Judas for money. Money is very practical and necessary for life. Judas seemed to get a pretty good deal. So why would he care what happened to Jesus? In the bible it says that people are made in God's image, and I believe that because of this we all have some attributes of God. God does not sin, He does not hurt people, He is perfect. When we sin, we go against what we were made to be, and this throws off our spirit, and we feel guilt. God is love, and when we love others, we feel good. When we hurt others, we don't feel good.
When Judas betrayed Jesus, he sinned against in innocent man, and literally against God. This sin weighed in his heart, and he began to feel deep regret. I know that when I sin, I sometimes feel guilt. Since I am made in God's image I need God in my life and I desire Him. When I sin, I break a relationship that my whole being both wants and needs, and it causes distress in my heart. Sin hurts us just as it hurts God. I realized something though; the more I continue to involve myself in sin, the less I feel guilty. Why is this? I've heard that our conscience is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit, and it is possible to push it out of our lives if we ignore it. When we go against our conscience, we go against the Holy Spirit, who is God, and it creates guilt.
Make every effort to keep the Holy Spirit strong in your life. The good news is that God wants to be with you. He desires to be with us, just as we desire to be with Him (I'll probably write more about this later). Even if we ignore God to an extreme point, He still chases after us and wants to be with us. Pray that God will give you more of His Spirit and that you can be guided by it.
-Smart
Thankfulness
"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever."
-Psalm 136:1
Today is Thanksgiving, and I want to talk about being thankful. Last year I talked about giving thanks for the things we have, because things will not last forever. Today I want to talk about another reason we should be thankful, but first, I want to share a story.
Recently I have developed a kind of obsession with basketball. I used to really like playing football, soccer, volleyball and ping pong, but I never really played a lot of basketball. Over the past couple months though, I got hooked. Basketball is a lot of fun, and I've played it so much recently. I am a fairly athletic guy, and I'm tall as well, so I would say that makes basketball a little more fun for me. Being tall and athletic, I enjoy being able to have a good vertical leap and being able to touch the rim. Well, touching the rim is nice, but one thing I really wanted to do is dunk the ball (of course). I've been able to dunk the ball a couple times, but only barely.
The past couple weeks have been disappointing for me. About three or four weeks ago I sprained my ankle playing basketball, and I had to stop playing to let my ankle heal. A week ago I played again, but this time my knees started to hurt to the point where even walking up stairs hurt, much less playing basketball. Every time I try playing basketball or engaging in any physical activity, my knees start to kill me. This is a true bummer.
Why tell this story? Because this situation made me think. I could choose be bitter and sour about my ankle and knees hurting so much. However, no one likes to interact with bitter people, and being bitter affects your thinking. You tend to be depressed and angry, and have a negative outlook on things. I decided that this is not how I want to be, and reminded by Thanksgiving today, I decided to be thankful. Thankful for what, my bad knees? No, of course not. I am thankful for the times that I could play basketball. Thankful for my life, family, home, food, water, friends, school, country, computer, church, my good health, and last but not least, for Jesus.
Being thankful is a choice. People may say that their situation is so bad that there is nothing they can be thankful for, but you can still choose to be thankful. Why be thankful? Being thankful gives you a different perspective on life. You start to realize all the things that you have, and you become more positive about yourself and about life. Your attitude changes as well. You are more appreciative and aren't always angry and bitter about things. Last year I talked about givings thanks for things that you can't keep forever. Today I propose something else; give thanks for something that will last. I always look at Jesus when I look for an example of how I should live. In Luke 22:19, Jesus is about to give the Lord's supper, and He takes the bread. What does He do beforehand? He gives thanks. Even though He is the Lord of everything, He still gives thanks for the bread He is about to eat with His disciples. Jesus gave us an example of thankfulness, and He also gave us something to be thankful for, which will never end; His love.
-Smart
-Psalm 136:1
Today is Thanksgiving, and I want to talk about being thankful. Last year I talked about giving thanks for the things we have, because things will not last forever. Today I want to talk about another reason we should be thankful, but first, I want to share a story.
Recently I have developed a kind of obsession with basketball. I used to really like playing football, soccer, volleyball and ping pong, but I never really played a lot of basketball. Over the past couple months though, I got hooked. Basketball is a lot of fun, and I've played it so much recently. I am a fairly athletic guy, and I'm tall as well, so I would say that makes basketball a little more fun for me. Being tall and athletic, I enjoy being able to have a good vertical leap and being able to touch the rim. Well, touching the rim is nice, but one thing I really wanted to do is dunk the ball (of course). I've been able to dunk the ball a couple times, but only barely.
The past couple weeks have been disappointing for me. About three or four weeks ago I sprained my ankle playing basketball, and I had to stop playing to let my ankle heal. A week ago I played again, but this time my knees started to hurt to the point where even walking up stairs hurt, much less playing basketball. Every time I try playing basketball or engaging in any physical activity, my knees start to kill me. This is a true bummer.
Why tell this story? Because this situation made me think. I could choose be bitter and sour about my ankle and knees hurting so much. However, no one likes to interact with bitter people, and being bitter affects your thinking. You tend to be depressed and angry, and have a negative outlook on things. I decided that this is not how I want to be, and reminded by Thanksgiving today, I decided to be thankful. Thankful for what, my bad knees? No, of course not. I am thankful for the times that I could play basketball. Thankful for my life, family, home, food, water, friends, school, country, computer, church, my good health, and last but not least, for Jesus.
Being thankful is a choice. People may say that their situation is so bad that there is nothing they can be thankful for, but you can still choose to be thankful. Why be thankful? Being thankful gives you a different perspective on life. You start to realize all the things that you have, and you become more positive about yourself and about life. Your attitude changes as well. You are more appreciative and aren't always angry and bitter about things. Last year I talked about givings thanks for things that you can't keep forever. Today I propose something else; give thanks for something that will last. I always look at Jesus when I look for an example of how I should live. In Luke 22:19, Jesus is about to give the Lord's supper, and He takes the bread. What does He do beforehand? He gives thanks. Even though He is the Lord of everything, He still gives thanks for the bread He is about to eat with His disciples. Jesus gave us an example of thankfulness, and He also gave us something to be thankful for, which will never end; His love.
-Smart
Pursuit
"As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God."
-Psalm 42:1
Recently I finished reading "The Pursuit of God" by A.W Tozer, which is a really good book you should read. The book really challenged me to think about what I pursue. So what is pursuit? Dictionary.com says that pursuit means "an effort to secure or attain". This may seem obvious, but there are some special things about pursuit that I want to write about.
The word pursue has a similar meaning to the word look. The look for something and to pursue something pretty much both mean to make an effort to find something. However, there are some key connotative differences. People will use "to look for" when they are talking about something they lost. If I lost my keys, I would explain that I am looking for my keys. The word pursue is used at different times for different. First of all, the word pursue is not used very often. Secondly, the word pursue is often used when someone is trying to attain something that is not lost but rather is difficult to obtain.
Let me explain what I mean further. When a team of policemen are chasing a criminal, they are pursuing the criminal. The are not looking for him. The policemen know what they are going after, but it is difficult to get it. The declaration of independence has the famous phrase "the pursuit of happiness". Everyone pretty much knows what happiness is, but happiness is something that is very difficult to acquire. In both examples, the pursuit takes effort and motivation. One does not pursue something they do not want or care for. A policeman pursues a criminal because he knows that catching that criminal will make people safe. A person would pursue after happiness because everyone has experienced happiness and wants more of it.
Pursuit after something is not easy. It takes time, effort, energy, and care. Also, if you choose to pursue something, it can change the way you live. Actually, it should change the way you live. True pursuit is all consuming, and has a purpose. You should know exactly what you are pursuing and why. I've heard and I personally believe that everyone in their hearts are pursuing happiness. Everybody wants to be happy. How people pursue that happiness differs greatly. Some people pursue it through having a good job, wife kids, others pursue it through pleasure, among other things.
The only way to have happiness though is to pursue after the only one who can satisfy, God. God is happy in Himself, and since we were made in His image, we are happy in Him also. This pursuit, like many others, will change your life and direct your life. It will also take your entire life. This may seem odd, why pursue after something that cannot be reached? If I am thirsty, I could go to a clean river and drink some water. I could continue to drink as long as I wanted, but I could never truly drink or experience the complete river. Similarly, when we pursue after God, He will satisfy our thirst, but we can never truly experience the wholeness of God. When we do pursue after Him, "whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst. (John 4:14)".
-Smart
Election 2012
"First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity."
-1 Timothy 2:1-2
Yesterday was the presidential election of this year. This time of year is crazy, with ads on who to choose and what ballot questions you should vote on, people talking politics constantly, and the list continues. I'm glad that the chaos of election season is finally over. President Barrack Obama has won a reelection and beat Mitt Romney. Was he the right choice? Was he at least the better choice?
Honestly, politics is way too confusing and time consuming for me to be interested in it, so I have no idea if Obama is better suited to lead the United States. I'm sure there are many people who believe that Obama will do more for this country than Romney, and can state many reasons why. I'm also sure there are people who could do the same for Romney. What am I trying to say here? Both candidates have many great qualities and aspirations, but both also have downfalls.
People will always argue over which candidate is better than which. That's just human nature. However, no matter how great someone is, nobody is perfect and nobody ever will be perfect. Do I believe that certain people can be better suited than others for a presidency? Well certainly, but everyone is limited by an imperfection called being human. Will the US do better with Obama than if Romney was elected? I have no clue, but it doesn't matter. The majority of people have decided to vote for Obama, so we have agreed that Obama will be president. I think what people have to accept is that by choosing Obama as president, we have not only chosen his good qualities but also his bad. We have agreed to let him lead this country, and whether he does a good job or not, we still chose him.
Some people may feel that since they did not choose Obama, they don't need to support him. That kind of thinking is understandable, but not practical. He is our president for the next four years regardless of what we want or believe. His choices will impact our lives, whether we are Democratic or Republican. Many (if not all) people hope that Obama makes good decisions and helps The United States, which is fine. However, just hoping for something doesn't help anyone. So what can we do to help Obama? We can do what the verse at the beginning of this posts urges us to do; pray for him. We may not agree with him, or we may even hate him, but we are supposed to pray for people in authority. Why? The only way authorities on earth are established is by God's will. So when we pray for our leaders, I believe we are praying according to God's will. So take some time to pray for our leaders.
-Smart
-1 Timothy 2:1-2
Yesterday was the presidential election of this year. This time of year is crazy, with ads on who to choose and what ballot questions you should vote on, people talking politics constantly, and the list continues. I'm glad that the chaos of election season is finally over. President Barrack Obama has won a reelection and beat Mitt Romney. Was he the right choice? Was he at least the better choice?
Honestly, politics is way too confusing and time consuming for me to be interested in it, so I have no idea if Obama is better suited to lead the United States. I'm sure there are many people who believe that Obama will do more for this country than Romney, and can state many reasons why. I'm also sure there are people who could do the same for Romney. What am I trying to say here? Both candidates have many great qualities and aspirations, but both also have downfalls.
People will always argue over which candidate is better than which. That's just human nature. However, no matter how great someone is, nobody is perfect and nobody ever will be perfect. Do I believe that certain people can be better suited than others for a presidency? Well certainly, but everyone is limited by an imperfection called being human. Will the US do better with Obama than if Romney was elected? I have no clue, but it doesn't matter. The majority of people have decided to vote for Obama, so we have agreed that Obama will be president. I think what people have to accept is that by choosing Obama as president, we have not only chosen his good qualities but also his bad. We have agreed to let him lead this country, and whether he does a good job or not, we still chose him.
Some people may feel that since they did not choose Obama, they don't need to support him. That kind of thinking is understandable, but not practical. He is our president for the next four years regardless of what we want or believe. His choices will impact our lives, whether we are Democratic or Republican. Many (if not all) people hope that Obama makes good decisions and helps The United States, which is fine. However, just hoping for something doesn't help anyone. So what can we do to help Obama? We can do what the verse at the beginning of this posts urges us to do; pray for him. We may not agree with him, or we may even hate him, but we are supposed to pray for people in authority. Why? The only way authorities on earth are established is by God's will. So when we pray for our leaders, I believe we are praying according to God's will. So take some time to pray for our leaders.
-Smart
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