Daily Reading

Matthew 27:1-14; Psalm 33:1-11; Proverb 8:22-36

Remember in our reading yesterday when the chief priests decided Jesus must be sentenced to death. Well, they had no power to actually carry out the sentence since they were ruled by a foreign country - Rome. So faced with this dilema, they decide to send Jesus to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor in Jerusalem. Once Jesus arrived before Pontius Pilate, he agreed that He was the Messiah. However, He remained quiet when the chief priests where making their accusations. This intreged Pilate because an innocent man has no need to defend himslef, but a guilty man will proclaim his supposed innocence to anyone who will listen. So Jesus said more in His silence than the Chief Priests said with their shouting.

Meanwhile, Judas Iscariot has had some time to think about what he has done. See, he never intended for Jesus to die, so he goes back to the chief priests & trys to undo what he has done. Unfortunately, it's too late & Judas, in his despair, throws the money back at the priests & storms away. From reading the accounts given in the other three Gospels, we read that Judas hung himself in a field, committing suidice. When he was cut down, his body split open. Grusome, I know. In the meantime, the priests deliberated on what to do with the money. Notice the hypocracy here - they know they can't return the money to the treasuries because it is BLOODMONEY - money paid for murder. Why would they call this money bloodmoney? There is certainly a difference between murder & the death pentalty. See, they knew they were sentencing an innocent man to die. They weren't killing a blasphemer, they were murdering an innocent man who was causing them problems. Yikes! Anyway, they decide to buy the field that Judas Iscariout hung himself in. There, they thought, problem solved. Unwittingly, they were just fulfilling more prophecy.

Now, we can shake our heads and think they all should have known better. After all, these were knowledgable men. Why couldn't they figure it out. Well before you get that finger pointing in the wrong direction - turn it around to point at you. How many times have you let greed, selfish ambition, or your ego get the best of you? How often do you make the wrong choice when the right choice is staring you in the face? We so quickly judge others for what they do, but seldom do we examine our own lives with that same microscope. So, today, I want you to examine your life. What areas are you failing in? Where do you need to start focusing on? It's easy to fix others, not so easy to fix yourself.

How awesome God is - if you need a reminder of how incredibly awesome He is - read today's psalm. Write it down & tape it to your mirror. Read it every morning. Remind yourself of the glorious God we serve.

Proverbs is all about making God your best friend. Search for Him, seek Him, spend time with Him.