Betrayal

In Luke 22:47-48 we see the ultimate betrayal."...Judas are you betraying
the Son of Man with a kiss?" Judas was close enough to betray Jesus. Judas
was close enough a companion that kissing Jesus was acceptable.  How many
people could be that close to Jesus? You are only ever betrayed by someone
close enough to kiss you. Betrayal always comes at a crisis moment, and
marks a dramatic change is about to occur. I call this the watershed moment.

The whole Gospel is built around what happens next. It is this very act of
betrayal that leads to the crucifixion. As Christ was betrayed by man, so
was God betrayed by man in the Garden of Eden. Betrayal marks a major
change, is always followed by grief, pain, hurt, but ultimately there is
major victory and growth.

Romans 8:28 says :"for we know that all things work together for those who
love God and are called according to His purposes and plan". In other words,
even the most grievous of betrayals have a purpose and eventual outcome that
will cause growth within you. Betrayal hurts, and the deeper the cut the
longer the pain. There are three phases to betrayal - between betrayal, in
the middle of betrayal and coming out of betrayal. The great news is that
Christ always brings you through, and out. The promise in Romans is there to
remind us that even the act of betrayal can be used by God to have an
awesome outcome!!

Can anyone argue that Judas' act led to the greatest miracle in our lives?
The worst betrayal led to the greatest gift of Grace the world has seen.

Pearls before swine

Matthew 7:6 "Do not give what is holy to dogs;do not cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample you under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces".

Very powerful imagery used by Jesus in this passage. I want to examine some of the lessons we can learn here.

First the word "dog" is often used in the bible to refer to a male prostitute. Jesus is saying not to give what is holy to people who will not recognize the value of what you are giving them, and will treat it with disrespect. He goes onto say do not cast your pearls. pearls are hard to come by. Pearl divers, dive to staggering depths, not an easy feat. Not everyone can go out and dive to the depths that pearl divers dive to. It requires a serious set of lungs, lots of discipline to hold your breath while your body is screaming at you. Your lungs are burning in agony at the lack of air, but the reward is worthy of the risk. The risk is sudden death, known as shallow water blackout. 

The reward is awesome, a pearl worthy of the risk? That depends on whether you like pearls or not. This is one of those :"beauty is in the eyes of the holder". 

Now swine, or pigs are strange animals. They eat, and eat and never give a thought to how the food arrived. They always take. Pigs can eat for ever if there was enough food. They lie down in the mud, and wallow. The only time you see domestic pigs move is when food time arrives, and then suddenly they have tremendous speed. They will trample anything and anyone underneath their feet to get at food. Never ever is there a "thank you". Its not possible for a pig to speak, never mind show gratitude.

Jesus is saying that there are those believers that act just like pigs. they will take and take from you, never saying 'thank you', never giving the slightest thought to you. Its all about them. These people don't appreciate your efforts at getting the pearl you are giving them. These pearls come through serious diving, deep into the Word, digging deep to obtain!

Jesus is telling believers not to easily give up their pearls, their revelation that came through serious study, fasting and a disciplined lifestyle. 

This passage goes onto to say that when you stop giving away your pearls of wisdom, they will turn and rip into you. Believers can be vicious when they turn on you. Many a pastor, teacher has found this out the hard way. The mistake was to give away your pearls of wisdom to people who do not place a high value on wisdom!

The world says to never argue with a fool as they will not know the difference. Christ said to protect your pearls of revelation, rather than share it with everyone.