Water Of The Word 084 Newsletter

Presented by Free Bible Study Lessons

"Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve." Luke 22:3

I though I would do something a little different. For three newsletters, starting with this one, I am going to list the Top Three Villains of All Time - in my opinion. It is possible that someone will arise in the future to knock one of these out of the top three but it is hard imagine someone doing more damage than these people have done. The top two of these villains are from around the time of Christ. The third one is from the modern era.

Judas does not seem like a super villain, yet there can be no greater crime than betraying the Son of God.

Judas was just a normal, nice man. He didn't want to murder anyone or commit adultery. He just wanted nice things for himself and he didn't care if he had to steal in order to get them. He allowed greed to get ahold on his heart. Not something big, just a little seed.

Why did Judas join the twelve disciples? Because, like the rest, he saw Jesus as the coming Messiah. He had the average Jewish vision of the Messiah, a powerful man who would defeat the Roman Empire and set up a Jewish Kingdom to rule the world. He wanted to be close to the seat of power and the riches it would bring. True, Jesus did not look like a powerful ruler, but neither had many of rulers of the past. The other disciples had the same vision - and sometimes fought about who would be the greatest when they thought Jesus wasn't listening.

The other disciples; however, had a love for and a commitment to Jesus that went far beyond their desire for personal benefit. They did not always have the strength to carry out their desire before the infilling of the Holy Spirit, but the desire was there.

Judas' commitment was to his personal advantage. He wanted success and profit above all things. He was not what we would normally think of as an extremely evil man. He was just a small man looking after himself and not afraid to steal in order to do it.

What led this small-time thief to be the greatest villain of all time? Just little steps. Just little sins. Just little secret selfish pleasures. No one would know. It's not really hurting anyone. I deserve it. Sounds a lot like our excuses, doesn't it?

I suspect Judas realized before the others that Jesus as not the kind of Messiah that they had envisioned. With that disillusionment came the idea to "cut his losses" and seek a better deal somewhere else. But how could he do that for the most profit? Idea! The Jewish leaders were always wanting to get their hands on Jesus when He wasn't surrounded by crowds. He could make some quick money and then go out on his own.

As selfish and self-centered as Judas was, he probably liked Jesus. He talked himself into believing that the Jewish leaders would only threaten Jesus and perhaps punish Him with whipping and/or excommunication. He could live with that. He did not realize the extent of the hatred that was focused on Jesus and would take his own life when he saw they were going to murder Jesus.

We have to be very careful not to habour in our hearts secret sins. Sin cannot be controlled. Little sins, which we enjoy and do not deal with, take us by the hand and led us places we would never have imagined going. We allow Satan a foothold in our lives. Who can see what the end will be? Judas had no intention of betraying the Son of God to death. He was just looking out for number one: himself.

Next month we will look at the Number Two villain of all time. He is alluded to in Scripture but not mentioned directly. Many of you can probably guess to whom I am referring, but you will have to wait to find out for sure.
SPECIAL OFFER
How good are you a guessing? For the first 3 people who can guess the person I am going to name as Villain number 3, I will give a free course of their choice from The Joshua Club. All I can tell you is that this person has caused wide-spread damage on a number of levels and lived within the last 300 years. E-mail me your guesses, only one guess per e-mail. Also, you can tell me who YOU think should be the number 3 villain of all time [in any era] and I will print your ideas.

BOOK REVIEW

Productive Christians in an Age of Guilt Manipulators by David Chilton is an excellent, Biblical look at how economics and the Free Market system works. The book was written as a response to Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger which promoted "Christian" socialism. David Chilton dissembles the "Christian" socialism idea showing how it ends up hurting people, doesn't work on any level, and is totally opposed to what the Bible really teaches. You will look at everything from statism, to overpopulation, to foreign aid, to poverty, to profits, and much more. Pick up a copy at our bookstore today.

PERSONAL BLOG

This issue represents seven years of writing newsletters. In all that time I don't think I have missed a single month. Of course, I have written more than 84 newsletters as for a period of time I was writing two a month. All the newsletters written from the time I moved my website to Site Build It are listed on the back issues page. The newsletters from before then are on my computer - and on the computers or delete files of any subscribers from way back then - and may one day be available for those interested.

I have been on the web for much longer than I have been publishing newsletters. And I have no plans of going away in the future! The website has grown to last month we had more than 5,000 visitors from over 50 countries. I am sure there are many things on the site that you agree with and many things you probably disagree with. The standard is always the Bible. If you think this site is worthwhile don't forget to mention it to your friends or link to it from your facebook [you can use the link at the bottom of my pages] or other web pages. You can be a part of our growth. I would like to triple the number of visitors next year, but it won't happen without the blessing of God and your help. Word of mouth [which includes web links on your own pages] is the most powerful form of advertising. Of course, never promote by spam or link farms [only your personal pages].

ANNOUCEMENTS

We have one new page on site this month in the wisdom section: Never Be Embarrassed By The Bible. Enjoy.

Also, if you enjoy good historical fiction stories, you may want to sign up for our newsletter on our other website. Every week we send out a part of a story by G.A. Henty who wrote in the late 1800's. We are just finishing up The Cave Dwellers [if you want to understand the story you'll have to read the back issues]. Late December or beginning of January we will be starting a new story "Held Fast For England" which will take us back to the siege of Gibraltar in 1779-1783. You can sign up for this newsletter here.

God bless you,
Glenn Davis
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