Greg Laurie Harvest Daily Devotional

Get guidance on Bible study from C.S. Lewis - Free Course!
<< Greg Laurie Daily Devotions

Greg Laurie daily devotion - Aug. 18, 2011


Thursday, August 18, 2011

Keeping Up Appearances

Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests and asked, “How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you?” And they gave him thirty pieces of silver. —Matthew 26:14–15

There is an old English adage that says, “Still as of old, man by himself is priced. For 30 pieces Judas sold himself, not Christ.”

We think Judas sold Jesus, but it was in fact Judas who sold his own soul. How much is a soul worth? Judas figured that 30 pieces of silver ought to do it.

And not only that, he betrayed Jesus with a kiss—a kiss from hell. Judas could have pointed Jesus out and said, “Okay, guys, that is Jesus. Take Him. Now give me my money.” But no, Judas instead went up to Jesus and, in what looked like an act of affection and devotion, he kissed Jesus on the cheek. Judas wanted to appear to be spiritual.

There are people like that today. They are spiritually diseased on the inside but they want to appear godly on the outside. Judas is proof that association with godliness is no guarantee that you will be godly. Do you think that if you hang around godly people, it will make you godly? Not at all. They can be a good influence on you, and I highly recommend that you hang out with godly people. But I also recommend that you be a godly person who influences others. However, these things alone will not change your character in and of itself.

It would be like going out to a restaurant with friends, and while they order off the menu, you say, “Oh, I am not going to order anything. I will just look at the pictures in this menu. That will meet my needs and fill my stomach.”

You cannot grow spiritually by simply hanging around with godly people. To grow wise and develop spiritually, you must personally take in what Jesus offers.

Summary sentence: Hanging with godly people will not guarantee your own godliness—but taking in what Jesus personally offers will!

Copyright © 2011 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org
and
Listen to Greg Laurie's daily broadcast on OnePlace.com.

Watch Greg Laurie's weekly television broadcast on LightSource.com.

SPECIAL OFFER

“To God Be the Glory”

Lost Boy: The Next Chapter has not only won awards at film festivals around the world, but—more importantly—has won hearts and lives for Christ. To share this story with an even wider audience, it is being released as an audio edition, including the documentary film, as a special ministry package. Lost Boy: The Next Chapter – Audio Edition and DVD is our gift to listeners for their donation of any amount.

You may have read Lost Boy, the book, when it first came out, but I think you will be blessed in an even deeper way by the rest of the story.”

                                                                                                            —Greg



More Greg Laurie Daily Devotions Articles