John 13:1-35 KJV
1 Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
2 And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;
3 Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;
4 He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.
5 After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
6 Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?
7 Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.
8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
9 Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.
10 Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.
11 For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.
12 So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?
13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.
15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.
16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.
17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.
18 I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me.
19 Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.
20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
21 When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
22 Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake.
23 Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. 25 He then lying on Jesus' breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it?
26 Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.
27 And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly. 28 Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him.
29 For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor.
30 He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night.
31 Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
32 If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him.
33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.
34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Does God work with Satan Or Satan working with God? Judas takes the bread and dips in the wine as a sign of friendship before he goes to betray Jesus. However this is not just a physical story this is also a story that something spiritually is happening. Jesus washes the feet of the disciples. Yet when he gets to Peter he has to explain to him even a master is not above his servant. Is Satan working as a servant of light or is he working on his behalf here trying to defeat God? after all Satan has enter Judas to cause him to betray Jesus, yet the betrayal is what Jesus stepping up to the plate as the Son of God and laying his life down for all man's sins. The betrayal allowing Jesus to be defeated by the enemy power, not in the least. Yet Jesus is said to be laying his life down. Spiritual warfare, trickery, deception, or just plain, God giving devil permission to betray Jesus at the promise appointed hour in the garden?

Spiritual forces are interesting, because despite our belief we fail to grasp the otherside of the story of who was it planned by? Of course as we know Judas was going to betray Jesus for thirty piece of silver. The priest were looking for a reason to take Jesus by force and they had it with the turning of the money changers tables and death of a man by Barabbas. Who start the trouble, Jesus came out of the mountain down a hill declaring his Kingship. Yet here at the table Jesus is humbly washing the disciples feet. We understand Jesus knew what would happen to himself, but was the betrayal taking on the responsibility of who he was as Lord of lords and King of kings? The betrayal is like someone turning in a friend for a crime for a particular amount of money. Saying Jesus started it, which he did. Yet at the same time Jesus was not guilty of another man's actions that he would die for. Where was God on the day Eve was tempted?

What am I saying Jesus conspired to have Judas betray him days before the passover. Not in the least but God used what was happening to allow his Son to be betrayed. We got to remember God is in control of Christ betrayal. God is allowing something to occur not by the will of man, though man thought so, but by the will of God. Jesus prophesied his Father's will for his life more then once during the course of his ministry. Yet to have him go like a sheep to the slaughter, and be crucified would take the will of God allowing this not only to happen, but to occur as the prophetic word declared it would be.

Judas acting on his own because he was allowing Satan to deceive his own soul of Christ guilt. Satan had permission to enter the soul of Judas? The answer is apparently. Perhaps because of Judas not understanding who Jesus truly was, or perhaps willing to turn his friend over for the crime that occurred. Jesus not defending Judas when the woman broke the alabaster jar of ointment, instead allowing it, instead of selling it to give to the poor. Judas words corrected by Jesus as he said this was done for him in preparation for his body for burial. If you need proof go back a chapter in John to the anointing or passage in the continual scripture reading at the bottom of the page. Was not Judas already called a devil by Jesus in John 6:71. Does not the devil show up for work and play. Does not the betray show up to investigate. Does not God choose the person/devil for a job.

Might leave us with a bad taste when we understand who is behind our snares in our path, til we understand they are for a purpose, for the Lord to raise us back up after we fall, we die to our sin, to imperfections of the laws of man and not to the laws of God. God will not allow you to fall into unbelief, without bringing and raising you back up to be stronger in him, wiser in him, and even more humble toward God before those around you.

If we can understand that God allows the devil to torment us for a purpose, entrap us and even injure us for a time, we can understand God has a plan of deliverance too. After all God made the serpent a creature that did not crawl until after he deceived Eve. We have to understand that God has a plan for each of our crosses we must bare. Christ was a peace offering to man, but does man receive Christ as their peace offering, our sacrifice for sin? Some do, and take God's word on faith.

The spiritual side of the story, God had all the cards, the disciples and Judas did not. He knew how it would end and begin again. He knew Judas would kill himself. Devil did not get to enter Judas until when? The night of the betrayal, could Judas have changed. Judas' final straw in his story was the breaking of the jar of alabaster. The rebuke by Jesus being sharper then Judas own rebuke. Are we puppets. After hearing all this it might sound as if we are. However if man does not understand the story, it grows quite interesting to man. Meaning we are curious by nature the stories of others to a point of sometimes gossip. It the reading of a good mystery, or a good romance. It is a treasure hunt for us humans to understand, and yet God in his wisdom only allows us to understand he still is in control by the unfolding of events in our life, he pretold us about. We need prophecy, God does not. Christ need not prophecy to know his fate, he only need to play his part in God's redemption story, because he knew he would raise up and be taken up to glory. How he know he was from heaven after all, he is the word of God, and the only begotten Son of God.

With God holding all the cards, we just have to learn to submit to his will. Take up our crosses as they come and play our part in his story. However outside his story we have a lot of choices, and that is our story, but when we choose Christ, we choose God's way of doing things that still our story. Abraham story, was not always godly in every since of the word, he was man of culture, having more then one wife and even sending one away. Yet God's story in Abraham's life was for him to be a Father of a great nation. God's story in Abraham's life was for him to believe and to be a man of righteousness based on belief. When Christ came our story was surrender when we choose to follow him. Does it mean we do not have a life outside of faith and our own story, no it means our story is molded into a life pleasing to him. We learn to be kings and queens and yet humble as a servant. Willing to wash the feet of those that we teach and help.

A woman had a great concern that a couple was not equals in their duties to each other. One seem to always be serving the other. Well she took a peek into their life only to discover they were equals, sharing in all the responsibilities together. Though appearance was deceptive, it was further from the truth. God does serve us as believers, but not in the way of us being in command, but through our request and desires of our hearts, God does grant these things his way, because he knows what we really enjoy, love and hope for. In turn we not only believe, but follow in Christ's example of how we should live, even bearing the burden of another, who sin was worse then our own. Sometimes we can not change our cross, but God knows how to lift us up, ease our burdens, and keep us walking in faith. Faith and trust in the God that serves us as well as comforts us, as well as allows the devil to test us, might only be the answer of a relationship with God, that keeps us curious of what will be next in this life and the hear after. Jesus is our romancer into his kingdom as his bride(the church) and God loves seeing his children enjoy life.

Dear Heavenly Father, grow us up in our faith to trust, and to enjoy our journey with you, despite our own discomfort when we fail, when we stumble, and when we fail to see your involvement in our daily life. Open our hearts and our minds to see there is a spiritual battle happening around us, and that you are in charge and are the victor. In Jesus precious name, Amen.

Thankful That Jesus Is My Romancer.

Continual Scripture Study: Matthew 26:3-16 KJV
3 Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas,
4 And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him.
5 But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people.
6 Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper,
7 There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat.
8 But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?
9 For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.
10 When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me.
11 For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.
12 For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial.
13 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.
14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,
15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
16 And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.