BETRAYAL WITH FASHION
John 18

The time of His betrayal did not come without expectation. Jesus knew when and how it was going to be but the ones that followed Him did not know when and how they were going to betray Him. While He was in the garden with His disciples for prayer, “…He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. 46 Then He said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.” The disciples that had fellowshipped with Him day and night in operating the business of the Kingdom of God failed to wait with Him in prayer. The disciples demonstrated the level of their love in obedience when they fell asleep instead waiting along with Him in prayer. Jesus began to experience a fashionable betrayal at the hands of His closest ones. Betrayal was not over with the sleeping. The Bible recorded, “And while He was still speaking, behold, a multitude; and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him. 48 But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”(Luke 22:47-48) Betrayal continued with kissing. The ones that were called, the ones that know Him betrayed Him in a different fashion; they could not give it all but they gave in to all kinds of means to sell Him cheap so He could die a costly death. Among the fashionable betrayals was that of Simon. When Jesus revealed to him how he was going to deny Him three times before the rooster crowed, Simon declared, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.” The words of Jesus to Simon were true and consistent when Simon denied Jesus three times in the face of prison and death. Simon denied Him with fashion just before the cock crowed. All those who surrounded Jesus, all that knew Him and walked with Him day and night; all that ate and drank with Him in fellowship denied Him with fashion. Just as it was with His disciples then, so it is with those that claim to be His followers now. Clearly, manipulation, deception and lying, were evident in the three forms of betraying Him in the garden. As an acclaimed believer, do you have any fashionable way of betraying Him? In the eyes of Pastor of pastors, King of kings, the only One that matters, are you betraying Him in any fashionable way? See if there is any fashionable way of betraying Him in your walk; seek for mercy and He will heed your cry.
 
Prayer for today: O Lord, search me and see if there is any way that I am betraying you. Do not withhold your mercy from me o Lord.