Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. The fog rolled in and I can’t see much beyond the front porch; but I know what’s there because I know it so well. It’s Holy Week, and there is a whole lot to celebrate as we remember the Crucifixion AND the Resurrection of our Lord. But there are some Holy lessons that get lost in the fog while most of the world focuses on just the End Result. Plenty of things lead up to the Crucifixion of Jesus; and one of they was betrayal. Everybody ever born has experienced betrayal at some point in life; but nothing that compares to the way Jesus’ friends betrayed Him or to the consequences that followed. I know that behind the fog of my life, I will experience betrayal again too at some point…and I’ll sure be hurt when I do. BUT I also know that I have the potential to betray another IF I ever let my guard down…and so do you.

On this side of our Faith we can get very comfortable, and we arrogantly convince ourselves that we’re above and beyond committing a wrong like betrayal; especially when it comes to someone we love. But that’s not true. All of us have the “potential” to commit any Wrong known to mankind if we aren’t careful,and nobody is forever “cured” of the potential to sin just because of their Faith. It takes Faithfulness and it takes Work…every day we live and breathe. It takes understanding that we DO have the potential to Fall, and it takes looking beyond the fog for Strength and Truth…which is ALWAYS there even when we don’t “see” it. We’re not helpless wussies that fall subject to these things, or victims that have no power to control our wrongs; no more than Peter or Judas were when they Betrayed the King of Kings. These two guys were VERY close to Jesus…He was their friend..their “brother”..their mentor…their teacher and their Hope. They followed Him everywhere, and they clung to His every Word. They traveled together and they broke bread together… they were in awe of His teachings and they witnessed miracle after miracle that He “performed”. When Jesus warned them that they would betray him, they didn’t believe it for a second…Peter said “I’d rather die!”. These guys loved Jesus so much that they couldn’t imagine EVER hurting Him…and it’s the arrogance of Faith that gets us ALL in trouble. A little love for money; and Judas sold him out. A little fear about getting caught up in the “drama” and Peter denied that he knew Him and he threw him under the bus. These guys betrayed the King of Kings and they helped the process along (in their own way) that lead to the Death of their Friend. We ALL have the potential to betray..and we’ll ALL experience betrayal at some point in life. What we do with our betrayal and how we deal with being betrayed, all comes down to the lessons behind the fog at the Cross.

Judas and Peter both betrayed the One they loved the most..the One they left everything behind for…but they handled their Wrong in very different ways. Judas scrambled to make it right…but it was too late. He was overcome with despair and He lost sight of his Hope in the process. He quickly forgot the Message of Mercy and Grace, and when he couldn’t bear the guilt over what he had done; he hanged himself. Peter, clung to the Message of Mercy and Grace and he quickly confessed his wrong. He believed in the Message of Forgiveness and he knew that all he had to do was ask; and it would be Forgiven. Peter didn’t “own” his wrong forever, and he didn’t spend the rest of his life dwelling on what he had done. Peter was restored, and I’m sure he was made stronger the process. He got to experience the Joy of restoration and he kicked his past to the curb, while Judas, so consumed with despair, lost out on the Message of Mercy and Grace and he never fulfilled what God had for him because of it. There is NOTHING that Christ won’t forgive…even betrayal by those closest to Him that helped in the process that lead to His death…and there’s NOTHING that He won’t forgive you and me for too IF we just take it to the Cross and ask Him. Once we do that…it’s OVER and we no longer “own” it like Judas did! We’re FREE…all because of the Price He paid for you and for me. So, what about you? Do you cling to your past and refuse to let go of things that He already paid the price for, OR do you live in peace after your wrongs like Peter did because you accept the Message of Mercy and Grace?

I know what’s possible FOR me, but I also know that I have the potential to fall if I’m not careful….so I work on me and my heart day after day. My past doesn’t define me and I’m not filled with despair even though I’m a murderer. I may not have committed the act itself, but I sure lived it out in my mind, and the Bible says “as a man thinketh; so is he”. But the very second I confessed murder in my heart, and the very second I threw it at the Cross; I was Forgiven. And in the eyes of my Gracious and Merciful God it has been forgiven AND forever forgotten. There is no dark part of you and your past that He won’t forgive…IF you just take it to the Cross and confess it and ask Him to forgive you! That’s the reason He died on the Cross…this is the Hope of Redemption.

I hope that you’ll share this message with everybody in your world as we lead up to the remembrance of the Crucifixion and Resurrection of our Lord,Jesus Christ. Share it with the arrogant ones who believe that they are above and beyond committing Wrong, and share it with the ones suffering in despair because they’re consumed with guilt over something they’ve done in the past because they’re missing out on the Message of Grace and Mercy. There is Hope and Grace and Mercy and Redemption just beyond the fog….always and forevermore.

Happy Easter, world. HE IS RISEN!