Day 12 of 21 Day Challenge

John 12:10-11 says "So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in Him." The chief priests were already plotting to kill Jesus; but they were so blinded of their hatred toward Jesus, that they were willing to sink further into sin by wanting to murder Lazarus too. Why would they want to murder Lazarus? They wanted to murder him because he was a living, breathing example of the power of Jesus! They even began to exaggerate things just to try and justify their desire to kill Jesus. In verse 19, the Pharisees said to each other, "See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after Him!" Really? The WHOLE WORLD is following Jesus? Hmm...considering most of the people were afraid to believe in Jesus because the Pharisees had said they'd throw anyone who believed in Him out of the synagogue, I highly doubt that they truly believed the crowd that was following Jesus was large enough to compare it to "the whole world". They simply wanted to find excuses that would help justify their intentions. In verse 42-43, we read that many among the leaders believed in Jesus, but they would not confess their faith for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God. How sad that these people were so afraid of what others would say or do to them if they confessed their belief in Jesus. They chose temporary praise from men over eternal life and praise from God. Bad decision guys!! We need to take a stand and not be afraid of what others think or do. We are only on this earth for a short time. We need to realize that we have all eternity ahead of us and decide where we want to spend it. Are we going to choose to be comfortable here and uncomfortable in the hereafter, or are we going to choose the opposite? Life here on earth may not always be comfortable when we have others criticizing us for our beliefs, but oh the rewards we will reap if we endure the trials here on earth and live for Jesus!

Proverbs 21:3 says "To do what is just and right is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice." This verse made me think about how often we try to act as if we are better than others if we give of our time or money. Some people don't have the money to give. Does that mean God isn't as pleased with them? No! A person lives a life that is pleasing to God simply by placing their faith in Him, obeying His will, and living their life as upright and honest as possible. We don't get to heaven simply by doing good works. We need to keep in mind what is truly acceptable to God, and not worry about trying to outdo or out-give others.