The Judas You Know: The Watch Letter

When God continuously keeps you and brings you through trials and tribulations, it is easy to take for granted and get used to his blessings of safety, health, mobility, and livelihood. God owes us nothing. He made us in his image and in that making he gave us everything we need to live a great life, but through our choices and decisions we diminish that life and, over time, we find ourselves seeking deliverance from things that he never intended for us to deal with.

I was talking to my pastor and father the other day, Chief Apostle H.C. Gunn, and as always he had something so life-changing to share that he received from his time being on his face in prayer with the Lord. He said sometimes we can be our own Judas. Wow! When we hear and read about Judas we wonder: How could he have betrayed Jesus? How could he have been so greedy and selfish? How could he want to harm/kill himself knowing that Jesus loved and called him?

Well, let me turn that question on me: How could I have betrayed Jesus with my sin? How could I have been so greedy and selfish when I did not give him my time or was afraid to give him my money? How could I have harmed and slowly began to kill myself by not following instructions and living more healthily? (Yes, I did not previously obey when our pastor told me that the Lord said to drink more water, exercise, and told the body to not let eating too much sugar kill us.)

So, how have we been any different than Judas? Just hours before, I started writing this, I had to tell myself: “My name is Kanya and I am a sugar addict.” I am highly fond of chocolate, ice cream, milkshakes, and cake and often crave them -- even when I have already had too much. At one point, I started to make changes in my life and was on a healthier path, but my addiction got the best of me, and so here I was eating more than my fair share of cookies and candy and the more I ate them the worse I felt. My head and my stomach were feeling all kinds of ways. My body was telling me: that is enough! But God already told me to cut back months ago and so did my pastor. He specifically said to us in church: Sugar is killing the saints.

So, by me not eating and living in moderation, I am not only being disobedient, but I am choosing to slowly kill myself and destroy the body that God gave me. That’s a Judas. I am denying Jesus of fully using me as his apostle and servant because if I were to get sick then I would not be as available to him for his use and his glory as I should be. So, yes, this is an example, of how I have become my own Judas.

There are many other examples in my life where I can see that I have been my own Judas. I am the worse Judas I know. Chief Apostle Gunn taught me that and once said, as a teaching point, that he was the worse person he knew and he said that because he was showing us that we have to acknowledge how we fail God and the sin and weights we choose in rebellion to him every day. We have to see how we fail God and repent with sincerity.

Sometimes that can be not praying when he is urging us. Sometimes that can be not taking the teaching or the counseling we receive. Sometimes that can be telling a “white” lie or manipulating or not telling the whole truth about something. Sometimes that could be holding back your money and talents from God and the household of faith. Sometimes that is not standing up for the truth and choosing to believe or agree with a lie. Sometimes that can be refusing to be encouraged and refusing to use your faith. Sometimes that can be overextending and overworking to where you put your job or your family before God’s needs. (Yes, God needs us. He uses human hands and Chief Apostle always taught me to ask God: How can I meet your needs and make your dreams/vision come true today?)

Judas made a choice that caused him to reach the point of no return where he could not repent or turn aside from his ways. Praise the Lord that we still have a chance to change our wicked ways. I am making changes starting today. We like to say that we owe God praise, but in that owing is also obedience, is also taking care of ourselves and one another, is also surrendering all that we are, all that we do, and all that we have to him.

Y’all know I am long-winded, so I am going to leave it right here and end this post with a scripture:

1 Corinthians Chapter 6

19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

This ties into this week’s youth blog: What About Holiness by Pastor Amaya. Read it here: https://www.thebodyofchristinc.com/news/what-about-holiness-

---

New Website Addition Alert!

This week, I am proud to announce a new monthly component of our online ministry. Apostle Angel Lewis often gives us daily messages through our church’s group chat. And one day she came up with an idea where we can turn encouraging messages into a visual story. This new component was inspired by her. We are blessed to have talented youth in our body and one of them is Kierra Jones. She is 19, in college, and a natural-born artist. I am proud of her growth as she chooses to draw nearer to the Lord and the things of God, and has overcome many obstacles. I want to encourage her to continue to use her gifts to glorify God and to remind her that she is an artistic genius!

Today, she makes her debut on the website as our featured artist with original artwork based on one of Apostle Angel’s reminders to not silence the Holy Ghost. She explained that when we ignore the Holy Spirit or grieve him by our choices and sins, then it's like being in a movie theater and shutting down someone from talking because you don’t want them to interrupt what you are trying to see or do. How many times have we pushed the spirit of God to the side because we want to have our way???

The inspiration scripture for Kierra’s art today is: Ephesians 4:30

“And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”

Click here to view Kierra’s artwork, which will be posted at least once a month. We will call the series “Draw Nearer": https://www.thebodyofchristinc.com/drawnear.