Old Testament reading: Psalm 78
Do you have enough strength to limit God? Before you answer, the Psalmist accused Israel of doing this very thing (v 41). Israel limited God when they deemed Him incapable of providing the most basic of necessities while in the wilderness. We would do well to remember the rhetorical question asked of Abraham by God, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Gen 18:14). God is more than capable of handling any of issue of life, but we limit Him when we refuse to involve Him, whatever the reason may be. We may also limit Him in small matters. We should never consider any matter as too insignificant to merit God’s attention. A God who watches over each sparrow and knows the number of hairs on every head (Luke 12:6-7) is not too busy to hear and intercede when we are burdened. “Casting all your cares on Him, for He cares for you” (1 Pet 5:7). Finally, we may limit Him by failing to include Him in our plans. God desires to work in every aspect of our lives, not just those things wherein we have trouble or needs. Don’t limit God!
New Testament reading: John 17-18
Did Judas have a choice? In His prayer in John 17, Jesus mentions that one of the twelve who had been given to Him had been lost, “that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” Some mistakenly believe that Judas Iscariot had no choice but to betray Jesus, never to return (as Peter did). Judas’ actions were certainly a fulfillment of Old Testament passages such as Psalm 41:9 and Zechariah 11:13. However, such does not supersede Judas’ exercise of free will, neither can he be absolved for doing ‘what God made him do.’ Such undermines the very nature of prophecy. Predictive prophecy foretells a future event; it is not the cause of it. Here’s a little phrase I hope will help you to explain the nature and essence of prophecy: “It didn’t happen because it was prophesied; it was prophesied because it was going to happen.”
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