Matthew 26:14-15

“Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, ‘What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?’ And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver.”

The pressures and temptations to sin, and to live against God’s will are always before us. We don’t need to look for ways to betray God. The invitations and suggestions to walk away from Jesus are around us every day. If this is the case, we should not go out of our way to invite Satan into our affairs. We need to be careful not to intentionally and deliberately create an added incentive for Satan to tempt us.

In the case of Judas, he went to the chief priests and volunteered to betray Jesus. Why would he do such a thing? It wasn’t that they reached out to him and sought his cooperation. He reached out to them and offered himself to betray Christ. Now, this was not Satan tempting him; this is him tempting Satan. May we flee from every thought or suggestion that could lead us to offer our consecration at the doorsteps of the enemy. We must not freely offer ourselves to Satan for the fleeting pleasures of temporary gain.  Let’s not tempt Satan by showing a desire for or a readiness to deny or betray Christ. Satan’s job is to tempt us. Let’s not make his work easy for him by volunteering ourselves as ready accomplices.

“O God, help me discern where the enemy is lurking and teach me how to sidestep him. The calling on my life cannot be bought cheaply, and I pray that I don’t offer myself cheap before the enemy. This I ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.”