Matthew 28:5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

On the third day after the death of Jesus, Mary of Magdalene and the other Mary came to see Jesus’ body. When they reached the tomb, they found that the stone was rolled away and an angel of the Lord sitting upon the stone. This angel’s countenance caused the keepers to become like dead men but to the two women, they were able to receive instruction as to what they were to do.

These women had gone through a terrible experience in watching the death of their Lord. Yet nonetheless, this did not stop them from seeking Jesus. Any of the disciples could have gone to seek Jesus that morning but it was these women who decided to leave their place of hiding in order to seek that which they needed.

Because these two women were willing to leave their place of comfort in order to seek Jesus, they received instructions from the angel as to what they were to do next. These women had the joy of receiving clear direction for their lives and to hear the good news first that Christ was raised from the dead all because they allowed their desire to seek God to be greater than their desire for personal safety.

Not only did these women receive instruction from the angel to go tell the disciples that Jesus was raised from the dead, Jesus actually made an appearance to these women as they obeyed the angel’s instruction. These women sought Jesus and instead they received instruction as to what they were to do next. In obeying those instructions, they received what they initially were looking for. Rather than finding a dead body in a tomb, these women found a risen Savior who spoke with them and gave them comfort.

It does not matter what trials you face. It does not matter how strong the storms of life are blowing. You must follow the example of these women and continue to seek the Lord. Seeking the Lord will not always be easy. In fact, sometimes it may seem counterintuitive. When you seek the Lord, God can give you direction for your life. When you seek the Lord, God will reveal HIMSELF to you. God may not always reveal HIMSELF to you as you might expect, but if you are faithful to seek HIM, HE will give you the desires of your heart by making HIS presence known unto you.

You are a Christian and have a personal relationship with God. There will be times during your Christian walk that you will feel like you are in the valley of the shadow of death. You will feel alone; you will feel deserted. However, regardless of how you feel, you must never forget the God whom you have chosen to serve. Rather than allow yourself to sulk and dwell in your own self-pity, you must be proactive and you must learn to seek God during the difficult times.

If you fill your mind with the things of this world, when trial arise in your life, you will be consumed of yourself and you will not seek God as you should. If you fill your mind with the things of God by adding virtue to your life, you know that greater is HE that is in you than he that is of this world. The virtue that fills your mind will give you the strength to seek God during the storm and will see you through the storm to God’s perfect will.

Matthew 26:75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

Peter had just denied that he was a follower of Jesus three times. Immediately upon his third denial, the cock crowed and Peter remembered what Jesus had told him several hours before in the upper room. Peter had been so adamant that he would never deny Jesus yet when he was under pressure, he denied the One whom he had faithfully followed and served for the last three years.

Peter had been told that he was going to betray Jesus three times that night. Peter had a chance to pray with Jesus in the garden. However, because Peter allowed his physical desires for sleep to control his spiritual desire of communion with God, Peter was weakened spiritual and as a result when the real trial came, Peter was not prepared. As Jesus said in the garden, Peter’s spirit was ready but his flesh was weak.

Peter denied that he knew Jesus in front of a damsel, a maid and a relative of the servant of the high priest whose ear Peter had cut off. Peter was not exactly denying that he was a follower of God to fearsome individuals who had the power to immediately take his life. What is interesting is that Peter was so brave and willing to fight an entire multitude back in the garden, yet now in the courtyard of the High Priest, he was unwilling to stand up for who he really was. Peter was not just denying Jesus; he was denying his calling, his relationship with God, and what he had done over the last three years.

It is interesting that all four gospels tell the story of Peter’s denial. God wanted to be sure that you understand that it does not matter how long you serve HIM, Satan will still desire to cause you to yield to temptation. Peter was a faithful follower of Jesus, yet there came one day in which he yielded to sin and told a lie. Once Peter had told the first lie, the next two lies quickly followed.

Just because Peter sinned, it did not mean that his ministry was over. The reason Peter’s story of denying Jesus three times is in all the gospels is so that you understand that God can still use you even though you mess up. No one had to know that Peter denied Jesus three times, other than Jesus and the three people who heard him deny Jesus, no one else saw Peter’s failure. However, because Peter desired to encourage you to get up after you stumbled and continue to serve God, Peter must have shared his testimony with others.

Solomon tells us that “a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.” It is important that you follow the words of Solomon and the example of Peter when you fall short of the glory of God. Peter’s relationship with God was so close that upon his third denial, his heart immediately broke at the sin that he had committed. Peter understood his sin and he was ashamed of it.

What affect does sin have upon your life? When you sin and fall short of the glory of God do you find yourself proud or ashamed of your misdeeds? If you have a close relationship with God and have taken the time to add virtue to your life, when you sin, then you will be quick to seek God’s forgiveness. Filling your mind with the things of God will give you the strength to rise again and to continue serving God.

Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. When HE reached the garden, HE had HIS disciples wait for HIM but requested that Peter, James and John continue with HIM. Jesus then told HIS three disciples that they were to watch as HE prayed. HE then went a little further and fell down on HIS face and prayed. After praying for one hour, Jesus came back to the place where HE requested HIS three disciples to wait and found them asleep. Jesus asked Peter why he could not watch for one hour.

Peter desired to stay vigilant and be with HIS Lord; however, he allowed his desire for sleep to take precedence over his desire for spiritual things. Peter’s spirit was ready but his flesh was weak. The disciples could not stay alert and learn a valuable lesson in prayer because they yielded to their physical desire for sleep.

Jesus desired that HIS disciples grow closer to HIM by observing HIM pray for an hour. This was a very important time to Jesus, a time when HE spoke with HIS Father. Usually when Jesus talked with HIS Father, HE went alone up into the mountains. Jesus had taught HIS disciples how to pray, but now HE desired that they see just how HE prayed.

One could wonder how much stronger the ministry of these three disciples would have been had they simply overcome the temptation to sleep and watched Christ pray these three hours. Peter, James and John had a desire to put the Lord first, but they yielded to the temptation of the flesh to fall asleep.

Satan knows your weakness. There is a battle within over doing that which is right in the eyes of God and doing that which is right in your own eyes. While God calls you to draw closer to HIM, Satan will tempt you with the things of this world so as to cause you to draw your attention away from God. In order to draw closer to God, there will be times where you must put aside the desires of the flesh in order to put on the things of God.

God desires that you draw closer to HIM. Satan desires that you stay entangled with the things of this world. God desires that you spend time in prayer, in reading the Bible and in fasting so as to draw closer to HIM. Satan desires that you fill your time with entertainment, worldly education and obsession with the things of this word in order to stay as far from God as he can get you. As you see from this passage, Peter had already won the spiritual battle in that his spirit desired to do the right thing, but he had yet to take control over his body and thus he yielded to temptation.

You must prepare yourself for the spiritual battles that God will call you into. Peter’s heart was in the right place but he allowed his physical desires to take priority over his mind and heart. When you fill your mind with the things of God, you are adding virtue into your life. Satan desires that your mind be controlled by your physical desires whereas God desires that your mind control your physical desires. In order to win the battle over temptation, your virtuous mind must control your physical desires. There is more to avoiding temptation then simply wishing to do the right thing. You must take the time to prepare for temptation by filling your mind with the things of God.

Matthew 26:15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.

Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ 12 disciples agreed to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Judas was not entrapped into betraying Jesus by the deception of the chief priests but he willingly came to the chief priests and asked them what they would give him if he betrayed his Master. Judas had determined in his heart that money was more important to him than his relationship with Jesus.

Judas betrayed Jesus for a sack of silver yet Judas is not the only person who has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Since you have accepted Christ’s calling to follow HIM, how have betrayed your relationship with Christ? Have you allowed greed to get in the way of your relationship with Christ? Have you allowed bitterness to get in the way of your relationship with Christ? Have you allowed lust to get in the way of your relationship with Christ?

All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Judas is a good example of how Satan loves to attack those who choose to follow Christ so as to cause them to stumble and cause great damage to the kingdom of God. Judas had a close relationship with God yet he allowed his eyes to be drawn away from God’s perfect will and as a result Satan was able to cause him to do something he later regretted.

Do not think that you are strong enough that you never have to worry about betraying Jesus? When the troops came to arrest Jesus the disciples fled. While Peter was brave enough to follow Jesus, he betrayed his relationship with Jesus three times. The disciples were actually able to see, touch and hear Jesus and they were not strong enough to overcome the temptations they faced, what makes you think that you will never yield to temptation when your relationship with Jesus is based completely upon faith?

Do not judge Judas for what he did; instead, use the example of Judas to remind yourself that you must be vigilant to ensure that you do not follow his example. You understand that the closer your relationship with God is the more Satan desires to see you stumble. What damage can Satan do to the kingdom of God if he causes you to stumble?

Judas was able to betray Jesus because he had filled his mind with thoughts of greed. The longer he allowed thoughts of greed to fill his life, the more he squeezed out of his mind the high calling of Jesus to follow HIM. As Judas allowed himself to dwell upon those things that were evil, his relationship with Jesus became such that he was willing to betray a friend for a sack of silver.

The battle over sin begins in your mind. If you allow sin to dwell in your mind, it will eventually wear down your defenses until your actions reveal what is in your heart and mind. You cannot afford to allow the enemy to dwell within your mind. Any time evil thoughts crop up within your mind, rather than cultivating those thoughts, you must add virtue to your life and flood your mind with the things of God. You will betray your relationship with Christ if you do not win the battle with your mind. By the grace of God, you can overcome temptation.

Matthew 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Jesus is teaching about the Day of Judgment. Jesus states that on Judgment Day, God will separate the sheep from the goats. HE will then tell the sheep how they are blessed because they gave HIM meat and drink, gave HIM company, clothed HIM, and visited HIM. Jesus went on to explain how the sheep will ask when they did all these things for the King of Kings and God’s reply is summed up in this passage, what you have done for the least of your brethren, you have done it for the Lord.

The word brethren used in this passage can be defined broadly just as the word neighbor that Jesus defined in the parable of the Good Samaritan. If you look at how the word brethren is used throughout the New Testament, you will find that it is used to describe your brother from birth, an acquaintance, and as a fellow believer.

You know that Jesus commanded you to “love thy neighbor as thyself.” Now in this passage Jesus shares the importance of looking out for the needs of others. It is not easy to make a conscience decision to put the needs of others equal to your own needs. However, God has promised you that what you do to the least of those who God places into your life, you have done for HIM.

You can say that you love your brethren, but do your actions really demonstrate that you love them? When was the last time you gave a poor man a meal? When was the last time you offered a lonely person a place for hospitality? When was the last time you gave clothes to a person who you knew had a need? When was the last time you visited a sick person? When was the last time you visited a person in prison? All these actions require that you give to someone with no expectation of return. You cannot expect that they will ever be able to repay you. However, God sees your gift of love and HE accepts your gift to the needy individual as if you gave it directly to HIM.

The important lesson that you must learn in this passage is that you must unconditionally love others as you love yourself. Not only must you love your neighbor but also you must love them in such a way that you do not expect or demand that they love you in return. Your Father who sees your love in secret will reward you openly.

It is time that you change your perspective on life. It is not all about yourself and what you can obtain while here on this earth. You do not do good things to others because of what they can do for you in return. Instead, your focus must be upon God and obeying HIS commandment to love your neighbor as yourself and allowing HIM to reward you for your obedience.

Virtue is putting on the mind of Christ. Christ saw a need and HE took care of the need. Christ did not expect nor did HE receive anything in return. Christ loved HIS brethren and HE expects you to do the same. As long as you are thinking about yourself and putting yourself first in your life, you will never receive the rewards promised to those who obey Christ and love their neighbor as themselves.