Tag: crucified

Motivational Monday

On March 9, 2026

In Motivational Monday, News and Announcements

Hey friends! Just a quick reminder. We have our Missions Lunch this Sunday. I would love to see everyone there! What I love about the Mission Lunch is the opportunity to hear about what is happening with our missionaries and all over the world. AND!! You get to eat! To answer the question, NO! You don’t have to bring anything but yourself. Just come to church, bring a friend, hear the message and eat!! I hope to see you all there.

Yesterday while I was sitting in church, I was enjoying the message from Rev. Pounds. I am always looking for opportunities for my Motivational Mondays (in church, the grocery store, work, etc.) and he mentioned Judas. And I started thinking, Judas is a very main but not main piece of Jesus’s story. Jesus was so much more than what Judas did but yet without Judas, how would the story have been different? Why should we focus on Judas at all? Well, let’s talk about it.

Who was Judas Iscariot before he met Jesus?

Per most scholars, the last name Iscariot means, “man of Kerioth” which is a town in Judea. If he was from Judea, this potentially made him the only non-Galilean among the twelve apostles. Judas was a business minded individual who was into fish drying (sounds thrilling…) near the Sea of Galilee when he met the other disciples of Jesus. He was the treasurer of the disciples because he seemed capable of money handling. Although, later in the Bible, he was described as being dishonest with money. To put all of this in regular Jennifer words…he was just a guy trying to make it in life who was less than perfect but did not appear to be a “bad dude”.

For those who are unaware of who Judas was in the Bible, he was the one that betrayed Jesus. And Jesus knew he was going to be betrayed because he said at the Last Supper one of his disciples was going to betray him. Did he know it was going to Judas? Absolutely! In fact, John 6:64 says, “But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.)”. If he knew he was going to be betrayed by this man, why in the world did he pick HIM to be a disciple? Well, it was part of the predetermined plan to our salvation. Basically, Judas agreed to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver which was about 4 months worth of work at that time. 4 months worth of work seems really insignificant when you gave up Jesus. Am I right?

This is a great history lesson Jennifer but this is Motivational Monday! I need motivation! I.got.you. Don’t get discouraged. I just need you to fully understand who we are dealing with here.

I feel like Judas didn’t start off “bad”. He wasn’t a criminal although he had his moments. He was around Jesus and he saw lots of miracles Jesus performed. He heard His teachings. Heck, he was even trusted with the money. But yet, he betrayed Him because his heart was somewhere else.

Have you ever gone through the motions of going to church but felt disconnected? Or maybe you had a situation where you had to make a decision to do what is right but you just couldn’t surrender? If you have ever felt this way, do you think you would feel differently if you heard the gospel come out of Jesus’s mouth directly? I think most of us would say, “Ummm…yeah!” I ask because Judas was there everyday and heard Jesus. And yet, he wasn’t changed. Being close to Jesus is not the same thing as belonging to Him.

You can go to church. You can surround yourself with good, christian people. You can write Motivational Mondays!! You can do all these things and still not surrender your heart. Literally, Judas heard it and saw it first hand and it wasn’t enough. He showed us it is possible to walk with Jesus but keep him at arm’s length. Real faith begins the moment we stop just being near Him—and finally surrender to Him.

If you are like me, you have probably not given Judas much thought except he’s the guy that got Jesus crucified. He was a sell out. And these thoughts are not untrue. But outwardly, he appeared to be one of Jesus’ closest followers but yet…he never surrendered. Have you?

Key Aspects of Surrendering Your Heart:

Acknowledge and Release Control: Recognize your limitations and actively choose to let go of the need to manage every outcome. This often feels uncomfortable but is described as a path to peace.
Daily Prayerful Surrender: Start each day by inviting God to lead, using simple prayers like “Lord, I give you this day”.
Submit to God’s Will: Shift from “my will” to “Your will,” acknowledging God’s authority over your life’s direction.
Study Scripture and Build Trust: Read the Bible to understand God’s character, which makes it easier to trust Him, especially during chaotic times.
Practice in Small Things: Surrender is not just for major crises; it includes letting go of the need to be right, managing your schedule, and releasing personal desires.
Be Honest and Vulnerable: Bring your true feelings, anxieties, and struggles to God rather than pretending everything is fine.
Surround Yourself with Support: Connect with others who are also learning to live a surrendered life to encourage you in the process.

Surrender is a daily practice, not a one-time event, and it involves allowing God to care for you so you can better care for others.

Love you all,

Jennifer

Motivational Monday

By Jennifer Robbins

On April 7, 2025

In Motivational Monday, News and Announcements

Hey friends! Today I want to continue my Easter countdown miniseries. It’s my goal to cover topics you may or may not know because these are things I learned way later about the crucifixion and resurrection. I had the main points down but some stuff had a ton of symbolism and I’m over here hiding eggs. Just being honest…

So, hopefully you all know that Jesus was resurrected after He was crucified (this was a main point I was talking about 😉). When we was resurrected, a woman was the one to see Him first. Why was that? Let’s talk about it.

Let’s talk about Mary Magdalene or Mary M for short. I really like her. To be fair, I like most (if not all) the stories about the women in the Bible. There is a story to be learned in every single one because God is always purposeful. To catch you up on who she was, she had a special connection to Jesus. Mary M became a different person when Jesus came into her life (like all of us). You see, Jesus cleansed her of her demons and because of this, she was a DEVOUT follower. She loved Jesus with all her heart. Her story showed us that your past does not dictate your future.

The day Jesus was crucified, she was there. As anyone who was a follower, I am sure it was hard to watch (honestly, I am sure it was hard to watch if you weren’t a follower). She stayed with Him until death. After He died, He was put in a tomb with a large heavy boulder as a door so NO ONE could move it. But on the third day after His burial, the women went to anoint the body (Mark 16:1) because they loved Him and wanted to continue to care for Him (Luke 8:1-3). I can hear the conversation now on the way to the tomb, “Mary! How are we going to get in? We can’t move that stone.” Mary M- “I don’t know but we’ll figure it out.” It sounds like something I would do.

They get there and bam! Stone moved. You know their initial thought was “woohoo!” and then, “hold up. What is happening here? This is weird and not good.” So she runs and gets Peter and it was then discovered that Jesus was gone. After everyone left, Mary stayed at the tomb and just cried. I mean, I get it. There was A LOT of trauma that she had just witnessed and now, Jesus’s body had been stolen (or so she thought). Two angels appeared and talked to her and she was still upset. And then…mic drop…Jesus was there. He told her He was all good now and He was ascending to “my Father and your Father”. Mary M was ecstatic and went to tell everyone she had seen Jesus. (John 20:1-18)

Great story right? But why did Jesus appear before Mary M? A woman. For context, women at that time were considered less. They were not allowed all the way into the Temple to worship simply because they were a woman. They had no rights. They were second class. On top of her being a woman, she was a FALLEN woman (gasp!). You can imagine when she tried telling the disciples, “HEY GUYS!!! Jesus is alive! He told me to tell you He was good!” You know they rolled their eyes and said, “Sure He did Mar-Bear.” They didn’t believe her (Luke 24:11 and Mark 16:11).

You see, Jesus didn’t see different classes, gender, or race. Jesus only saw people when He walked this Earth. He didn’t care if you were a man, woman, disabled, smelled to high heavens, had an eye hanging out, or wasn’t nice…He was going to talk to you. And in Mary’s case, at one time she was demon filled and Jesus healed her. And then, she followed Him to the end. And she truly loved Him with all her heart. Jesus knew that and He rewarded her with His presence after His resurrection. Jesus valued a sin filled, former demon possessed, second rate citizen who was a woman to share the good news.

If Jesus can see past all of that, why can’t you? We tend to pass judgment when it is not warranted. We are all sinners. My sin and your sin are probably different. That doesn’t make me better than you. We are both sinners. God put us (me and YOU) here on this Earth for a million reasons. But one of the reasons is to learn from and help each other. Don’t forget that when you get frustrated with people. People who are hungry and you think they just need to get a job. Or an alcoholic, who just needs to stop drinking. Or a coworker, who isn’t pulling their weight. We all have a story and maybe if we were more like Jesus, they would/could be a Mary M.

God is so intentional, isn’t He?

Love you all,

Jennifer