Finals

This week I've been working to complete my first quarter as a full time student (once again). I've been working towards my Master of Divinity and this week is finals. So my plan is to finish this week strong and be back to the blogging world next week.

I've enjoyed being in seminary and am really striving towards excellence. My goal is to finish with a 4.0 and if this quarter is any indication of what is to come, I'm on track for that goal!

Judas: Follower of Jesus

I'm currently writing a paper/project for my New Testament class in which I am taking a look in the life of Judas. It is a series of 4 lessons that point out several ideas. The first of which is Judas as a Follower of Jesus.

The reality is that Jesus chose Judas Iscariot to be one of His twelve inner close disciples (Luke 6:12-16). Judas faithfully followed Jesus.

But what did it take to follow Jesus?

1. One had to give up their regular ordinary lives Luke 5:1-11

2. Commitment - in that day a disciple would follow their teacher everywhere to learn as much as possible.

3. Following Jesus took precedence over anything else Matthew 8:18-22

It took a lot to follow Jesus, but what exactly does it mean to follow Him? Mark 8:34 makes this clear.

1. Deny Yourself - seek God's will and submit to it

2. Take Up Your Cross - take the daily struggles, persecutions, and anything that may come your way and endure them.

3. Follow Jesus - pledge your loyalty to Him.

Now many people would argue that Judas truly didn't follow Jesus because of His betrayal. However, I would say especially in the beginning Judas did. A little later we will discuss what went wrong.

So what are your thoughts? Do you think Judas should have been chosen? Did he have what it took to follow Jesus? Did he actually follow Jesus?