Loser

Mark 14: ¹⁰ Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Him to them. ¹¹ And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. So he sought how he might conveniently betray Him.

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As the newness of this potential boss wore off, I could see some flaws in his leadership style. Instead of helping, I put some “distance” away from his projects. I asked another leader in the department, “Can I work for you?”

• Sometimes I want to bail on a person who is not acting the way I want them to.
• Sometimes I want to leave the person I think is acting opposite of my beliefs.
• Sometimes I want to escape from the person I categorize as a “Loser.”

Judas decided to switch sides. As the political landscape was rapidly changing, Judas may have seen his fame, wealth and glory slipping away. “What a loser” Judas may have thought about JESUS. Since he had the inside track on JESUS, he figured he could simply have JESUS jailed and get some money. What harm could this do?

• GOD says to me “If you call your brother a worthless fool you will be in danger of going to the fire of hell.”
• GOD says to me “Put away all the following: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth.”
• GOD says to me “Have compassion.”

Impatient labeling is a dangerous practice. GOD wants me to remove my negative labels of people and see them as HE sees them… forgiven. HE wants me to stop judging people and to turn to HIS graceful ways. This is not always easy but it is a practice GOD is pleased with.

• Are you labeling someone?
• Do you place nothing but negative labels on others?
• Can you stop labeling people and start encouraging them to have a wonderful relationship with the LORD?

Nicknames

Mark 3: ¹³ And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. ¹⁴ Then He appointed twelve,  that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, ¹⁵ and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons: ¹⁶ Simon,  to whom He gave the name Peter; ¹⁷ James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”; ¹⁸ Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; ¹⁹ and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. And they went into a house.

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“Professor”, “Captain Naps” and “Skinny Minnie” were a few nicknames I was given based on my appearance. I wore glasses thus the nickname “Professor.” Sometimes the nicknames given to me were flattering like “He-Man” while others were degrading and need not be mentioned.

• I have been called all sorts of names.
• People have labeled me based on their perceptions
• Many labels given to me were not pleasant.

JESUS saw something in a few of HIS disciples that needed to be called out in a different name. HE saw a solid foundation in Simon so HE named him Peter meaning “The Rock.” HE gave James and John the name Boanerges meaning “Sons of Thunder.” Later HE named Judas “The Betrayer.”

• JESUS names me based on my actions.
• JESUS names me based on my heart.
• JESUS names me based on my relationship with HIM and my attitude towards HIS ways.

GOD sees all that I do and hears every word I say. HE sees my sin as well as any deeds HE deems as good. HE then says to me “And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it.” GOD’s name for me is based on love and when I receive my new name I will understand my fulfilled purpose.

• Is your current name “doubter” or “worrier” or “full of fear?”
• Do you think you are ugly based on what mean people have called you?
• Can you see the beauty inside of you that GOD sees?
• Will you accept HIS new name for you?

Label Belief

Matthew 16: ¹³ When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

¹⁴ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

¹⁵ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

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“Mud” was the name of the person I was mad at. They could do no right in my eyes and I could not believe in anything they said. “Smart” was the name I gave a rising star and I listened to every word out of their mouths.

• There have been times I labeled people.
• There have been times I have given a person a name.
• There have been times I put someone in a category and treated them in that fashion.

How I perceived people was how I treated them. If I perceived them to be “higher” than me then I treated them with one level of respect, the opposite went for those I felt were “beneath” me. In my labeling practice I soon labeled GOD based on my lack of faith. HE wasn’t “GOD” to me rather “god” just like everything else.

• JESUS deserves the highest label I can give HIM.
• JESUS deserves to be called what HE is, namely GOD almighty.
• JESUS deserves my trust, faith and obedience due to HIS supremacy over all.

Treating JESUS as common was my problem. Yes HE is a brother and a friend but HE is GOD. HE tells me to stop labeling people HE made and get them to focus on HIM who can raise them from the dead. The higher the label I can place on JESUS the stronger my belief will be in HIM.

• What do you call GOD?
• Is your lack of faith blocking you from placing HIM above everything in your life?
• Can you stop labeling those around you and give them over to GOD today?

Sticks and Stones

Matthew 11: ¹⁸ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ ¹⁹ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”

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“You are a…” were words that used to affect me greatly. I mean the deliverer must be an expert in the matter so when someone delivers the blow, “You are an idiot” I must be an idiot right?

• I have been called many names.
• I have been labeled many things.
• I have been placed in a box by shortsighted people.

Character is something done, good or bad that is not seen by anyone. When I am trying my best to follow GOD’s ways, yet someone labels me otherwise, then I must not get upset because I am in good company.

• CHRIST was slandered and accused falsely.
• JESUS was called all kinds of names because HE did not meet human expectations.
• Our LORD was labeled a sinner, though HE committed no sin.

Insecure people dream of what they can call other people. They take the spotlight off of them in order to place it negatively on another person. GOD does not want me to retaliate with sophomoric retorts. HE asks that I rise above the words and pray for those who shoot the darts.

• Are you the butt of jokes?
• Do you feel insecure because of something a person has called you or labeled you?
• Can you stop listening to insecure people who do not have your best interest in mind?
• Will you listen to GOD who loves you and created you with a purpose?

Label Me in Need of Mercy

Matthew 9: ⁹ As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

¹⁰ While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. ¹¹ When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹² On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ¹³ But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

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“Those people are bad” I said. I mean look at “them!” “They” are doing [insert sin]. I better tell “them” about “themselves” so “they” will stop sinning!

• GOD said to me “Your righteousness is like a filthy rag.”
• GOD said to me “Your righteousness is like dung to ME.”
• GOD said to me “Your righteousness is a barrier to people accepting ME as their Savior.”

Pimp, hooker, gay, gambler, druggy and racist were convenient labels I placed on “those” people, meanwhile I forgot to say what I was, namely a lust-filled, greedy, power hungry blamer. I had stopped doing several sins only to pick up socially acceptable sins with honored labels.

People would label me as “One of us” or “Wealth Minded” or “Ambitious” or better yet “Calls ‘em as he sees ‘em.” BUT GOD wants me to have different labels.

• GOD wants me to label myself as a “sinner” who needs HIS mercy.
• GOD wants me to label myself as a “dead soul” in need of resurrection from HIM and HIM alone.
• GOD wants me to label myself as a “forgiven being” because I believe that HE (JESUS), died for me on purpose and now lives as my Savior.

“Our” FATHER and give “Us” this day “Our” daily bread show me how GOD wants me to think. HE doesn’t want me to label “those” people rather HE wants me to include myself in “that” crowd.

Drawing people back to GOD means I need to be transparent about my sins, not my accomplishments. GOD doesn't need another perfect sacrifice; JESUS was already the chosen one. HE needs a “sinner” to say “Isn’t GOD wonderful? I did all of this and HE forgave me for ALL of it!”

HE wants me to show what a changed life can be like by demonstrating hope in HIM no matter what the storm brings.

• Are you labeling people?
• Do you think “that” person is bad and you are “good?”
• Can you stop labeling people for a minute and label yourself before GOD?
• Will you ask HIM for HIS forgiveness today?

Being Called “Names”

Isaiah 51: ⁷ “Hear me, you who know what is right,
    you people who have taken my instruction to heart:
Do not fear the reproach of mere mortals
    or be terrified by their insults.
⁸ For the moth will eat them up like a garment;
    the worm will devour them like wool.
But my righteousness will last forever,
    my salvation through all generations.”

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“Skinny Minnie, Captain Naps, and Floods” were some of the hurtful words people threw at me during one stage of my life. I tried to adjust. “Slow Poke, Weak, and Pitiful” were other words given to me by jocks. So, I tried to adjust again. Even more sinister words were given to me as labels as I grew up, some by those I thought I could trust. “Hmmm.”

• There have been people who have hurled insults at me.
• There have been people who have placed me in a box and stuck a label on it.
• There have been people who decided in their mind that I am not a “good fit” for whatever.

When I received the insult, at first I would try to brush it off but then after a number of people said the same insult, I wondered, “What is wrong with me?” I mean I was skinny, so what? I was born into this culture, what am I to do?

• GOD says to me “I made you and I AM pleased.”
• GOD says to me “I have given you MY words, love those who insult you.”
• GOD says to me “Do not fear the reproach of mere mortals or be terrified by their insults, for I AM the everlasting GOD who loves you and has given you a purpose.”

Fearing what someone thinks of me can lead to losing my identity. I try so hard to please the crowd that I wind up looking like them and acting like them. Soon I am off the track that GOD has me on. BUT GOD sees me and says to me “You are fine.” No need for many other words, no need for a long pep talk. GOD says “MY righteousness will last forever, MY salvation through all generations.”

GOD surpasses those who hurl insults or wield their power over me in an effort to keep me down. HE says “Keep going” in spite of their attempts. GOD is my rock.

• Are you being held back by someone?
• Do you replay their insults in your mind over and over?
• Can you look past their attempt to control you and let GOD have your life?
• Will you look to HIM for your salvation in this situation and eternally?