True Motives

Wednesday, May 20th, 2026

4:11 am

Good morning! Today I am still in Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9, and John 12:1-11. Yesterday, I ran out of time in the morning to post, so I am posting two today. The one for yesterday, I did not realize I pretty much finished. Hopefully, I will get back on track with the posting. The last week has been super busy, but I think it should be slowing back down now. We shall see. One thing I have tried to learn over the years is to not beat myself up when things don't go as planned. Life happens and we must be willing and able to adapt. My daughter graduated last Friday, she was the baby, and with that I realize we are starting a new chapter in our lives. It's exciting, but you never know exactly what life is going to look like going forward. But I know it will be different. Like I said, I'm excited about it, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for us! Let's continue on with our study.

The disciples could not believe that Mary would use the expensive perfume the way she did when it could have been sold for money. And the main disciple that questioned it was Judas. Judas was already falling into sin because he was stealing money from the disciples. Jesus knew this, even though He did not come right out and tell everyone. Judas's response to how Mary used the perfume was hiding his true motives. But Jesus knew Judas's heart.

When we fall into sin, God knows. We can't hide anything from Him. He allows us to make our own choices, our own mistakes, and in time, deal with the consequences. Our actions show where our heart is, if we are truly following God or if we are following our own selfish motives. Judas was already stealing money, showing that he cared more about himself than following God. Satan had a foothold in his life. The more and more we indulge in sin, the more of a foothold Satan has over our lives, and the more he can control us. Even the leading priests had allowed Satan a foothold because now they were plotting to kill Lazarus because he was leading many people to Jesus.

Other people may not know when we are sinning, but God does. And I truly believe that the things we try to hide and keep secret, cover up, will eventually be brought to light. Jesus tells us in John 3:19 that evil hates the light because it exposes its deeds. As followers of God, we are to live as children of light, having nothing to do with darkness (Ephesians 5:8-11). Our actions show our true motives. We must be careful not to allow the enemy to have a foothold in our lives. We must figure out what areas in our lives we are most susceptible to sin, and ask God to help us not fall into temptation. We must seek Him, and allow Him to break those strongholds of sin in our lives. He can help us break away from the chains of sin that the enemy puts on us. He wants to help us in every area of our lives. Allow Him to help you today.