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But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness Gal 5:22 |
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Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Thursday, June 9, 2022
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :The Parable of the Lost Sheep Bible Verse:Matthew 18:10-14 (ESV) "See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. For the Son of Man came to save the lost. What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.”" Message:
The beginning of Matthew 18 has an elegant and sophisticated structure not common in the Gospels (which tend to be choppy in their sequence of thought). The chapter begins by saying that those with the humility of children are greatest in the kingdom of heaven. It then warns us that the most dire consequences await those who tempt the innocent into sin. And in today’s verses, it transitions to a related topic, the importance of saving the lost soul, that illuminates the earlier ones. Really, one can see this as the flip side of the previous teaching (the severity of tempting an innocent into sin).
This is one of the most reassuring and comforting passages in the Bible, for we can feel lost in the crowd: at church, in the world, or even as a child in a large family. Our own husband or wife might not have time for us! But Christ — who has charge of billions of souls — will spend however much time it takes to give us his undivided, personal attention. He is a God of unlimited individual love.
“Le Bon Pasteur” | “The Good Shepherd” | Champaigne
He is also a God of patient love. The shepherd in the parable is not responsible for the stupid sheep wandering off and getting into trouble. But Christ does not mouth the words “tough love”; He does not say “that sheep needs to learn to take responsibility for his actions” or “I have no time for fools” or “you made your bed, now lie in it.” When we get ourselves into trouble, He is always ready to come to us.
He is a God of rejoicing love. There are no recriminations. When we accept Christ and repent our sins, they are forgotten. He is not like an angry father who curses his son while pulling him out of a mess. His concern is an absolute concern, that we be saved. He does not want to see us suffer the worst of fates, the death that comes from sin. It is a protective love. He was willing to protect the souls of mankind at any cost to himself.
He is a God of seeking love. He will come to us; in fact, he searches for us. This is one point of difference from Judaism. A Jew might say that God would forgive you if you come crawling back, wearing sackcloth and ashes. But Jesus is trying to find us. God wants us to be saved, and pretty badly. He was willing to undergo torture and death, just so we might open the door and let him in.
And so, let us think back for a minute to the preceding verses. The parable of the shepherd elaborates for us why Christ had been so condemnatory towards anyone who leads another person astray. Such conduct goes beyond simple sin; it is the antithesis of Christ. Temptation is the work of the Evil One and thus, one who would lead another person to become lost is the agent of Satan; not only a sinner, but an anti-Christ, so to speak. To lead another into sin is to hate him; God is love, and obedience to God necessitates that we love as He does.
Meditation : Prayer : Almighty God, by your Holy Spirit you have made me one with your saints in heaven and on earth. Grant that in my earthly pilgrimage I may always be supported by this fellowship of love and prayer, and know myself to be surrounded by their witness to your power and mercy. I ask this for the sake of Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.........Amen |
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