The Least, the Humblest In Everything Need Dignity and Hope For Their Futures - As We Do To These Least We Do To Jesus

Today's Focus Scripture: Matthew 25:34-46

Matthew 25:34-46

³⁴ Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 
³⁵ for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 

³⁶ I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 

³⁸ When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 
³⁹ Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 

⁴⁰ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

⁴¹ “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:

⁴² for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 

⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

⁴⁴ “Then they also will answer Him,saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 

⁴⁵ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 

⁴⁶ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Matthew 25:34-46

J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

^34-36 “Then the king will say to those on his right ‘Come, you who have won my Father’s blessing! Take your inheritance—the kingdom reserved for you since the foundation of the world! For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was lonely and you made me welcome. I was naked and you clothed me. I was ill and you came and looked after me. I was in prison and you came to see me there.”

^37-39 “Then the true men will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and give you food? When did we see you thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you lonely and make you welcome, or see you naked and clothe you, or see you ill or in prison and go to see you?’

⁴⁰ “And the king will reply, ‘I assure you that whatever you did for the humblest of my brothers you did for me.’

^41-43 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Out of my presence, cursed as you are, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels! For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. I was lonely and you never made me welcome. When I was naked you did nothing to clothe me; when I was sick and in prison you never cared about me.’

⁴⁴ “Then they too will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry, or thirsty, or lonely, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and fail to look after you?’

⁴⁵ “Then the king will answer them with these words, ‘I assure you that whatever you failed to do to the humblest of my brothers you failed to do to me.’

⁴⁶ “And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the true men to eternal life.”

Do Not Be Mistaken - Mercy Is Victorious Over Judgment - Mercy Leads to Forgiveness - Which Enables Us To Do Good Works Because of Our Faith - Freely We Can Give Now

Today's Focus Scripture: James 2:12-22

James 2:12-22

(NKJV)

12 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. 

13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 

15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 

16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 

17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 

19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 

20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 

21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 

22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?

James 2:12-23

J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

^12-13 Anyway, you should speak and act as men who will be judged by the law of freedom. The man who makes no allowances for others will find none made for him. It is still true that “mercy smiles in the face of judgment.”

^14-18a Now what use is it, my brothers, for a man to say he “has faith” if his actions do not correspond with it? Could that sort of faith save anyone’s soul? If a fellow man or woman has no clothes to wear and nothing to eat, and one of you say, “Good luck to you I hope you’ll keep warm and find enough to eat”, and yet give them nothing to meet their physical needs, what on earth is the good of that? Yet that is exactly what a bare faith without a corresponding life is like—useless and dead. If we only “have faith” a man could easily challenge us by saying, “you say that you have faith and I have merely good actions. Well, all you can do is to show me a faith without corresponding actions, but I can show you by my actions that I have faith as well.”

^18b-23 To the man who thinks that faith by itself is enough I feel inclined to say, “So you believe that there is one God? That’s fine. So do all the devils in hell and shudder in terror!” For, my dear short-sighted man, can’t you see far enough to realise that faith without the right actions is dead and useless? Think of Abraham, our ancestor. Wasn’t it his action which really justified him in God’s sight when his faith led him to offer his son Isaac on the altar? Can’t you see that his faith and his actions were, so to speak, partners—that his faith was implemented by his deed? That is what the scripture means when it says: ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. And he was called the friend of God.’

We Have Been Rescued, We Have Been Restored. We Are Well Equipped, Well Protected, and Well Armed to Withstand the Enemy

Today's Focus Scripture: Romans 7:14-25

(NOTE: Please scroll down past the devotional we read today for much, much more)


Cross The Bridge Daily Evotional by Pastor David McGee

It's God

Romans 7:15

"For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do."
(NKJV)

If you think you cannot identify with this statement, then you need to look in a mirror. The Apostle Paul, who wrote Romans and much of the New Testament, is being open and honest with his struggles... and we can also. We all struggle with doing wrong things. In fact, if it was not for God working through us, every attempt of our hands would be blameworthy. We all want to do well, but many times we give in to our flesh and end up doing wrong. The only way we can transact righteousness is by consequence of God in us. It is not just the 'doing'. Your appetite to affect virtue is an indication that God is working.

Philippians 2:13 "For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." (NKJV)

Your reading this devotion is affirmation. You are hungry for something more. Every time you do something good, you can know and believe that God is working in you. My Christian friend, take heart and be encouraged. The Creator of all the universe sees Jesus reflected in you.

Life Lesson: The fact that we want to do good is God.

LAGNIAPPE:

We read the passage Romans 7:14-25 from the New King James Version, however, the version below is the J.B. Phillips version, copyright 1962.

^{Romans 7:14-25}

^{J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)}

^14-20 After all, the Law itself is really concerned with the spiritual—it is I who am carnal, and have sold my soul to sin. In practice, what happens? My own behaviour baffles me. For I find myself not doing what I really want to do but doing what I really loathe. Yet surely if I do things that I really don’t want to do, I am admitting that I really agree with the Law. But it cannot be said that “I” am doing them at all—it must be sin that has made its home in my nature. (And indeed, I know from experience that the carnal side of my being can scarcely be called the home of good!) I often find that I have the will to do good, but not the power. That is, I don’t accomplish the good I set out to do, and the evil I don’t really want to do I find I am always doing. Yet if I do things that I don’t really want to do then it is not, I repeat, “I” who do them, but the sin which has made its home within me.

^21-25 When I come up against the Law I want to do good, but in practice I do evil. My conscious mind whole-heartedly endorses the Law, yet I observe an entirely different principle at work in my nature. This is in continual conflict with my conscious attitude, and makes me an unwilling prisoner to the law of sin and death. In my mind I am God’s willing servant, but in my own nature I am bound fast, as I say, to the law of sin and death. It is an agonising situation, and who on earth can set me free from the clutches of my sinful nature? I thank God there is a way out through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Ephesians 6:10-20

J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

^10-18 In conclusion be strong—not in yourselves but in the Lord, in the power of his boundless resource. Put on God’s complete armour so that you can successfully resist all the devil’s methods of attack. For our fight is not against any physical enemy: it is against organisations and powers that are spiritual. We are up against the unseen power that controls this dark world, and spiritual agents from the very headquarters of evil. Therefore you must wear the whole armour of God that you may be able to resist evil in its day of power, and that even when you have fought to a standstill you may still stand your ground. Take your stand then with truth as your belt, righteousness your breastplate, the Gospel of peace firmly on your feet, salvation as your helmet and in your hand the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. Above all be sure you take faith as your shield, for it can quench every burning missile the enemy hurls at you. Pray at all times with every kind of spiritual prayer, keeping alert and persistent as you pray for all Christ’s men and women.

^19-20 And pray for me, too, that I may be able to speak freely here to make known the secret of that Gospel for which I am, so to speak, an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may speak out about it as my plain and obvious duty.

"We Often Forget What We Should Remember and Remember What We Should Forget." - The Lord Remembers We Are Dust

Today's Focus Scripture: Any and all of them, The Word of God, His Daily Bread To Us


We read the "Daily Evotional" - Cross The Bridge by Pastor David McGee

Remember

Romans 15:15

"Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, as reminding you, because of the grace given to me by God" (NKJV)

Satan loves to remind us of our past sins and failures. He finds great pleasure in bringing up things that God has long forgiven us of. Revelation 12:10 refers to Satan as the "accuser of our brethren." That's what he does, but not because he's really got anything on us. If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, the Bible tells us that your sins have been separated from you as far as the east is from the west Psalm 103:12. So, what does it profit the enemy to bring up what you've been forgiven of? He wants to distract you from following Jesus. If he can get you to listen to his accusations, maybe he can shame you into believing that you've crossed some line of forgiveness that doesn't exist. That is his game and he is betting that he can pull you into it. Remember the words of 1 John 1:9...

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (NKJV)

Has Satan distracted you from following Jesus? Don't believe his lies, and friend, in love, you need to quit listening to your enemy. You have got a great future ahead of you. Satan, on the other hand... well... his future is not so good because he will be thrown into the lake of fire. He will be destroyed. He knows it. So, the next time the enemy tries to remind you of your past, remind him of his future.

Life Lesson: We often forget what we should remember and remember what we should forget.

Revelation 12:10-11 ~  10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying,

“Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. 11 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.

Psalm 103:10-14 ~ 10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities. 11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; 12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. 13 As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear Him. 14 For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. 

Our Cries For Help Are Answered by the Lord When Lies Cause Trouble For Those Who Love Peace

Today's Focus Scripture: Psalm 120

Psalm 120:1-7

Prayer for Deliverance from the Treacherous.

A Song of Ascents.

¹In my trouble I cried to the Lord,
And He answered me.
² Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips,
From a deceitful tongue.
³ What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you,
You deceitful tongue?
⁴ Sharp arrows of the warrior,
With the burning coals of the broom tree.

⁵ Woe is me, for I sojourn in Meshech,
For I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
⁶ Too long has my soul had its dwelling
With those who hate peace.
⁷ I am for peace, but when I speak,
They are for war.



NOTE:

If you cannot find the light at the end of the tunnel, it could be we need to go and change the light bulb.

Defensive Mechanisms of Life – Do Not Let Them Cause Doubt – Believe Without Seeing – Jesus’ Love Never Runs Out, His Love Can Never Be Exhausted

Today's Focus Scripture: John 20:24-31

John 20:24-31

Seeing and Believing

²⁴ Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”

So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

²⁶ And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” ²⁷ Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”

²⁸ And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

That You May Believe

³⁰ And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹ but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

Can We Shape Our Lives Better Than God Can? Can We Say That "He Knows Nothing?"

Today's Focus Scripture: Jeremiah 18:3-6 (And the Daily Devotional "God's Daily Word" with Steve Troxel - [Hebrews 12:4-10]

Jeremiah 18:3-6
(NKJV)
3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. 
4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 
6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the Lord. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!

********* God's Daily Word *********

About 2600 years ago, God taught the prophet Jeremiah what it meant to be a sovereign God. He taught that His plan WOULD be fulfilled - one way or the other. Either His children would submit to His gentle guidance, or He would bring discipline to teach them the need for obedience.

Although God has the ability to directly give us understanding, His usual method is to teach us through His Word and then allow us to see the application and gain wisdom through our experiences. In order to give a clear understanding of His sovereignty, God told Jeremiah to go to the potter's house and wait for His message.

Jeremiah 18:3-6
"So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the Word of the Lord came to me: 'Can I not do with you as this potter does?' declares the Lord. 'Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in My hand.'"

Jeremiah understood that God was the Potter and had total control over the shape of the clay. How foolish it would be for the clay to complain or rebel; "Can the pot say of the potter, 'He knows nothing'?" (Isaiah 29:16). The Potter will continue to mold the clay. If the clay begins to harden in its unfinished state, the Potter loves the clay enough to crush it down, sprinkle it with water and begin anew.

The only way for us to become all that God desires is to yield and remain moldable. We have no ability to shape ourselves! The Potter is creating something eternally beautiful - we are being "conformed to the likeness of His Son" (Romans 8:29). Oh, if we could only trust that His shaping is so much better than anything we could ever create. How prideful to think we can do better!

There may be times when we have rough edges which must be removed. There may also be times when we need to be crushed down so the shaping process can start over. But we must trust the Potter and believe the results will be worth any pain or discomfort; "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18).

Our Heavenly Father is in complete (and loving) control. Let's daily be filled with His Spirit and commit our lives to His shaping process - a process which undoubtedly will last a lifetime! Let's remain moldable clay and yield to the shaping of the Potter's Hand.



Hebrews 12:4-10
4 You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; 5 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
Nor faint when you are reproved by Him;
6 For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines,
And He scourges every son whom He receives.”

7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.