KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Saturday, October 22, 2016
Chapters: Matthew 18
Message: Having Compassion For All
Hello My Friend,
Many people are good at portraying the life of a Christian, perhaps they go to church, give tithes, donate to charities, are the first to volunteer, and some may even speak of Jesus and how amazing He is. Anyone can look like a Christian on the outside, but Jesus knows the truth, He knows who are His. Jesus stands there at the door of every heart, knocking and knocking, but He will never force Himself in, He only comes in the hearts of those who open the door. “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” – Revelation 3:20.
Jesus spent the last three and a half years of His life on earth as an evangelist preaching the Gospel, of His death, burial, and resurrection, while the Jews were use to hearing that they had to repent and offer sacrifices to get God’s attention, this caught them off guard, even the disciples. Jesus explains to them that they were not to despise those who believe in Him.
“Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.” – Matthew 18:10-1.
“he rejoiceth more of that sheep,” God loves each and every person He creates, after all, He sent His Son to die for all, and He rejoices more over a lost soul (sheep) that has been found rather than one that already His. Why? No matter what we do, we are going to heaven, but that lost soul will go to hell if it is not found. I look at it this way, I do not for the life of me understand how a murderer or child molester can get saved and go to heaven while someone who is decent and moral can go the hell, but I do understand that God is merciful and just, it is not about the person, it is about the soul. “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise. Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner.” – Proverbs 11:30-31.
God will save any soul that repents in the flesh, but He cannot if they do not know His Son. I did not make up the rules, God did, and we can get mad or turn away from Him because we think it is unfair, but that does not change the fact that these things will happen, and do not think that someone who has lived a wicked life on earth will not face judgment for what they have done, we will all get judged for the things we have done before we even leave the earth. As Jesus continues speaking He addresses this issue, first concerning those who have done wrong.
“Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” – Matthew 18:15-20.
“let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.” We have seen them before, and may even be close to them, the Christian who has something sinful in their lives that is causing problems for everyone around them. Let me tell you, whenever we, especially the saved, are doing something sinful it affects everyone around us, not just the person, and until we get a handle on it things will get worse. There are times when you sort of have to gang up on someone to show them that they need Jesus, you try one on one, a few friends, the church, but they still refuse and even get offended. What can you do? Let them be, and hand it over to God in prayer. God is not going to force anyone to get saved, but He will try everything He can to get them to see they need His Son. “Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.” – James 5:19-20.
As Jesus continues speaking He tells a parable about a man who had a very large debt and how his lender had compassion and forgave his debt only for this man who was forgiven of his debt to go after someone that owed him a small amount of money and punished him for it. Now, we read what the lender did when he found out.
“So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.” – Matthew 18:31-35.
“Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant,” This goes along with what I said earlier, salvation is not about the person, but the soul, and compassion is the only thing that leads people to Christ. Go ahead, tell someone straight out that they are going to hell and see the response you get. We have to have compassion on all, regardless of what kind of person they are because we must not forget that God had compassion on us to save us for the big sins we committed. I can look back on my life and say that I was a good and decent person before I knew Christ as my Saviour, but when I honestly look back on the things I have done I was pretty bad. God was truly merciful to me, and is truly merciful to all of us, but there does come a time when that mercy will run out and our only hope for survival is Jesus Christ. “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” – Matthew 5:44-45.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” – Matthew 18:6.
Today’s Prayer: God, You are my witness that I not only believed in Your Son, but received Him as my Saviour, I am trusting only in Him to take me to heaven. Until that time comes I want to live the richest life I can live here on earth with You leading the way. Lead me and guide me, show me thy ways, and help me to continue in faith knowing that my best possession is Your Son living in me. Let me not be deceived, easily offended, or afraid to tell those I know or come into contact with that Jesus lives in me and I am living my life the way He wants me to live. I love You Lord, and ask these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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