KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Friday, July 15, 2016
Chapters: Proverbs 25-28
Message: Being The Black Sheep
Hello My Friend,
People, there are so many diversities of people. When you walk into a room you can see how diverse they are as they group together, the quite ones, the loud ones, the hyper ones, the mean ones, the sly ones, the smart ones, the rich ones, the poor ones, I can go on and on. However every group has their black sheep, the one that does not really fit in, and the truth is, they do not and no matter what they do to try to fit in they will never. This is not something to be sad about, it is actually something to be happy about, as Christians, we are the black sheep, and we do not fit in with the world, we can try, but we never will be expected because we are not one of them and never will be. This is not something to be sad about, it is something to rejoice over because we belong to Jesus, we are His sheep.
“I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.” – John 10:14-18.
Even though there are such diversities of people, we still must be cordial and respectful to all, we may not like the way people do things, but as long as we are not involved than we have to respect their choices, just as God does. The Proverbs tell us how we are to deal with people.
“Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbour’s house; lest he be weary of thee, and so hate thee. A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow. Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint. As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to an heavy heart. If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.” – Proverbs 25:17-22.
“give him bread to eat;” It may be the last thing you want to do, but the best way to combat evil is to be nice to them. It is not really you they have a problem with, they are upset over something and you happen to be in the line of fire. Never let a person knock you down, and if they do never let them keep you down, get back up, you are better than that, you have a lot going for yourself, you belong to Jesus, and He knows the truth, He will take care of you, but you cannot let them define who you are. Their problems are no reason to treat you wrong, they are being foolish, but it does no good to talk to someone who is acting like a fool, it only makes things worse and you become just as foolish.
“A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool’s back. Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit. He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool cutteth off the feet, and drinketh damage. The legs of the lame are not equal: so is a parable in the mouth of fools. The great God that formed all things both rewardeth the fool, and rewardeth transgressors. As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly. Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.” – Proverbs 26:3-7,10-12.
“so is a parable in the mouth of fools.” Have you heard the way some people talk when they try to justify their reason for doing the horrible things they do? They sound down right foolish. I had a client that was so irritate because she was dealing with the loss of her son that she resorted to hollering, screaming, and spreading lies about me, she did not want a solution to the problem, she wanted to make me look bad because she felt bad. What it all came down to was that she used the loss of her child as a way to manipulate people into doing things for her, and nothing I said was going to make her happy so all I could do was be nice and walk away. We cannot fight them with equal jabs, all we can do is be nice, God will take care of the situation, but you have to be the one to walk away, you have to know it is pointless to try to reason with them, and hand it all over to God.
“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” – Romans 12:19-21.
Sometimes you just want to live life like a hermit, hide in your house, and not let anyone get close to you, but we cannot live that way because God wants us to follow His commands and live. We need fellowship with other like minded Christians, we need to be present in the world, not a part of it, but present so we can tell people about Jesus. The truth is, we all have a little bit of evil in us, we are just as capable of doing mean things when we are having a rough time with things ourselves, or perhaps living in secret sin. People are mean when they have sin they are trying to cover up, but nothing we do is hidden, it eventually comes out, and it comes out in public.
“Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet. As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place. Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel. Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off. My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me. A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.” – Proverbs 27:3-12.
“Faithful are the wounds of a friend;” A true friend will speak the truth and tell you when something you are doing seems questionable, although the words may hurt, they help if one hears them. Of course, pride often gets in the way when people confront us about things, it is better to have true friends speak the truth, than fake friends who are deceitful and keep manipulating you. We have all been there, had that “friend” that pulled you into doing things, and who got in trouble, you did. Those are not friends, true friends will not try to get you to go against your faith, let alone entice you to do what you know you would never do if they were not around. Quite often, we need to empty our soul to see that who we really need is God, and it is time to start obeying Him rather than those around us.
“They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them. Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all things. Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich. Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son: but he that is a companion of riotous men shameth his father. He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor. He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination. Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession.” – Proverbs 28:4-10.
“even his prayer shall be abomination.” Those who know to do right, but do wrong anyway have God to deal with, and you can pray all you want for Him to help you through your situation, but unless you repent and start listening to Him He will not hear you. Salvation is given to us by the grace of God, it has always been by His grace that we are saved, cause clearly no matter what era we are born into we are all sinners, but if we want God’s blessings after we are saved we need to live righteously. No, God does not expect us to be perfect, He does expect us to put away the things that cause sin in our lives. Yes, we are a work in progress, but we need to keep working, and not use our salvation as a means to justify sin of any kind, whether it is in ourselves or others. We are the black sheep, the ones that stand out from the people of the world, it is time we stop trying to blend in with them and just be who God made us to be.
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.” – Titus 3:5-9.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “The great God that formed all things both rewardeth the fool, and rewardeth transgressors.” – Proverbs 26:10. Jesus shed His blood and died to save all, but He only saves those who believe in Him. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” – Romans 10:9.
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, You have called Your sheep from among those of the world, we are Your black sheep, the ones who stand out and do not fit. You do not keep us in the world to be a part of it, but to be present so that we can find more of Your sheep, and in order to do that we do need to live the way You did when you were here. Lord, lead us and guide us, give us Your power, stregnth, mercy, and grace to be present in the world and not become part of them. Help us to be cordial and friendly to all, even our enemies, while sometimes we must stand up and fight other times we must humble ourselves as You did and not say anything to them. Walk with us, protect us, and keep us faithful so all our prayers are heard. In Your name, Jesus, I pray. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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