Devotion for 6/2/21 7 Minutes

Matthew 25:41-46

Good evening everyone watching by video this evening,,, it's time for our weekly devotion.

I'm praying that all of you are having a wonderful week so far.

As I've said the last several weeks,,, we need to continue to remember those that are dealing with this virus.

Those that are sick,,, since there are many others dealing with this sickness as it continues to grow and,,, those that have lost loved ones,,, we need to continue to remember them as well.

Remember the medical teams that are dealing with this and any others that must work and take a chance of contacting this virus.

Also,,, continue to remember those on our prayer list,,, and our country and it’s leaders.

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Our devotion this evening comes from Billy Graham's devotion titled "Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional".

Our scripture will be Matthew 25:41-46 and I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.

Matthew 25:41–46 (HCSB)

41 Then He will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels! 42 For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger and you didn’t take Me in; I was naked and you didn’t clothe Me, sick and in prison and you didn’t take care of Me.’44 “Then they too will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison, and not help You?’ 45 “Then He will answer them, ‘I assure you: Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me either.’ 46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this evening.

Let us pray:

Dear Lord,,, as we begin this evening,,, with all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen.

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How many times have we either read this passage of scripture or heard it read by a pastor before he preached on this?

And,,, how many times do we basically tune out these words because we know that we have accepted Christ as our Savior and we should be ok?

Jesus is warning all of us,,, that type of attitude will not help us.

The works that we will do don't save us,,, that's true,,, but we do the works,,, because we are saved!

And if we aren't taking care of those around us like we should,,, then we need to examine ourselves and be sure that we are listening to God like we should.

We do not want to hear these words spoken to us because then it will be too late to change.

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Billy Graham titled this devotion,,, "THE SIN OF OMISSION".

He said that Jesus gave this clear, strong warning against the blighting, murderous sin of omission.

He called those who failed to do good as unto Him, “cursed.”

He called those who did good as unto Him, “righteous.”

He said that it is very significant that in every one of Jesus’ parables of condemnation the sin condemned,,, is the sin of omission.

For example,,, the guest at the wedding supper was cast out because he did not wear the wedding garment.

The five foolish virgins did not bring oil with their lamps.

The man with one talent did not trade with it to his master’s profit.

The rich man did not minister to the poor man, Lazarus, lying at the gate.

The unmerciful servant did not forgive his fellow servant who owed him a paltry hundred pence.

He goes on to say that in the account of the last judgment,,, people were not asked questions of theology.

As important as doctrine is,,, they were not asked about their doctrinal beliefs.

Neither were they asked,,, what sins they had committed.

They neglected to do good,,, and their sin was grave enough to send them into everlasting punishment.

He finishes by saying,,, there must be a practical outworking of our faith here in this present world,,, or it will never endure in the world to come.

We need fewer words and more charitable works; less palaver and more pity; less repetition of creed and more compassion.

Then he asked the question,,, "What are your omissions?"

"And what do you intend to do about them?"

Prayer:

Our Father and our God, thank You for Your kindness and charity toward me. You have never omitted Your blessings from my life. I pray that I will not omit the blessings I can give to others because of Your Spirit living in me. Give me insight into what others need, and help me to fulfill those needs in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Graham, Billy. Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (p. 175). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.