Matthew 25:31-46, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: TEACH US TO PRAY, LORD

We can’t even get the cable company to answer us, yet God will?  The doctor is too busy, but God isn’t?  We have our doubts about prayer!

Jesus raised people from the dead. But a “How to Vacate the Cemetery” seminar? His followers never called for one. But they did ask Him, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Might their interest have something to do with the jaw-dropping promise Jesus attached to prayer? “Ask and it will be given to you.” When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, He gave them a prayer. Could you use the same?

Father, You are good.
I need help. Heal me and forgive me.
They need help.
Thank You.
In Jesus’ name, amen.

Before amen—comes the power of a simple prayer. Punctuate your day with it!

Read more Before Amen

Matthew 25:31-46
The Sheep and the Goats
31-33 “When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.

34-36 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:

I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.’

37-40 “Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’

41-43 “Then he will turn to the ‘goats,’ the ones on his left, and say, ‘Get out, worthless goats! You’re good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because—

I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited.’

44 “Then those ‘goats’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn’t help?’

45 “He will answer them, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.’

46 “Then those ‘goats’ will be herded to their eternal doom, but the ‘sheep’ to their eternal reward.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Tuesday, February 06, 2018
Read: Job 1:13–22

13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, 15 and the Sabeans attacked and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

16 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the heavens and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

17 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

18 While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 19 when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
    and naked I will depart.[a]
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
    may the name of the Lord be praised.”

22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

Footnotes:
Job 1:21 Or will return there

INSIGHT
When we suffer we often ask why? But this might not be the best question. When Job’s friends tried to explain away Job's pain, they angered God (42:7). A better question is Who do we turn to? Job never received an explanation for his pain, but he found that seeing God was answer enough (v. 5).

How has God shown His presence in your pain?

Praising Through Problems
By Linda Washington

Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble? Job 2:10

“It’s cancer.” I wanted to be strong when Mom said those words to me. But I burst into tears. You never want to hear those words even one time. But this was Mom’s third bout with cancer. After a routine mammogram and biopsy, Mom learned that she had a malignant tumor under her arm.

Though Mom was the one with bad news, she had to comfort me. Her response was eye-opening for me: “I know God is always good to me. He’s always faithful.” Even as she faced a difficult surgery, followed up by radiation treatments, Mom was assured of God’s presence and faithfulness.

God is still present, still good. He will help us through hard times.
How like Job. Job lost his children, his wealth, and his health. But after hearing the news, Job 1:20 tells us “he fell to the ground in worship.” When advised to curse God, he said, “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” (2:10). What a radical initial response. Though Job later complained, ultimately he accepted that God had never changed. Job knew that God was still with him and that He still cared.

For most of us, praise is not our first response to difficulties. Sometimes the pain of our circumstances is so overwhelming, we lash out in fear or anger. But watching Mom’s response reminded me that God is still present, still good. He will help us through hard times.

Lord, prepare me for the times when praise is most difficult to utter.

Is someone hurting? See this special edition of Our Daily Bread: Hope and Strength in Times of Illness at odb.org/hopeandstrength.

Even at our lowest point, we can lift our eyes to the Lord.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, February 06, 2018
Are You Ready To Be Poured Out As an Offering? (2)
I am already being poured out as a drink offering… —2 Timothy 4:6

Are you ready to be poured out as an offering? It is an act of your will, not your emotions. Tell God you are ready to be offered as a sacrifice for Him. Then accept the consequences as they come, without any complaints, in spite of what God may send your way. God sends you through a crisis in private, where no other person can help you. From the outside your life may appear to be the same, but the difference is taking place in your will. Once you have experienced the crisis in your will, you will take no thought of the cost when it begins to affect you externally. If you don’t deal with God on the level of your will first, the result will be only to arouse sympathy for yourself.

“Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar” (Psalm 118:27). You must be willing to be placed on the altar and go through the fire; willing to experience what the altar represents— burning, purification, and separation for only one purpose— the elimination of every desire and affection not grounded in or directed toward God. But you don’t eliminate it, God does. You “bind the sacrifice…to the horns of the altar” and see to it that you don’t wallow in self-pity once the fire begins. After you have gone through the fire, there will be nothing that will be able to trouble or depress you. When another crisis arises, you will realize that things cannot touch you as they used to do. What fire lies ahead in your life?

Tell God you are ready to be poured out as an offering, and God will prove Himself to be all you ever dreamed He would be.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The great point of Abraham’s faith in God was that he was prepared to do anything for God.  Not Knowing Whither, 903 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, February 06, 2018
The Last Roller Coaster Ride - #8107

I was a little boy. I'll never forget the day when my Dad took me to Riverview, the big amusement park then in Chicago. We had a ball until he insisted on taking me - against my serious objections - on "The Bobs." See, that was Riverview's biggest roller coaster. Oh, I had seen the people on the TV commercials screaming like death was near, but he persuaded me to go. I was not a happy camper. I didn't scream. I didn't cry. I didn't do anything. I froze! I gripped the safety bar, I stared straight ahead, never blinked, never spoke the entire ride. My Dad was frantically trying to get me to say something. I could not. It was a long time after before I ever rode a roller coaster again. I was so glad to get off.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Last Roller Coaster Ride."

A roller coaster ride that isn't much fun - that's how a lot of Jesus' followers feel about their Christian life. Maybe you've had your share of spiritual highs, and the view at the top is exciting. But you've also had the bottom drop out and plunge you down into the valley of spiritual mediocrity and defeat. And a whole lot of people are tired of this up-and-down faith thing. They're ready for something more consistent. They're ready to get off the Christian roller coaster.

Well, then consider the formula for consistent spiritual victory in our word for today from the Word of God. First Kings 20, the Aramean army had attacked Israel and had been routed, but immediately they began planning another assault the next year. 1 Kings 20:23, "The officials of the king of Aram advised him, 'Their gods are the gods of the hills. That is why they were too strong for us. But if we fight them on the plains, surely we will be stronger than they.'"

Sure enough, the Aramean army came against Israel the following Spring, sure that the Jews had a God that was only good on the hills. Listen to what God's prophet tells the king of Israel. "This is what the Lord says, 'Because the Arameans think the Lord is a god of the hills and not a god of the valleys, I will deliver this vast army into your hands, and you will know that I am the Lord.'" And sure enough, God proved to be the God of the valleys every bit as much as He was God of the hills.

Maybe the devil has looked at you and said, "She's got a God that only works for her during the high times." As long as you've had the "fix" of the latest retreat or concert or church meeting or event, oh you've stayed close to Jesus, you've walked the Jesus-way. But when the roller coaster of your feelings takes a plunge--as roller coasters do--so does your walk with Christ. You're hard to beat on the mountains, but you're all too beatable in the valleys.

But see, your God is God of the valleys, too. You just need to start anchoring your life to your unchanging relationship with Jesus instead of your ever-changing feelings. Spiritual consistency - the kind where you keep gaining ground instead of just gaining and losing the same ground over and over again - that kind of spiritual consistency is anchored first to a daily, non-negotiable time with Jesus in His Book. The fuel for your faith has got to be not the next event, but a daily time in His Word with Him, looking for a practical step of obedience for that twenty-four hours. Your life is days, right? Your relationship with Christ has to be anchored to a source that is daily, not occasional.

Spiritual consistency also means a fresh, daily surrender of your life and the things that really matter to you. An annual rededication or occasional spiritual rush will probably not give you lasting spiritual progress. Each new day you give you - and the specific parts of your life - to Jesus.

And you have to learn the power of resisting the devil instead of just allowing him to manipulate you through your feelings. You say, "Well, I know who this is, and I'm not falling for it any more!" Remember, the Bible says if you "resist the devil," then "he will flee from you" (James 4:7).

If you'll make each new day a new beginning with Jesus, then you can quit trying to keep the last high alive. You've ridden this spiritual roller coaster long enough haven't you? Make this the day you get off the roller coaster, and the first day of a lifetime of days when you walk instead on solid ground.