Good Monday morning, my friends.
Going to church is to life as a huddle is to a game of football. (Thanks, Pastor Jeff!)
Here is what I learned in our huddle yesterday, and need to put into practice today.
Yesterday we were treated to a great sermon on Jesus' parable of the sheep and the goats:
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, 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?' Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."(Matthew 25:31-46)
On the surface, this parable says "if you do good deeds you go to heaven, if you don't you go to hell." But is that what Jesus is really saying?
Remember that Jesus was speaking to a group of Jews, including religious leaders. These are people who believed in God, in Yahweh. Jesus is telling them that belief is not enough. He is saying that if you truly love God with all of your heart, mind and strength, then your heart will break for the same things that break God's heart. You will say, as Isaiah did "Here am I. Send me!" (Isaiah 6:8). Send me to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the sick and in prison.
James reinforces this when he says "So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead" (James 2:17). "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." (James 1:27)
The tough question: "Are we simply hearers of the word or are we doers?" The sermon ended with this powerful video.
End of huddle. Ready ... Break!
Grace and peace be yours in abundance,
Bruce
Dear Heavenly Father,
With their inner spiritual vision as a guide, many can now see that they are ever moving closer to the return of Christ as He promised to do when He departed for heaven. Help us to be doers of Your Word in these last days.
Let us who strive to be His faithful servants, therefore, in these remaining days, and be motivated through our witness and testimony to do the works we are directed to do by the Holy Spirit, praying that God will use us more than ever before to help those who are outside the family of believers, facing eternal damnation without the salvation promised by Jesus.
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