Friday Reading: Matthew 9:10-13
Key Verse: Matthew 9:13
13 But go and learn what this is, I will have mercy and not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Devotion:
My heart goes out to teachers in today’s society; the amount of grief and ‘back-talk’ they have to put up with from the children is just beyond belief. Yes there are many schools where the pupils are actually taught in classrooms that seem to be like classrooms, but there are also places where the teachers have to struggle to get past the weeds so that they can reach one or two pupils that are actually willing to listen. It is not always the ones that you expect that would make the noise that do but rather some that you would expect to be model pupils that cause the disturbances. I have the privilege of driving a minibus to convey children to and from church; listening to what they get up to in class is enough to give me grey hairs!
But these are the people that we need to reach out to, the children that are being left behind because they may be looked at as the disrupters in society. The children that miss out on the attention because they dare to show their distrust in society or dare to lift up their voices against the fact that they have been left behind are the voices of the children crying out for help from the inside, and these are the voices of the children that God hears. If we are going to obey God then we must not turn our backs on anyone in society, not even the ones who make a point of rebelling against all that we do.
Christ tried to set an example by opening up God’s Word to everyone. He set the example by reaching out to the lost. He set the bar at the level that He wants us to reach. It is no good waiting for the sinners to find their way into the light because they do not want to be seen in any light; we need to reach out into the darkness so that they can know the way toward the light. Only when they see how good the light is will they try to approach it. Reach out today and touch someone.
Points to Ponder:
Who do you like to be with?
Are you missing the people God is trying to reach?
Key Verse: Matthew 9:13
13 But go and learn what this is, I will have mercy and not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Devotion:
My heart goes out to teachers in today’s society; the amount of grief and ‘back-talk’ they have to put up with from the children is just beyond belief. Yes there are many schools where the pupils are actually taught in classrooms that seem to be like classrooms, but there are also places where the teachers have to struggle to get past the weeds so that they can reach one or two pupils that are actually willing to listen. It is not always the ones that you expect that would make the noise that do but rather some that you would expect to be model pupils that cause the disturbances. I have the privilege of driving a minibus to convey children to and from church; listening to what they get up to in class is enough to give me grey hairs!
But these are the people that we need to reach out to, the children that are being left behind because they may be looked at as the disrupters in society. The children that miss out on the attention because they dare to show their distrust in society or dare to lift up their voices against the fact that they have been left behind are the voices of the children crying out for help from the inside, and these are the voices of the children that God hears. If we are going to obey God then we must not turn our backs on anyone in society, not even the ones who make a point of rebelling against all that we do.
Christ tried to set an example by opening up God’s Word to everyone. He set the example by reaching out to the lost. He set the bar at the level that He wants us to reach. It is no good waiting for the sinners to find their way into the light because they do not want to be seen in any light; we need to reach out into the darkness so that they can know the way toward the light. Only when they see how good the light is will they try to approach it. Reach out today and touch someone.
Points to Ponder:
Who do you like to be with?
Are you missing the people God is trying to reach?