Matthew 25:31-46 31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his 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 did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Mike McCoy
Hills Vineyard Christian Fellowship
Observation: Father, I hear You reminding me that as Your child I am blessed with an inheritance planned for me since the very beginning of the creation – living in and with You as Your beloved son today and forever, imitating You and Your way of life. As Your child, I have eyes to see You in the hungry, the poor, the imprisoned, the sick, and to love and serve You when I love and serve them.
Action: Father, I hear You asking me to respond by increasing my gifts to Jesus during this Lent Season. We (me & my family) will give 50% more to our churches local & global offerings for those in need as part of our churches Easter season.
Observation: I’m not the one who gets to do the separating/judging. That’s Your job. I am to help those in need whom You place in my path. There are some I’d like to help out if only they would let me. They don’t always. Still, I don’t get to judge them for it.
Action: Keep praying for those people, and be poised for the moment they are open to a word from You. I will try my best to be ready.
Love it Marty – and way to set the bar of response Mike! Well Done
I hear God’s voice in this saying simply, keep your eyes open and actually notice who is around you. In this, purpose to reach out to the people in our path.
Dear sweet Lord,
Show me all my bias.
Be my welcome eyes.
Teach me Lord, tenderly,
To love like You my prize.
Light this vision Lord of all,
Can’t do this this on my own
Till my garden, sprout new life-
Water love You’ve sown.
Amen.
The sheep see what God is doing, know his heart and act accordingly. They are not judging the situation or the people but are seeing a need and ministering to it.
God, help me see the needs in those you’ve led across my path. From whatever I have let me be a blessing to others.
The Father is in everyone and no one should be overlooked as to needy, to much trouble or less than because they don’t fit the picture of someone of worth.
Father as I look in the eyes of those I meet; I ask you allow me to see you in those moments however long or short it may be. Give me Patience to believe that every contact is intented for your purpose.Shield my mind from placing the disappointments in life onto my interactions with others.