Day 106: Are You His Lamb?
Please read the Bible verses for today:
Matthew 25:31-46
The Sheep and the Goats
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. (Matthew 25:31-33)
Throughout the Scriptures Jesus refers to Himself as the Great Shepherd and those who follow Him are His sheep. Here again we find that He is using sheep to represent us, which I love. I love that Jesus sees me as His lamb and that His heart is like that of a shepherd- to watch, protect, provide, and care for his sheep.
In this passage we see very clearly that Jesus will separate those that know Him and have accepted Him as their Savior from those that do not. It is very clear that He knows His sheep and He knows who are goats. The scary thing to me is that many people think they have been good enough to win God's acceptance into heaven, but that is not what He requires. God requires a surrendered heart to Him and acceptance of His Son Jesus Christ. The truth is clear and the consequences severe. Be ready.
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.’ (Matthew 25:34-40)
The only reason I have ever given to the poor, or gone into prisons, or helped out at a homeless shelter was because Jesus moved my heart to do so. On my own, before knowing Jesus, I would see the homeless on the streets of New York every day and do nothing for them. They were apart of my scenery, if you will, they were there every day just like I would pass the shops on my way to school. They were fixtures just sitting there. I was afraid of them and would completely ignore them. But when I asked Jesus into my heart, He gave me His heart for the poor, homeless and imprisoned. I became His sheep with my Shepherds heart and touched the lives of the people He cared for. I was not doing 'good deeds' as I helped the hurting stranger, I was being God's hand of love on this earth. I was being obedient to what He asked me to do.
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.” (Matthew 25:41-46)
Pray with me:
Jesus, thank you for coming into my heart and making me new. Thank you for opening my eyes to your loving heart of compassion for all people. Help me to listen for your voice to touch even more lives on a daily basis. Thank you that I am your sheep and will be welcomed into heaven one day. Lord, I pray for those that do not know you. I pray that you will touch their heart, their eyes, their minds to know you, to see you, to love you. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
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