Daily Devotional
Betty Miller shares her daily
devotionals which are based on the book of Proverbs in the Bible.
The Wisdom
of God
Verses for the Day:
11 If thou forbear
to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain;
12 If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart
consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he
render to every man according to his works?
Proverbs 24:11-12 (AMP):
11 Deliver those who are
drawn away to death, and those who totter to the slaughter hold them back (from their
doom).
12 If you (profess ignorance and) say, Behold, we did not know this, does not He
Who weighs and ponders the heart perceive and consider it? And He Who guards
your life, does not He know it? And shall not He render to (you and) every man
according to his works?
Thoughts for the Day:
These verses in Proverbs
tell us that our Christian duty is to try and rescue those who are in situations
that will lead them to death. We cannot turn a deaf ear to those who are crying
for help, nor can we shut our eyes to the suffering around us. We live in an
hour when television transmits tragic situations into our living rooms and we
must take our responsibility to help those whom we can. We must keep our ears open to
the Holy Spirit as to what He wants us to do when things are brought to our
attention. Obviously, we cannot help the whole world, but we can help that
one person or that one situation that God lays upon our heart to help. We
must not become callous to the suffering we see in our world. We must
always stand ready to reach out to the helpless, the poor, the hurting, the
hungry and the sick.
At times, the Lord
may have us actually go to someone, or the physical site, and give of our
personal
assistance. In other cases, we should give of our finances to help those who are
there, ready to help, but need our support. We can all help by taking time
to pray for those who are going through trials or pain. Prayer changes
things. The Lord commissioned us, as His people, to help the poor and needy.
He tells us in the scripture below, that when we give to others with needs, it
is, as if we are giving directly to Jesus.
Matthew 25:34-46:
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me
drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and
ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an
hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch
as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it
unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed,
into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me
no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick,
and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered,
or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister
unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did
it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into
life eternal.
Verse 12 in
our study tells us that God knows the hearts of men and if we try to make
excuses why we have not reached out to help others, then we will reap what we
have sown in the matter. When we do not sow kindness and help toward
others when they have a need, we will not receive help when we are faced with
our own trials. As God's children, He wants us to have a heart like His own.
He is merciful, kind, loving and giving and we should strive to be like Him.
One of our promises is that when we are sick, God will heal us and deliver us
from trouble because we have given to the poor. What wonderful insurance!
Psalm 41:1-3:
1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. Blessed is he that considereth the
poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.
2 The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon
the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.
3 The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all
his bed in his sickness.
To sum up our
Christian duty to the needy, I am reminded of a stanza from an old hymn that
says, we are to -- "Rescue the perishing; care for the dying."
Prayer for the Day:
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You for blessing me and Lord, give me a greater heart to reach out and
bless others. Lord, keep me from selfishness, greed, insecurity, lust,
indifference and any other thing that would keep me from giving of the things
You have given me. May I always be reminded that all I own belongs to You,
and I am only a steward over it. Lord, I want to hear Your voice as to
where I should give and how much I should give. Lord, I always want to be
generous and kind and one who reaches out to the poor and needy. Help me
to be sensitive to those who are hurting and deliver me from any hardness of
heart that would cause me to turn a deaf ear to the needs of others. I ask
this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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