Cold Water

Saturday, June 10, 2017

Cold Water

Scripture:

Matthew 25:31-40

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy^[c] angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. ³² All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. ³³ And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. ³⁴ Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: ³⁵ for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? ³⁸ When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? ³⁹ Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ ⁴⁰ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

Psalm 100:3

Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

James 1:27

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.

Hebrews 10:34

For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.

Proverbs 19:17

Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.

Matthew 10:42

“And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

Devotional:

Oh, my Jesus. He is and was so amazing. His life, His words, His heart. They confound and inspire me, and they make me want to be like Him. Giving, giving, giving. Sacrificing. Laying down His life from the beginning of His life until the brutal end. And this is God! God is this way. Sacrificial. Loving. Giving. Serving. Oh, to be this way! Oh, to raise children who are like Him!

Sheep of His pasture, who prefer others before ourselves.

Unselfish servants who see a need and rush to meet it.

Generous givers who want to share in our blessings with others.

I love how Jesus came to change our idea of Who God is. The perception and constructs of Jewish culture implied that God was angry, judging, punishing and restrictive. Jesus came to show us His compassion, and that He loves and wants to care for us. His heart also is that we would be the same. As we learn to be givers and servants, and as we instill that into our children, I believe we will see a shift in our homes. As parents of strong willed children, sometimes the challenge and difficulty of parenting this/these child(ren) can take our whole focus. I want to alter my focus from overwhelm to see my call to parenting that I am a servant of God, giving a cup of cold water to my child(ren) to meet the needs that will shape them into who God has called them to be, and to in turn help shape them to be servants and givers. This shaping of their will can help change their focus, too, and teach them to channel all that intensity and strength into God’s purposes.

Prayer:

Father, I thank You that You authored this narrative of the life of Jesus so that we could see Your heart and desire for Your children. Thank You that You have received me into Your kingdom by the blood of Jesus. Thank You that You have this manual for living that I can follow.

Lord, I ask that You will stir in me the desire to be a servant to my family and to others outside our home. Let our home be one of giving and generosity. Let us ooze with abundant kindness and desire to serve.  Remove any fear, bitterness, selfishness and pride that hinder any member of my family from extending this hand to other. Thank You that You are the Author of this in my home.

Intercession:

I lift my child(ren) to You today. Let their heart(s) be filled with this desire to serve. Let them be generous and ready to share (1 Timothy 6:18). Let them hunger to do good works each day in our home and as we move about our community and into the world.

I lift up (name, focus on and intercede for specific needs). I ask for Your divine intervention and grace. I confess that I cannot work this out without You. I lean on You and depend on You for Your solutions.

I praise You for Your work in our home, my children and me.

Bless Your holy Name, Lord!

In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.