“Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see You hungry and feed You, thirsty and give You a drink? And when did we ever see You sick or in prison and come to You?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was Me—YOU DID IT TO ME.” Matthew 25:40. 

This is an example of how misguided and misdirected we can all get. We keep trying to make His ways fit our agendas, and the result is that we don’t understand the way He does things. Almighty God is not like us! Jesus chose to become like us, but we can’t ever even begin to imagine how glorious our Heavenly Father is!

People have to work because they need shelter, clothes and they like to eat. But that is not what WE are here for. You and I are commanded to love others, we have a specific assignment. We must choose to take note of, and acquaint ourselves with God’s ways, or this world around us starts to overwhelm us and we will become ineffective. 

I often ask myself when I read the book, ‘what is God showing me about Himself, through this bit I just read.’ The people Jesus is talking about in this verse from Matthew had no idea about God’s ways. So let me make that as clear as I can. When you or I help someone else, no matter how small or unworthy they are in this world’s eyes, no matter what they have done … we are HELPING JESUS! Ya might want to pause and think about that … for a millennia.

We have this crackpot idea that being saved makes us more special. The thing is, sometimes we can’t tell the difference between the people who know Him and those who don’t. Going to church does not make you a Christian! The Holy Spirit has been working on every single human being from when we were all inside our mother’s womb. God’s criteria is that He loves people – all of us! One of His Ways is to work good things and bad things  “… ALL things together for our good, for those who are called according to HIS purpose.”God often has a purpose that we can’t see!

Every human being that has ever been born has been under His watchful eyes:‘No creature is hidden from Him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to Whom we must give account.” Hebrews 4:13. The Lord has one plan – to save mankind – and He already did it! We must stop thinking of ourselves, as some sort of club, where the password is the name of Jesus, and start realising “God loved the whole world so much that He sent His only Son …”Jesus came for everyone. Yeah I get it, some people will say ‘no’  — I cannot comprehend WHY … but they do. But that’s immaterial, Jesus did what He did to save everyone, because God wants everyone to be with Him!

Meanwhile, our precious Father does not advertise Himself – He relies upon us. The Lord’s kind of advertisements are written in the sky. or the mighty ocean, or in a hummingbird, or a whale. He is waiting for you and I to notice what He has already done, and what He is doing.  We have the bible and it expounds and explains what He says, to help us understand. But some of the best revelations are discovered by us simply looking for HIM – not just in church or prayer group or bible study – but wherever we are. Ask yourself in various situations: “What is God doing right now?” Almighty God is always found by seekers.“He rewards those that diligently seek Him …”

Take Abraham. The Lord valued Abraham’s faith. At a time when there was no righteousness to be found, the Lord saw this man’s faith in action, and God credited this man with righteousness because of that active, productive faith. He regarded Abraham so highly He talked with Him about what was going to come next. “Then the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?”(Genesis 18:17 – Sodom and Gomorrah.) Abraham was the father of our faith simply because he believed God and then he acted upon what the Lord said. There were no signs in the sky, or a burning bush like Moses, the man just obeyed. The kid came later.

Then there was the example of Jonah who inadvertently travelled in a fish taxi. He had faith, but he did not want to obey. This man preached to a whole city, against his own prejudicial attitude. God and Jonah had a conversation, because Jonah didn’t want those people saved! Afterward, this man was sitting in the sun, and God in His goodness sent a plant to give him shelter, but then the plant died.

“But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”“It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?” Jonah 4:9-11.

Those verses clearly define the difference between man’s agenda and God’s. Jonah is focussed on and angry about the lack of shade he has – HIS comfort. Instead God cares about the nearly quarter of a million souls in Nineveh!! We must make the personal choice to find, learn and cherish His priorities. Bye 👋.