Tuesday 26 Jan 2021

January 26: Matthew 20:20-28
 
Key Verse: Matthew 20:28
just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
 
Devotion:
Zebedee was a prosperous fisherman whose sons, James and John, were called to be disciples by Jesus. We surmise Zebedee believed in Jesus because he made no attempt to stop his sons from following Jesus when they were called. His wife approached Jesus and asked for her sons to be given prominent positions in Heaven, to be sat either side of Jesus!
 
I think they must have been looked up at in society for her to approach Jesus and ask such things, but Jesus told her He could not give them such positions in heaven because it was not His position to do this. This is God’s realm we are talking about and only God, the Father of Jesus should make such decisions; Jesus was already in His role as the Messiah, the human man living amongst us.
 
God looks at the work we do here on earth, not the results of the work we do... This seems like a small difference because we view a successful disciple as one who has shared the gospel with many and brought many to believe in Christ... But it is not all about the numbers or who we bring to Christ, it’s about how we measure up to the task given us by God!
 
God may be calling us to simply bring the gospel to one other person in our lives. He may we calling us to build a community which will in turn bring people to Him. He may be calling us to reach out to a single person who will make a difference in our community. He will judge us according to what He has called us to and not the numbers affected by us!
 
Points to Ponder:
What is God calling you to do?
 
Are you really listening to God’s instructions?