Friday after the First Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on June 16, 2023 by under
Scripture: St. Matthew 10:34-42 (NKJV)
10:34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ 37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
40 “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. 41 He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”
Devotion
Our Lord gives what some may call a ‘reality check’ as He warns the disciples that the message they will preach will cause division.
As we considered earlier this week, some have come up with catch phrases and clichés that often minimize the truth of what Scripture teaches. We hear that Jesus preaches peace, but few acknowledge the kind of peace Jesus brings. Peace with God is by the washing of regeneration and forgiveness of sin. This type of peace causes enmity with the world because the world rejects the Lord.
This is why the type of peace Jesus brings to the believer will cause division, sometimes even within a household. There is a noticeable division between those who know the peace of God and those who want the false peace the world promises.
Our hope is that hearers receive the teachings of the Apostles found in Scripture and, therefore, receive Christ. If we receive Christ, then we have true peace which the world cannot give.
Prayer: O God, the Strength of all them that put their trust in Thee: Mercifully accept our prayers; and because through the weakness of our mortal nature we can do no good thing without Thee, grant us the help of Thy grace, that in keeping Thy commandments we may please Thee, both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
