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Monday, March 23, 2009
Pearls and Pigs
"Don't give holy things to dogs. They will only turn and hurt
you. And don't throw your pearls to pigs. They will only step
on them."
-- Matthew 7:6 (ERV)
KEY THOUGHT:
Wow! Jesus uses really strong language here. At first, he seems to be
breaking the very command that he just gave about being non-judgmental.
But instead, Jesus is reminding us that being non-judgmental does not
mean we are undiscerning, wasteful, and silly. We are to recognize that
there are some people so hardened to receiving the message that they
will not listen; we are to quit wasting our time in trying to convince
them. He chooses the powerful imagery of a well-known proverb to make
his point. He says similar things in a softer way elsewhere. The bottom
line, however, is that there comes a time when we realize that people
will not hear the Gospel message. Their repeated determination not to
hear and their unwillingness to respond don't mean we are to try
harder, but simply to try elsewhere! Being a nonjudgmental person does
not mean we refuse to "see the handwriting on the wall" and keep
wasting our efforts on those who refuse to hear.
TODAY'S PRAYER:
Father of all mercy, give me wisdom to know when you have opened a door
for me to reach out to my friends, family and neighbors, and when to
move on to others. I don't want to give up too quickly on those who
might respond, but neither do I want to simply try to be more
hardheaded than those refusing to hear and further annoy them by
continuing to try. Please lead me to those who are ready to hear of
your grace. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
>> NEW: Phil's What Jesus Did devotional is now
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>> The WJD! web page has related scriptures and the
>> full text of today's key passage. Read it at:
http://www.heartlight.org/wjd/matthew/0323-wjd.html
>> For further study of today's passage, use our
>> online Bible study site: SearchGodsWord.org!
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Matthew+7:6&sr=1&t=erv
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