Day 26: February 22

February 22nd, 2024
by Randy Eliason

SCRIPTURE READING: MATTHEW 10:26-42

SCRIPTURE HIGHLIGHTS:

10:28 “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

10:31 “Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

10:38-39 “And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

10:40 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.”

OBSERVATIONS:
The key theme of this passage is the costs and benefits of being a follower of Jesus. In the first eight sentences Jesus says, ”fear not” three times and “do fear” one time.

They are not to fear those who will persecute them because of their allegiance to Jesus.

They are not to fear the possibility they may be killed because of their allegiance to Jesus.
Instead, the one they should fear is God who has the power to punish them eternally in hell.
However, as followers of Jesus they do not need to fear because they are not in danger of God’s judgment. Instead, God will preserve them regardless of how others treat them.

In choosing to follow Jesus there is a cost. We will lose certain benefits that the world has to offer. However, the benefits we will gain by giving up all for Christ are far superior.

Acceptance of Jesus is acceptance of God the Father. Acceptance of Jesus’ followers is acceptance of Him. This is a principle repeated often in the NT.

APPLICATION:
How foolish it is to desire the approval of men and fear their judgment rather than to desire the approval of God and fear his judgment. The devil wants to deceive us to believe the crazy notion that we have more to lose than we have to gain by following Jesus but the truth is we lose everything and gain nothing of eternal value if we don’t follow Jesus!

Ultimate security and ultimate blessings are mine so long as I am in Christ. I have nothing to fear and nothing to lose. Being “in Christ” places me squarely in the Father’s hand!

I cannot claim to love God the Father if I don’t love Jesus. I can’t claim to love Jesus if I don’t love his other followers. They are part of the “Body of Christ”.

PRAYER:
Dear Lord, Thank you for reminding me that I am in your hand. You control my destiny, both my earthly and eternal destiny. Help me to recognize that whatever costs I must incur by following you are worth it and that obedience to you will ultimately be for my gain, for the gain of others, and most importantly for your glory. Thank you for reminding me how important it is that I treat your people with love. To love Christ is to love the body of Christ.