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Compassion Ministries
Sister Elizabeth Hartbarger
The Son of Man Will Judge the Nations
31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
44 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
An Open Door
Read Acts 14:1 through 16:40
Paul…having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia…. the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to…. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us” (Acts 16:6,7,9).
Twice God forbade Paul and his missionary party to go north into Asia, but directed them to Macedonia on the mainland of Greece. This caused the gospel to be spread in Europe instead of Asia. Because the gospel was planted in Europe it came to America on the Mayflower.
Because God directed Paul to Troas, hundreds of years later the United States of America was founded as a Christian nation and has been used of God to send missionaries all over the world. These few verses in Acts should cause tears of thankfulness and joy as we humbly realize, God in His sovereign grace sent Paul to Europe. What a challenge for Christians to take the gospel to those who have not received it!
Challenge for Today: When you are actively seeking the Lord’s will and He closes doors, watch for Him to open another door instead.
Quicklook: Acts 16:6–15
Devotional brought to you by God's Word For Today.
God's Word For Today is available from Gospel Publishing House.
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