‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me’ (Matthew 25:34-36).
Unfortunately, not all of us Christians will hear those welcoming words. Some of us will hear these:
‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire. Prepare for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger, and you did not invite me in; I needed clothes, and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me’ (Matthew 25:41-46).
“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
We are unique in many ways. Hence, we all have different methods of approaching difficult situations. Some of us turn to professionals, family, friends and neighbors when we do not know what to do with our problems. But often time these sources of help are inadequate. So, many of us throw our hands in the air and give up. Others who have read God’s Word and believed in His promises turn to Him for divine help.
In 2 Chronicles 20 Jehoshaphat, king of Judah was faced with a very difficult situation. He got the news from the people that the Moabites, Meunites and the Ammonites were mounting an attack against him. And even though he was fearful. He never took things in his hands, and he never surrendered. Instead, he turned to God for divine intervention. Here is what the Bible says:
“Jehoshaphat was terrified by the news and begged the LORD for guidance. He also ordered everyone in Judah to begin fasting. 4 So people from all the towns of Judah came to Jerusalem to seek the LORD’s help.
Jehoshaphat stood before the community of Judah, and Jerusalem, in front of the new courtyard at the Temple of the LORD. 6 He prayed, “O LORD, God of our ancestors. You alone are the God, who is in heaven. You are the ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you! 7 O our God, did you not drive out those who lived in this land when your people Israel arrived? And did you not give this land forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham? 8 Your people settled here and built this Temple to honor your name. 9 They said, ‘Whenever we face any calamity such as war, plague, or famine, we can come to stand in your presence before this Temple where we honor your name. We can cry out to you to save us, and you will hear us and rescue us” 2 Chronicles 20:3-9).
God did answer Jehoshaphat’s prayer. His soldiers did not have to lift a finger. The enemies started fighting against themselves. The Bible says; there were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as the eye could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped.
And here is the kicker according to verse 30: “So Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side”.
Do you have a credibility problem?
Most people I know would answer no to the above question, but that’s because they have creditability issues, and they think no one notices. Look, we can’t help being disingenuous sometimes. It is part of the legacy we have received from Adam and Eve. If we humans did not have credibility issues, then there would be no need for the cross.
Of course, credibility is a bigger problem for some of us than others. Many of us have managed to disguise the problem from human attention, but Jesus sees and knows everything you do.
In Matthew 23, Jesus called out the Religious leaders and teachers of the day. He referred to them as ‘hypocrites’ which I am sure was a surprise to the people. It seemed the religious leaders of the day had blinded the people with their facade. Here are some of what Jesus had to say, according to Matthew 23:1-7:
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.
“Everything they do is for show. On their arms, they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels. And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and be called ‘Rabbi.’ by others
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