July 29 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Luke 10:21-37:

²¹In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.
²²All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.
²³And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see:
²⁴For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
²⁵And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
²⁶He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
²⁷And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
²⁸And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
²⁹But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
³⁰And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
³¹And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
³²And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
³³But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
³⁴And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
³⁵And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
³⁶Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
³⁷And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

Devotional

We are debtors, debtors to God. Our debts to God are great; so that with the best intentions and the greatest efforts, we could never, never pay them. But God is merciful. For Christ's sake He forgives us our whole debt. He is kind to the unthankful and to the evil, wherefore Jesus tells us, "Be ye therefore merci­ful, as your Father also is merciful."

The merciful shall obtain mercy, and they that forgive, shall receive forgiveness. The psalmist says, "Blessed is he that considereth the poor; the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth." Christ says, "Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven." "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heav­enly Father will also forgive you." The apostle Paul prays, that the "Lord may give mercy to the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chains." The author of the epistle to the Hebrews writes, "God is not unright­eous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have showed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister." Of those at his right, Christ says, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." These shall go into life eternal.

Those on the left shall go into everlasting punishment. They had not given heed to the cry of the poor; they were unforgiving; they had shown no mercy. "He shall have judgment without mercy, that hath showed no mercy." The servant that showed no mercy was delivered to the tormentors. "So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses."

Prayer

O God our Father, we must confess before Thee, that we are so prone to requite evil with evil; to seek revenge instead of showing a spirit of forgiveness; to exact punishment instead of being merciful. Forgive us our unforgiving spirit; call to our minds what a great debt Thou hast forgiven us. Grant us repent­ance, that we may forgive from the heart, so that we may obtain Thy mercy and Thy forgiveness. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

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Scripture in Devotional: Matt. 18:27; Luke 6:35, 36; Ps. 41:1, 2; Luke 6:37; Matt. 6:14; 2 Tim. 1:16; Heb. 6:10; Matt. 25:40; Prov. 12:13; Mark 11:25; James 2:13; Matt. 18:35.

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