- Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. Matthew 7:6 – What is Jesus saying here? Jesus just finished talking about how we are not to be unjustly judging and condemning other’s when we ourselves have our own sins within our lives to deal with. Jesus then attaches onto that discussion this verse above about not casting our pearls before swine. A key lesson to see is that Jesus wasn’t calling us to do away with all types of judgement here, in fact He is calling us to some level of discernment in our dealing with people. Jesus is saying that as we have individuals that we are seeking to share the gospel with, yet they want nothing to do with it and only plan to reject it, don’t keep on sharing it with them. Of course we are to share the Gospel with the world, but if as we are sharing with certain people we discern they want nothing to do with the “pearl” of the gospel and only plan to trample it under their feet after receiving it, then Jesus is allowing us to move on to cast our pearls before someone who will receive them gladly. The “dogs and pigs” in the passage are simply people who wholly reject the gospel. Allow then this passage to provide some freedoms for you as you are seeking to tell people about the Gospel. Maybe you have someone in your life that you have been trying to share Jesus with for years, yet they stubbornly reject it constantly. Understand from this passage Jesus is giving you the freedom to move on and trust them with Him. Pray that their heart will soften and pray that someone else may have a greater impact than you could, but know it’s alright to move on from them to try and share the Gospel somewhere else. The Gospel is too precious to only share with those who will reject it underfoot, be willing to move on to others who will receive it gladly. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3329
- Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8 – Such a famous verse, but such a verse that gets misused. We use it to almost blackmail God into giving us things. Like we say, “I asked for it now give it!” But we need to see what Jesus is really saying here by connecting it to the verses before it. Those verses talk about the log in your eye and the speck in someone else’s. It’s about how to help you and others with the sin in their life. Then the very next verses are what we are looking at today. Jesus is saying if you are unsure of how to deal with the sin in your life or how to help someone with their sin, ask, seek God out with it, and know He’ll provide what you need. These aren’t verses that make God out into our personal vending machine, it’s saying that God will always help us carry out our mission of loving God with our own life by setting aside our sin and loving people by helping them away from their sin so they can fully embrace God! Let’s make sure we understand scripture the way God wrote it not the way we want to read it. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 861
- Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ Matthew 7:21-23 – This passage should cause you to pause. A mere profession of religion is not the same as a wholehearted devotional life to God and His works. Simply looking like a follower of Jesus, talking like a follower of Jesus, and living like a follower of Jesus won’t make you a follower of Jesus. Only giving your life to Jesus and setting everything at His feet so you can freely follow Him will do that. Today, pause and reflect. Have you truly given your life to Jesus? Sure maybe you’ve gone to church your whole life, gone international for mission trips, and maybe even preached sermons, but have you started a relationship with Jesus? At the end of your life what will welcome you into Heaven is the fact you chose to follow Jesus. You may be the most generous, most compassionate, most selfless person on earth, but if you haven’t started that relationship with Jesus what’s said in this chapter will be said to you by Jesus…I never knew you. Make sure today you have things right with God. You may not have tomorrow to do so. Need help figuring out what all that means, DM me and I’d love to chat with you. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1957
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