Reading your Bible for today July 5

July 5: Luke 16:9-12

KJV Key Verse: Luke 16:12
12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?

Devotion:
One place where I think many religions fall down is where they condemn others for not believing in their god or gods. As a Christian, we have no place to condemn any one; rather we have to leave judgement to the one who has the power to condemn but also the only valid reason to. This does not mean we have to spend all of our time with people who refuse to believe in Christ – far from it. The longer we spend with such people, the more we are likely to be tempted into doing what they do. But what we must not do is to condemn them!

How could we ever reach anyone with God's Word unless we were willing to go out and meet people? How would we ever introduce God's Word unless we were willing to show others what we believe in? How can we convince anyone that what we do is worthwhile if we are going to slap them in the face when they reject our ways? We need to be able to go freely in all walks of society, treading carefully so we do not deliberately upset others but always seeking to make friends and influence people!

We may think we are upright and just in our own eyes and may not want to mix with those who we think are not just – but all we need to do is to remind ourselves of what Christ had to do for us in order for us to be saved! All we need to do is to remember what we looked like in God's eyes. With that knowledge, we can go out and meet people, mix with them and hopefully allow them to see how we have given up those ways and now follow Christ's will in our lives. There is no better witness than a faithful follower!

Points to Ponder:
Do you pick your friends too carefully?

What would you do if Christ picked His friends carefully?