Reading your Bible for today August 31

August 31: Matthew 23:37-39

KJV Key Verse: Matthew 23:37
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy* children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

Devotion:
Have you ever noticed Christ would not dwell on the sufferings which He was about to go through but rather dwelt on the rejection of the people. He did not lay down a “guilt trip” about how much He would have to go through just because we are the sinners. He just gave them a reminder of all the things the people of Jerusalem had done, would do and then reminded them of His love.

Just like a hen, He is willing to lift up His wings and cover us when we scramble back to Him for help and shelter. But just like a hen, He will sit and cover those who do scramble back, but cannot do anything about the others who refuse to come back to Him. He calls us and He encourages us, but if we are not willing to listen to His instruction, then we will not be able to get the help and protection that He is offering. We are the ones that have to make the choice to go to Him.

Christ knew what would happen to the Jews and He knew that He would not be able to protect them unless they came to Him. As soon as they turned their backs on Him, they were on their own again. When they try to get shelter from others, that is all they get; but if they are willing to come back to Him they then get the full benefit of His protection with eternal life in Christ Jesus. It is sad to see so many people who refuse to make that simple step of coming back into Christ’s protective arms by just admitting He is our Saviour and asking for that protection. There is no way He will reject anyone who calls out for His help when they believe that, He will help them.

The young chicks would scurry back to the hen knowing they would get protection. We need to scurry back to Christ and know He is going to protect us. We need to make sure our faith is strong enough to believe that His helping, loving arms will cover us as soon as we declare Him as our Saviour because He IS waiting...

Points to Ponder:
Who do you call out to for help?

Do you know the power of God?