Daily Manna 27 May
KEY VERSE: “Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:4).
TEXT: MATTHEW 18:1-14
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, 3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.
6 “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of [a]offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!
8 “If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into [b]hell fire.
10 “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. 11 For[c] the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.
12 “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? 13 And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. 14 Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
Read yesterday’s Daily Manna here
According to A.W. Tozer, “In every Christian heart there is a cross and a throne, and the Christian is on the throne till he puts himself on the cross; if he refuses the cross he remains on the throne … We want to be saved but we insist that Christ do all the dying. No cross for us, no dethronement, no dying. We remain king within the little kingdom of man and wear our tinsel crown with all the pride of a Caesar; but we doom ourselves to shadows and weakness and spiritual sterility.”
Dying daily on the cross is the way to greatness in God’s Kingdom. Jesus, in the previous chapter, had been to the Mount of Transfiguration with three of His disciples. He had healed the epileptic boy and had instructed Peter to cast a hook and get money from the fish’s mouth to pay the temple tax. The disciples were preoccupied with the organisational structure of Christ’s earthly kingdom, hence the question; “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
The Lord ignored their question and made a practical illustration of humility of heart and life as a virtue that paves the way for greatness in God’s kingdom. He noted that there must be genuine conversion to childlikeness characterised by sincerity of heart. As believers, we must make it a priority to pray for the dethronement of self and be clothed with humility. These will enable us keep our eternal perspective.
Humility will also help in our spiritual progress and heavenward journey. We must in all humility depend on the Holy Spirit to seek and save the lost. Remember that God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. Therefore, as God’s children, we must be clothed in transparent humility.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Humility is the badge of every true Christian.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 SAMUEL 14
Thank you for studying today’s Daily Manna – Humility Is Key – by Pastor Enoch A.
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Daily Manna 27 May 2021
