ESOCS Devotional 16 November 2023 – Broken By Him, or Cursed By Him?
MEMORY VERSE: “Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder”. Luke 20:18 KJV
TEXT: LUKE 20: 9-18 (KJV)
Then began he to speak to the people this parable; A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time.
10 And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty.
11 And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty.
12 And again he sent a third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out.
13 Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be they will reverence him when they see him.
14 But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.
15 So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them?
16 He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid.
17 And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner?
18 Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.
Read Yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
The word “broken” throws up uniformly negative images: broken bones, broken hearts, broken plates, broken marriages or homes, etc. Nobody wants something he/she values to be broken. Conversely, in God’s dictionary, brokenness is not only good but also very important. He uses only people whose hearts, volition, and pride have been broken. Jesus gave a double warning: those who stumble over that stone (Himself) will be broken,” while it will grind to powder anyone if falls on.
God offers a choice of “brokenness.” Those who cast themselves on Jesus, submitting their wills and all that they are to Him, will be broken by Him of arrogance, hard-heartedness, and self-centeredness. It is not a pleasant process but an absolutely necessary one. For those who do not submit to Christ, He will ultimately “fall on them,” an experience that can only be described as “crushing.”
The choice is ours: broken before Him, or crushed by Him.
FURTHER READING: Psalm 51; Isaiah 24:1-end; Luke 20:9-20: Romans 15:14-22
ESOCS Devotional 17 November 2023
