Mountain Top Life Devotional 26 December 2019 – Help From A Despised Source
TOPIC: Help From A Despised Source
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Haggai; Revelation 17
FIRE SCRIPTURE: Luke 10:25-33
MEMORY VERSE: “And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.” – Matthew 27:32
MESSAGE: There was distinct racial strain between Jews and Samaritans (John 4:9). They did not frequently interact with one another; and in some cases, outright hostility and hatred existed. But Jesus, early in His ministry, taught the Samaritans the truth of God. He ministered to the “Samaritan woman” and to the people of Samaria.
Jesus is our best example in all things. The woman did not expect to find favour and help from a Jew. She got more help than she ever expected from Jesus. The parable of Jesus in our Fire Scripture reveals that there has been racial discrimination from time immemorial. Jesus came to provide solution to the problems of mankind. Through Him, all forms of prejudice and segregation were destroyed and removed.
The man who was attacked by thieves was a Jew. He was assaulted, wounded and left half dead. He needed help. There were probably more Jews than Samaritans around, and one would have expected that the man would get help quickly from one of the Jews. His expected source of assistance was from a fellow Jew, but the man got an unpleasant surprise. A priest passed by the road, saw the half-dead man and just passed by, offering no help.
One would have thought that a religious and God-fearing personality like the priest would be the man’s source of help, but the priest could not be bothered. After this, a Levite came along, but he only looked at the wounded and half-dead man and also passed, making no effort to rescue the victim of attack by thieves.
Mountain Top Life Devotional 26 December 2019 – Help From A Despised Source
After this, a Samaritan passed by the place, saw the man and had compassion on him. He put his love and compassion for the man into action. He poured oil and wine on the wound and bandaged it. He then put the man on his donkey and took him to an inn where he paid for the man to be given treatment and care, promising to pay whatever more he needed to pay when returning from his trip.
In this story often called the Parable of the Good Samaritan, the source of assistance was not a kinsman or fellow citizen of Israel, but a despised Samaritan. We are reminded that one of the great tragedies of prejudice is that it may separate one from a potential source of assistance. The compassion of the Samaritan was all the more commendable in that the person he assisted, under normal circumstances probably would not have spoken to him. Christ has come to break down such division.
Beloved, Jesus is our best example. Be an imitator of Jesus. Say no to racial discrimination, ethnicity, tribalism and all other kinds of prejudice and segregation. God does not discriminate between the Jews and the Gentiles. He has broken down the walls of partition and anyone (Jew or Gentile) who believes in Him and obeys Him will enjoy His blessings. Jesus Christ is an epitome of love and unity. He desires the oneness of people of all races and prays for the oneness of His followers and unity in His body (the Church). Be Christ’s ambassador for love, peace and unity. The man in the story got help from a source he originally detested. God can use anyone as your destiny helper.
MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE:
The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.
PROPHETIC WORD:
YOU WILL DEMONSTRATE CHRIST’S LOVE AND BE QUALIFIED TO BE CALLED HIS TRUE FOLLOWER.
PRAYER POINTS:
MORNING
1. My Father, send destiny helpers into my life from expected and unexpected quarters, in the name of Jesus.
2. I receive the grace to identify and locate my destiny helper, in the name of Jesus.
3. Powers pushing my destiny helpers away from me, die, in the name of Jesus.
EVENING
4. Father, give me the compassion of the Good Samaritan, in the name of Jesus.
5. Lord, give me the grace to care for the needy, in the name of Jesus.
6. I reject the spirit of prejudice and segregation in the body of Christ, in the name of Jesus.
7. Father, let all Christians the world over dwell together in unity, in the name of Jesus.
Mountain Top Life Devotional 26 December 2019 was written by Dr. D.K Olukoya (General Overseer, Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministries, Worldwide)
