DAILY MANNA DEVOTIONAL FOR MONDAY 30TH SEPTEMBER 2019 – STRENGTH IN TENDERNESS

BIBLE TEXT: Mark 11:27-33 (KJV)

27 And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders,

28 And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things?

29 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

30 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me.

31 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him?

32 But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed.

33 And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.

Key Verse: Mark 11:30

“The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me” .

Often, we think of strength as the opposite of gentleness, softness and tenderness, which may not always be true. This is reinforced by an amazing discovery by the British fighter pilots during the First World War. They found out that thick layers of silk stopped low velocity shrapnel better than steel. With this the discovery, they wound the silk around their heads and then wore leather horse riding helmets on top of the silk.

Also Read: Open Heaven 30 September 2019 – The Principles of Giving

Even though scientists are grappling with this discovery, they are not in doubt that sometimes soft, gentle, tender silk can prove far stronger than cold hard steel. Likewise, Jesus taught us the same principle in relationship. He showed us that gentleness, a heart that is soft toward others and tenderness, are in fact qualities of great strength. The Pharisees came to ask Him a question but not with sincerity because they only wanted to trap Him.

Rather than succeed, Christ responded with a counter-question about John the Baptist which revealed their true motives and became a dilemma for these fake enquirers. If Jesus said His authority was from God, they would accuse Him of blasphemy. If He said His authority was His own, they would overrule Him and dismiss Him as a fanatic. But through a soft answer and display of great depth of wisdom and fearless response, He silenced the Pharisees who were not really interested in the truth. By this, they rendered themselves neither fit for the kingdom of God nor for its blessings.

It is important to examine our motives whenever we come to God to seek for counsel or ask questions so that rather than receiving God’s blessings, we don’t shut the door of blessings against ourselves. Believers should also realise that we shall achieve more for God and His Kingdom by being wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove.

Thought For The Day: The heart, like a door, either opens us for God’s best or shuts us out of it.

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