7/11/2024
<br>Author: Mike Kelley
<br>Title: Mike's Minute
<br><br>Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. <br><br>Matthew 25:34<br><br>In Matthew 25, Jesus tells of a day when he will return to judge the nations. He will separate people as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. <br><br>He will say to the sheep, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you” (verse 34). To the others, He will say “Depart from me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (verse 41). <br><br>The first group, the “sheep”, represent the saved. These people are saved by grace through faith. Out of their salvation flow their good works- they feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick, care for the imprisoned, and minister to “the least of these.”  <br><br>No one is saved on the basis of those good deeds, because no amount of good works can save us. We engage in these acts of service because we have been saved. Our kindness and compassion is simply evidence that we have been saved and transformed by God. <br><br>Our lives should be filled with efforts to bless those around us. It is a blessing to be a blessing! <br><br>The benefits of being a blessing are numerous and powerful. The greatest of which will be finally hearing the words of Jesus, calling us to come home to Him and receive the life that He has been preparing for us. <br>