October 27 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Luke 12:6-20:

⁶Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?
⁷But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.
⁸Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God:
⁹But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.
¹⁰And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven.
¹¹And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say:
¹²For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.
¹³And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.
¹⁴And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?
¹⁵And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
¹⁶And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
¹⁷And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
¹⁸And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
¹⁹And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
²⁰But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

Devotional

Not upon earth but in heaven we should lay up treasures for ourselves. Treasures laid up upon earth are very insecure, but treasures in heaven are perfectly safe. How do we lay up treas­ures in heaven? By doing good deeds in the name of Christ to the least of his brethren and sisters. The King shall say unto them on his right, "Verily, I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." And deeds done in faith in the name of the Lord shall not go unrewarded. Christ said to Peter, "Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward." To the rich young man Jesus said, "Go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven." To his little flock Christ said, "Sell that ye have and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth." And Peter tells us of an "inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for us, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation." O what riches are stored up in heaven for us!

Prayer

Our Father in heaven, help us to remember that we have not earned the least part of our treasures in heaven, but that our whole heavenly inheritance is a gift of infinite grace, for which we cannot sufficiently thank Thee. Help us then by Jesus Christ to offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruits of our lips, giving thanks to his name. May we never forget to do good and to communicate, to share our blessings with those who are in need, knowing that with such sacrifice Thou art well pleased. Hear us for Christ's sake. Amen.

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Scripture in Devotional: Matt. 25:34ff; 10:42; 19:21; Luke 12.33; 1 Pet. 1:4, 5.

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