Affirm
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.
Psalm 130:5-6
TEXT
Matthew 25:31-46
“When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what‘s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:
“‘I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.’
“Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’” (The Message)
READ
“Jesus has been called ‘the Son of Fact.’ We find striking illustration of His concreteness at the judgment seat. To those on the right He does not say, ‘You believed in me and my doctrines, therefore, come, be welcome into my Kingdom.’ Instead, He said, ‘I was an hungered and you gave me food; I was athirst and you gave me drink; I was in prison and you came unto me.’”
-E. Stanley Jones
Declare
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
1 Peter 1:3-5 (NIV)