A Nugget from New Life Network
Scripture for the Day (November 17, 2015)
For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. (Matthew 18:11)
After going through over half of the parables of Jesus in our recent devotionals one word stands out above all others. That word is “LOST”! We have parables about the lost coin, the lost sheep, and the lost prodigal. With these parables we begin to see the heart of the Lord and His emphasis on saving the lost. This emphasis is not just in the New Testament but in the Old Testament also.
I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bandage the crippled, and strengthen the weak and the sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong [who have become hard-hearted and perverse]. I will feed them with judgment and punishment. (Ezekiel 34:16)
What exactly does the word “lost” mean? The Greek word used for lost is “apollumi” which means to destroy fully, perish, destruction, or death. The Hebrew word used for lost is “abad” which means to perish or destroy. I am afraid we do not appreciate the finality of this word “lost”! This reminds me of the scripture in John 10:10 that says: The thief (Satan) cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I (Jesus) am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
The Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4: But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world (Satan) hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Here is my personal interpretation of what I think Jesus is trying to convey to us through these parables. Our main emphasis has to be on “lost” people. We can not be more concerned with our lost money and our lost animals than we are with lost people (souls). We have to help people wake up to the fact that Jesus is “The Way”. He is not just one of the ways. He is “The Way”. Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)
Lord, I pray for every person reading this devotional today. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear. I come against every unclean spirit and every blinder that has been put on every eye. Open the eyes of the lost Lord that we all may see that Jesus is the answer for us personally, and for our nation. Give us a renewed heart for the lost Lord.
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who wins souls is wise. (Proverbs 11:30, NKJV)
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. (John 3:16-21)
