A Cup of Cold Water

Scripture: Matthew 10:40-42 (Click link for scripture in Bible Gateway)

40 “Anyone who receives you receives me, and anyone who receives me receives the Father who sent me. 41 If you receive a prophet as one who speaks for God, you will be given the same reward as a prophet. And if you receive righteous people because of their righteousness, you will be given a reward like theirs. 42 And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded.” (Matthew 10:40–42 NLT)

Jesus came to us, sent by his Father, to show us what God is really like. Jesus sends us to others, to show them what he is really like. He sends us to represent him, to speak and act as he did, as he does, in real-life situations with real-life people. This is the essence of what it means to speak and act “in Jesus’ name!”

Receiving a prophet as one who speaks for God. Be willing to listen, but don’t swallow everything that someone says is from God without evaluating it! Does it have the ring of God’s truth? Does it come from the heart of the God you know and serve? The better you know Jesus, the better you’ll know God. The better you know God, the better you’ll know if someone who claims to be speaking for God is legitimate. As you grow in your relationship with Jesus, you’ll be able to hear something that purports to be God’s message through a “prophet” and if it’s not on, you’ll become confident that “My Father wouldn’t say that! I know him and that’s simply not like him!”

A cup of cold water. Are you ever frustrated because you can’t do something “great”, something really “important?” A bottle of cold water is probably the most important thing you can do for someone who’s really thirsty, don’t you think?

I spend part of each day here at my desk. I read from Matthew’s gospel, asking the Holy Spirit to help me hear what Jesus is saying. I think about you reading my devotional on your phone or tablet or computer screen somewhere in the world. This morning I prayed that something I write today, a phrase, a question, an illustration, a different way of looking at a familiar scripture, would be a cup of cold water for you!

Prayer:

Father, Each of us has a sphere of influence, a resource, a gift, a talent, an opportunity. For each of us there’s someone we can refresh, comfort, encourage, or offer our little cup of water. Today, may each of us find that thirsty person and offer the little we have. In Jesus’ name!