Devotion for Thursday after Lent 1

“I will feed My flock and I will lead them to rest,” declares the Lord God. “I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken and strengthen the sick; but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with judgment.” ~ Ezekiel 34:15-16

Jesus went to the outcasts of society, to tax collectors, prostitutes, and the poor. He said it’s not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. Yet, we know that all of us are sinners, sick with original sin, so there isn’t anyone who is well. However, the ones who thought they were well—the Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes—believed they didn’t need Jesus, so He didn’t sit with them and eat with them. He fed them with judgment because they were too self-sufficient and too self-righteous to admit they were lost, broken, and sick. But if we admit our sinful state, He will seek us out, bring us out, bind us up, and strengthen us.

Lord, I am sick and know it. I need You. I need Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross to bind me up and strengthen me. Make me always aware of exactly where I stand with You; don’t let me so self-sufficient and self-righteous that You feed me with judgment. In the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. Amen.

Image: © Depositphotos.com/4masik

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