Matthew 18:10-14 Precious to the Father
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: May 17, 2019 Matthew 18:10-14
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
(Understanding the Text) The SDA commentary says that little ones means even more than children. It means immature Christians. As I read this parable, I know that all humans are lost sheep, so I guess to God, we are all little ones. However, the most direct application is treating children as precious treasures.
(Revelation of God) According to this, each child has an angel. In heaven, the child is so important that his or her angel comes directly to the Father with concerns. The children are high priorities to God. He knows that childhood is a critical time in developing an adult who can be saved from destruction. However, the angels cannot arbitrarily overcome the free will of adults around the child or another child’s free will. When we look at the suffering of children throughout history and know that God is love and God has had to watch the suffering of every baby and child that He loves, we can know the infinite suffering of God. This may be why Jesus felt that it was so important to emphasize the protection of children. It is partly for their future, but it is also for the suffering they endure now. Jesus wants to emphasize to the adults that children are not throwaways. They are of infinite value to God. They should not be ignored or used or abused in any way.
Jesus says that when even one child is lost or hurt, the Father puts in great effort to save that child and bring that child to safety. He is saying that the destruction of children is not the Father’s will. The Father does not want even one child to be destroyed.
(Application / Prayer) My application to myself is that I need a heart of mercy like God’s that values even one person. I don’t have that kind of love or heart. Please teach me to love. I pray help me to not be broken by the horrors that I see in this world and the heartlessness of adults that I see everywhere. Heal me and protect me in my interactions with people because their heartlessness and pain hurt me. Give me Your joy and delight in humans because all I see is pettiness and cruelty and anger and vengefulness and violence.