June 26, 2023 8:00 pm
Dan endured daily beatings from the same prison guard. He felt compelled by Jesus to love this man, so one morning, before the beating was about to begin, Dan said, “Sir, if I’m going to see you every day for the rest of my life, let’s become friends.” The guard said, “No sir. We can never be friends.” Dan insisted and reached out his hand.
The guard froze. He began to shake, then grabbed Dan’s hand and wouldn’t let go. Tears streamed down his face. He said, “Dan. My name is Rosoc. I would love to be your friend.” The guard didn’t beat Dan that day, or ever again.
Scripture tells us, “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you” (Proverbs 25:21–22). This doesn’t mean we’re to kill our enemies with kindness. The “coals” imagery may reflect an Egyptian ritual in which a guilty person showed his repentance by carrying a bowl of hot coals on his head. Similarly, our kindness may cause our enemies to become red in the face from embarrassment, which may lead them to repentance.
Who is your enemy? Who do you dislike? Dan discovered the kindness of Christ was strong enough to change any heart—his enemy’s and his own. We can too.
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Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread.
I'm Mike Whitmer and I title today's devotion, Heaping Coles on Enemies. Dan endured daily beatings from the same prison guard. He felt compelled by Jesus to love this man. So, one morning, before the beating was about to begin, Dan said, Sir, if I'm going to see you every day for the rest of my life, let's become friends. The guard said, No, sir, we can never be friends. Dan insisted and reached out his hand. The guard froze. He began to shake, then grabbed Dan's hand and wouldn't let go. Tears streamed down his face. He said, Dan, my name is Rosach.
I would love to be your friend. The guard didn't beat Dan that day or ever again. Proverbs 25 verses 21-22 tell us, If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat. If he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you. The coals imagery may reflect an Egyptian ritual in which a guilty person showed his repentance by carrying a bowl of hot coals on his head. Similarly, our kindness may cause our enemies to become red in the face from embarrassment, which may lead them to repentance. Who is your enemy?
Who do you dislike? Dan discovered that the kindness of Christ was strong enough to change any heart, his enemies, and his own. We can too. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Proverbs 25 verses 18-23. Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow is one who gives false testimony against a neighbor. Like a broken tooth or a lame foot is reliance on the unfaithful in a time of trouble. Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day or like vinegar poured on a wound is one who sings songs to a heavy heart. If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat. If he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.
Like a north wind that brings unexpected rain is a sly tongue, which provokes a horrified look. Let's pray. Dear Jesus, we praise You that Your kindness leads us to repentance and inspires us to be kind to our enemies. In Your name we pray, amen. Today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.
Whisper: medium.en / 2023-06-26 20:31:18 / 2023-06-26 20:32:46 / 1
