USE DISCERNMENT

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.
In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”

Matthew 7:6

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever been rebuffed, persecuted, and/or ridiculed while trying to share the Gospel with someone?

I know I have more times than I care to remember. Commit yourself to the cause of Jesus and you’ll experience the same thing.

There’s one thing I’ve found when engaged in the ways mentioned above:

The person who is adversarial really has no interest in the truth. They are more interested in mistreating the one trying to share it with them.

It’s pretty easy to discern when this is happening and when it isn’t. When it is, I simply don’t engage the person anymore and, in turn, I disconnect from their abuse. There are plenty of other people who are willing to listen and consider the Gospel. If we continue to spar back and forth with someone who has no interest in the Gospel, we are distracted from someone who does…and I know Satan likes nothing more than that.

With all this in mind, we get a sense that there were more than a few people in Jesus’ time who liked to reject the truth, drawing pleasure from mocking the good news and abusing the disciples trying to share it. We know this because of the words Jesus shares in this single verse which serves as direction in dealing with sinful non-believers who love the sport of harassment and maltreatment. Look at this verse here:

“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.” Matthew 7:6

Now you probably have guessed by now that the dogs and pigs mentioned here are used to describe the evil doers who rebut the Gospel and its messengers. A person would not give a dog something holy or sacred. Ditto would something of great value be granted to a pig. In both instances, the animal would not fully appreciate what had been given them and would resort to their natural instincts, the dog tearing the sacred item (and even its provider) to pieces while the pig would simply trample the thing of value underfoot until it was in ruin.

A person of discernment would not provide either the dog or pig the items that were holy or of worth. It wouldn’t make sense and as mentioned, those items would only end up destroyed in the end, maybe along with their giver. We’re to show the same sense of good judgment in the work we do for the cause of Christ. For if someone will receive His truth and word, then by all means do as He called you to do and make that interested believer into a disciple, teaching him or her to obey all that Jesus commanded.

But if the person flat out chooses to make a mockery out of your efforts to bring them to the only One who can save them, God’s only Son Jesus, then move on and look for someone who is hungry and thirsty for a new life, a life they can gain from Jesus, the One who is the way and truth and life (John 14:6).

In the end translation, Jesus calls on us to be discerning in our work for Him and stands ready to lead and guide us to do as He desires. All we need to do is to submit ourselves to His service and then follow wherever He leads us to do whatever He wants us to do.

He’s always put us where He wants us with who He wants us to minister to in order to accomplish His purposes.

You can always trust in that.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com