Verse of the Day 12/6

Verse of the Day 12/6

Matthew 11:6   And blessed is the one who is not offended by me."  English Standard Version (ESV)

In today's verse, Jesus is in the early stages of his public ministry and John sends word from prison inquiring to know if Jesus is truly the "expected One".  Jesus response let's His actions do the talking:

The blind see,The lame walk,
Lepers are cleansed,
The deaf hear,
The dead are raised,
The wretched of the earth learn that God is on their side.  (v. 4-6 The Message)

You might think "who could argue with that"?  But the pharisees saw Jesus and His actions as a threat to their establishment, their control over the people.  They would continually take offense at His teachings and even His miracles.  Think how they reacted to His healing on the Sabbath, how they tried to trick Him, corner Him with questions only to find themselves embarrassed when He would give an unexpected answer and put them in their place.

In our society, it seems that people, perhaps more than ever before are offended, take offense at just about anything.  Think about some of those things this season from Christmas trees, manger scenes and saying Merry Christmas!  It goes well beyond that.  Instead of joining in the fray, may we be more inclined to "do good" to others, even if they disagree with who we are and Whose we are.

If you believe in Jesus, believe who He said He was, believe what He did and what He has done for you, "then count your self most blessed" (The Message).

Read the verse again from the Amplified Bible, may we truly count ourselves blessed this season and throughout the year.

Matthew 11:6   And blessed [joyful, favored by God] is he who does not take offense at Me [accepting Me as the Messiah and trusting confidently in My message of salvation]." Amplified Bible (AMP)

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV    

Matthew 11:2-6The Message (MSG)

^2-3 John, meanwhile, had been locked up in prison. When he got wind of what Jesus was doing, he sent his own disciples to ask, "Are you the One we've been expecting, or are we still waiting?"

^4-6 Jesus told them, "Go back and tell John what's going on:

The blind see,
The lame walk,
Lepers are cleansed,
The deaf hear,
The dead are raised,
The wretched of the earth learn that God is on their side.

"Is this what you were expecting? Then count yourselves most blessed!"