Do you know the password?
Judges 12:5-6, “The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan opposite Ephraim. And it happened when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead would say to him, “Are you an Ephraimite ?” If he said, “No,” then they would say to him, “Say now, ‘Shibboleth.’ ” But he said, “Sibboleth,” for he could not pronounce it correctly…”
After the Gileadites went up against, and defeated the Ammonites; the Ephraimites got concerned because they believed the Gileadites should have called on them for help. Maybe because they wanted any monetary tribute the Gileadites had or maybe they just wanted the honor of defeating the Ammonites.
In any case they felt like they had been cheated by the Gileadites, so they came and told them this; and the Gileadites and the Ephraimites went to battle with each other.(Have you ever noticed that most fights start over the stupidest things!) The Gileadtes defeated the Ephraimites, and therefore took control of the fjords(passes) on the Jordan river. The Gileadites devised a plan to keep the Ephraimites from using the fjords. Their was a Gileadite word, “Shibboleth” that the Ephraimites could not say, for whatever reason. So the Gileadites used this word as the “password” to cross the Jordan.
Passwords are a very common thing in life. It sounds very simple, but sometimes passwords are the most effective way to prove that you are who you claim. Look at some of the ways that passwords are used today. Every website that requires registration uses passwords to keep unregistered members away, Bank ATM’s require a PIN(Password) so you can access your account. In many ways our signature is a Password that allows us access to things we own. The government has even given us passwords in the form of Social Security Numbers. So on and so on. Passwords are everywhere.
God even uses passwords, but His passwords are more than just magic words that we say to gain Heavenly access. The Passwords that God uses are actions. Listen to these words of Jesus, Matthew 25:31″, But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.32″All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats ;33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.34″Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.35’For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat ; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink ; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’37″Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink ?38 ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?39’When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’40″The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’41″Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels ;42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat ; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink ;43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’44″Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’45″Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’46″These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
God does not require that we know the correct words, or wear the right clothes, etc. to gain access into His Kingdom, but He does require that we live a life filled with compassion for the people He created. That is the PASSWORD He is looking for!
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Father God, I thank You for demonstrating Your compassion for us through Your Son, and I ask that You would help me to daily share the compassion You have given to those I come into contact with. In Jesus’ name, Amen
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Yes, You Can Ministry 