Daily Devotion Chat

Who Is Our Neighbor? 

Written by Cowboy Evangelist Rev. Joseph Holmes 

Produced by H C Cowboy Ministries

Scripture Focus: Luke 10:27-37 (NIV) — "He answered, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' ... But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?' In reply Jesus said: 'A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead... But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him... Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?' The expert in the law replied, 'The one who had mercy on him.' Jesus told him, 'Go and do likewise.'"

 Good morning everyone. Happy Happy Monday lets all take a moment to give thanks to the Lord for another day, and be sure to give him all the Glory in all that we do not just today but this whole week. I also want to thank everyone for all the comments and participation yesterday during our Sunday Morning Cowboy Bible Message. Lets get into today’s devotion.

Now when we talk about "neighbors" out here in the country, we usually think about geography. A neighbor is the guy who lives at the ranch down the road. He is the one you see at the feed store, the one whose cattle might break through your fence, or the one you wave to when you pass on the highway.

But this morning, the Holy Spirit laid a different definition on my heart.

In this scripture, a lawyer asks Jesus a simple question: "Who is my neighbor?" He was looking for a loophole. He wanted to know who he had to love and who he could ignore.

Jesus answered him with a story about a man in a ditch. A priest walked by and did nothing. A Levite walked by and looked the other way. But a Samaritan—a man who wasn't family, wasn't a friend, and wasn't even from the same "territory"—stopped to help.

Here is what I want us to focus on today. Your neighbor isn't just the person living next to you. It is not even your family or your riding buddies. Or the ranch down the road.

Your neighbor is the one who needs your help.

It might be the stranger broken down on the side of the highway. It might be the young cowboy who is struggling with addiction and has burned every bridge he has. It might be someone you don't even like. But when we ride for the Kingdom of God, who we know and where they live doesn't make you neighbors—mercy does.

You can live on the next ranch over from a old rancher who you may have known for twenty years and never be a true neighbor. But you can meet a stranger for twenty minutes in a time of crisis and be the best neighbor he ever had.

If I was a betting man, I would bet that there is someone reading this who has walked past a lot of "ditches" lately. You have seen people hurting, but you stayed in your own lane because you didn't want to get your hands dirty. Or maybe you are the one in the ditch, waiting for someone to stop. If you need to learn how to love like Jesus, or if you need the Good Samaritan to pick you up out of the dirt today, I invite you to ask Him into your heart right now. He has plenty of grace and love for your wounds. You can take on his brand today and ride for his kingdom now and forever. All we have to do is let him into our hearts.

Let’s Pray,

 Father, we thank You for this teaching. Lord, forgive us for thinking our neighbor is just the person who looks like us or lives near us. Open our eyes to see the people in the ditches along our trail. Give us a heart of mercy. Help us to stop worrying about who deserves our help and start worrying about who needs our help. Lord please help us to see what it truly means to ride for your brand, and Lord Make us Good Samaritans in a world that just wants to walk on by. In Jesus' name, Amen.

So lets ask ourselves this one question.  Who is someone outside of your circle that God has put in your path to help this week?

Now lets write this down and we should remind ourselves everyday. "A fence defines your property, but your mercy defines your neighbor. Don't ride past the need."