Ministering to Outsiders and Misfits
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Ministering to Outsiders and Misfits
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Ministering to Outsiders and Misfits

Today's Devotional
I pray that you start every day with God. I chose to read daily devotions from Our Daily Bread. Today’s devotion is titled “Outside the Camp.” Tim Gustafson wrote this devotion. The scripture reading is from Hebrews 13:11–16. The key verse is, “Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood.” Hebrews 13:12. My beloved children, brothers, and sisters in Christ; before I write, I first pray to God to guide my words to serve as spiritual food and guidance. I desire God to be my sole source of writing. All the credit goes to God, not me. I am his humble servant. I thank God that He led me to use Our Daily Bread Ministries to inspire comments and witnessing.
Background: 
In the ancient Israelites time, diseases like leprosy meant living “outside the camp.” It was a lonely existence. Israelite law said of such people, “They must live alone” (Leviticus 13:46). The carcasses of the sacrificial bulls were outside the camp. (4:12). 
The audience for the New Testament letter to the Hebrews was the Diaspora, Jewish Christ-followers. The nature of the audience explains the heavy emphasis on Israel’s history of the sacrificial system of Judaism. The sacrificial system of Judaism formed a point of reference for the work of Jesus. The letter’s content is Christ-centered and lifts Jesus as superior to angels, priests, and Moses, thereby affirming Christ’s redemptive sacrifice as superior to the sacrificial system of Israel’s temple. 
My Comments to You:
I admit that initially, I reacted to outsiders, and misfits were not Christ-like. My behavior was similar to Jewish priest and the Levite in the parable of the good Samaritan. I considered myself above them. Now I know I was very wrong.
The author’s statement about Jesus in Hebrews 13: “Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore” (v. 13). Jesus was crucified outside the gates of Jerusalem.  
We want to be popular, to be honored, to live comfortable lives. However, God calls us to go “outside the camp” where the disgrace is. That is where you will find people the world has rejected. That is where you will find Jesus.
Reflect:
How do you initially react to outsiders and misfits? In what practical way might you go to Jesus “outside the camp”?
My Prayer for Us:
Thank You, Jesus, that You don’t show any favoritism. Thank You for going outside the camp for us.
Our Daily bread Ministries (2021/09/14) Outside the Camp, Tim Gustafson, retrieved from www.odb.org 14/09/2021 Outside the Camp.

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