Compassion
Loving Father, I am regularly amazed at how You can take something that I have a certain amount of hesitancy about and use it in a way that touches people’s hearts. It is a great reminder and encouragement for me to know that I am certainly cherished by You but though I may feel limited and limiting, You still get Your word out! Praise the Almighty King!
Luke 7:11-17 (<<click to read the passage)
I know what compassion means but looked it up anyway. When I typed in the word “compassion”, this came up on Google.
What does it mean to have compassion?
If someone shows kindness, caring, and a willingness to help others, they’re showing compassion. This is a word for a very positive emotion that has to do with being thoughtful and decent. … When you have compassion, you’re putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and really feeling for them.
I don’t know about you, but I felt that that explanation fell a little flat. …being…decent? …really feeling for them? Yeah, but…
Further down the page were this question and answer.
What is the biblical meaning of compassion? (emphasis mine)
Compassion alludes to kindness and sympathy, but there is something deeper, something even more profoundly powerful, in its meaning. … The Bible talks of a God who has compassion for Israel. It tells of a Savior who suffers for the world, and it asks us to live and act compassionately. (This is from Compassion International’s website.)
In reading through today’s passage, the line that caught my attention right off was
When the Lord saw her [a widow whose only son had died], his heart overflowed with compassion. NLT (emphasis mine)
As I have stated before, God’s word speaks more clearly than anything I could ever write. Here are more verses that speak of our Lord’s compassion to us. (These and many more can be found on the Compassion International link above.)
And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” Exodus 33:19 NIV
“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you. Isaiah 54:10 NIV
The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. Psalm 145:8-9 NIV
Yes, the Lord has great compassion for us, but we also have a responsibility to show it to others.
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12 NIV
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Philippians 2:1-2 NIV
Lord Jesus, may we wholeheartedly embrace Your compassion for us all and may we, like You, purposely, graciously be about sharing it with all we meet. Amen.
Mar 1st, 2020, Sun, 5:37 pm
Break Down the Barrier!
Thank You, Father, for a profitable day! With the blessing of a snow day, I was able to finish up the PowerPoint for Sunday, worked on my sermon some and finished up some online testing for school staff. Thank You for Your direction and watchful eye. May I do what is pleasing to You. Amen.
Luke 7:1-10 (<<click to read the passage)
Our world is so divided! And our country is, as well… It is certainly disheartening. But as King Solomon wrote almost 1,000 years before Jesus’ birth in Ecclesiastes 1:9 (AMP),
That which has been is that which will be [again],
And that which has been done is that which will be done again.
So there is nothing new under the sun.
So, it is nothing new. Only when Jesus Himself ushers in the new heaven and the new earth will there be true harmony, peace, and love (Revelation 21:1-7).
My Life Application Study Bible calls attention to the fact that “this passage marks a turning point in Luke’s account of Jesus’ ministry.” Looking back over the first six chapters of his Gospel we see that Jesus interacted solely with the Jewish people. But who are the primary characters in this interaction from Jesus’ life? …some respected Jewish elders, a centurion (a Roman military officer commanding a hundred men), and a highly valued slave. What is their only commonality? The fact that they were human beings created by a loving God – not one more thing. Their lineage, their upbringing, their status in society, their religious backgrounds…all very different.
Yet here they are, every single one of them, living out their lives in an epic story…which all circled around the Creator Himself!
Jesus ably sidestepped every single obstacle, right to the dying man’s need. And, at least at this point in time, no one barred His way. His will was made know in spectacular fashion!
So, back to our world. How do Jesus’ actions impact our actions? Are we stymied by the barriers that are literally around every corner – lineage, upbringing, status, religion? Now that is a challenge!
But should it be? My Study Bible goes on to say,
“Jesus was no respecter of artificial divisions, and we should follow his example. Reach out to those whom Jesus came to save.”
Can we embrace that challenge instead? In Jesus there are no divisions; we are the originators of them all. We erect the walls that divide us.
The Apostle Paul hit the nail on the head in Ephesians 2:14 (AMP),
For He Himself is our peace and our bond of unity. He who made both groups — [Jews and Gentiles]—into one body and broke down the barrier, the dividing wall [of spiritual antagonism between us]…
Lord Jesus, may we bring this to fruition in our lives this day! Amen!
Feb 27th, 2020, Thurs, 7:30 pm
Time for a Makeover!
It is a Psalm kind of day!
I cry out to the Lord;
::::I plead for the Lord’s mercy.
I pour out my complaints before him
::::and tell him all my troubles.
When I am overwhelmed,
::::you alone know the way I should turn.
Then I pray to you, O Lord.
::::I say, “You are my place of refuge.
You are all I really want in life. Psalm 142:1-3b, 5 (NLT)
Luke 6:46-49 (<<click to read the passage)
I have a dear friend whose daughter, several years ago, out of necessity accepted a position in another country as an architect. She quickly found out that they do things a little differently…actually a lot differently! If I understood correctly, companies begin to build a structure and they get along as far as they can but if something comes up that stops their progress, that is when they call in an architect! Talk about crazy!
But how often do we do the same thing with our lives? We know that there is an “Architect” out there, but we think that we know what we are doing, and we can handle things. So, we start to build our lives and things may be a little off-kilter but it’s all good and we are relatively content. But then, storm clouds start rolling in. We may not even notice and continue on our merry way but then the rain starts, and the wind picks up and the waves begin to pound the shore. And before we know it our lives start taking a beating. And things start collapsing around us.
And here’s the crazy part, that is when we start calling out to the Architect for help. He is surely there for us. And we know He can help us, and we know He will help us.
I imagine it can run like this. The Architect says, “Well, what you’ve built just isn’t holding up against what life is throwing up against it. I love you but what you’ve built…it really needs to come down. See look here. Your problem is that you don’t have a foundation! No wonder everything is falling apart. Why don’t we just start over? I’ve already paid the asking price for your remodel. Really, all you have to do is let me get at it. We’ll take down the old and get the new up and going with a foundation that has an eternal guarantee! And best of all, I can have it done for you today!”
Now if we have any amount of wisdom whatsoever, we won’t pass up that offer…but we do…time and time again. We aren’t surprised at the world for building their lives that way but how many believers do the same thing? For us, we may allow Him to lay the foundation but immediately take over and begin to build what we want. Foolishness!
Lord Jesus, may we hold nothing back. May we hand over every piece of our lives to You. Build us up to be strong and loving and compassionate as You are. And when people ask us about the grand, solid structure that we have become…may we pass along Your business card. You are always looking for new makeovers! Amen.
Feb 26th, 2020, Wed, 12:32 pm
Odometers
Father, where would I be were it not for Your love? It is a never-ending love. It is undeserved. And there is no way that I can ever pay You back for all You have done and continue to do for me. I am Your bond-servant – there will never be another Master for me. I am Yours and Yours alone. May Your love for me flow through me that I may love others the same way. Amen.
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
Okay, right up front, I will admit, I’m weird – especially when it comes to numbers. Because I have spent a lot of my adult life in a vehicle, either driving back and forth to work or, now, as I am driving for a living, I play mental games with my odometer.
I enjoy numbers but a lot of times it has helped keep me awake and alert instead of dozing off at the wheel. (Holiday hours at Kohl’s had me getting home after midnight lots of times!)
I am always on the lookout for palindromes, i.e. numbers that are the same forwards and backward – 123,321.
I love seeing a sequential number – 123,456 or the other way 654,321.
On my late-night drives home from Kohl’s I used to see if I could add up all the numbers on the odometer from 1 to as high as they could go. I allowed myself to add and subtract numbers from each other to get the numbers I needed. And my goal was to get it all done before I clicked over the next mile! As I said, I’m weird that way!
Anyway, I was on a sub-bus yesterday, in that my bus was being serviced, and the odometer read over 200,000 miles but the last four digits coincided with years in my life – the 1960s and up. Of course, I can’t see every number with watching kids and most importantly the road! But I saw the year I became a senior in high school, the year I got married, the year Massey was born, etc.
So why am I writing about this? Just as those miles ticked away with every passing mile, so do the years of our lives. This coming autumn it will be 40 years since I began my senior year in high school! This summer Karen and I will celebrate 34 years of marital bliss. Massey is already 27! Time flies! And there is no way to slow it down or stop it…unless we stop…permanently, and that is just our bodies, for our souls are eternal!
Life is far to short for us to let it slip through our fingers. How much time do we invest in what we think is important but, in the end, we realize it was a waste? How many times do we catch ourselves wishing away the time we have because we can’t wait for the weekend? How many years are wasted holding grudges and allowing bitterness to eat away at us when reconciliation would be such a blessing?
Today is what we make it.
Yet you do not know [the least thing] about what may happen in your life tomorrow. [What is secure in your life?] You are merely a vapor [like a puff of smoke or a wisp of steam from a cooking pot] that is visible for a little while and then vanishes [into thin air]. James 4:14 (AMP)
Lord Jesus, help us to sort out what is important in life from what is not. May we not waste time on anger and bitterness when love is what will last…forever! Amen!
Feb 25th, 2020, Tues, 12:35 pm
Pour Forth
Father, I set Your gift to me – Monday’s post – before another group of people and they are responding! Isaiah 55:11 tells me what You will do with it! Amen and amen!
I send [my word] out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. (NLT)
Luke 6:43-45 (<<click to read the passage)
More than 30 years ago, we moved to where we now live. At that time, it wasn’t much to look at, but it sure had a lot of potential! We have invested a lot of time, energy and resources to make it the beautiful home that it now is. And of course, homes demand regular attention to maintain their beauty and quality.
When we first moved here, our only source of water was from a well. It was a good well in that even after a couple of years of not being used it was still very viable. But…we couldn’t use it. Because it had not been used, it needed to be disinfected.
We had to have our well checked for total coliform bacteria. I read, “These bacteria are good indicators of sanitary protection of the well and water system because they are everywhere on the surface of the ground, but do not usually occur past a few feet into the soil. If they show up in a water test, they can indicate that surface contamination has gotten into the water and that disease-causing microorganisms may be present. Just as disinfection kills most disease-causing microorganisms, it also kills coliform bacteria.”
At that time, it was recommended that we pour a couple of gallons of chlorine bleach down the well to kill the bacteria that were present.
Here’s the point, we are born “diseased”
Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins. Ecclesiastes 7:20 (NLT)
As it is written and forever remains written, “There is none righteous [none that meets God’s standard], not even one.
…since all have sinned and continually fall short of the glory of God… Romans 3:10,23 (AMP)
And, just like our well, if we are to become “disinfected” someone has to help us. There is no way we can do it ourselves.
While we were still helpless [powerless to provide for our salvation], at the right time Christ died [as a substitute] for the ungodly.
But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6, 8 (AMP)
And as today’s passage from Luke’s Gospel points out. There is no way to hide the state of our hearts.
A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart. Luke 6:45 (NLT)
We may be able to cover up for a time but eventually, the truth will come out.
And just for the record, it works both ways.
…for where your treasure is, there your heart [your wishes, your desires; that on which your life centers] will be also. Matthew 6:21 (AMP)
Lord Jesus, help us to disinfect the disease that ravages our souls. May we allow You to bleach us as white as snow! And then may we pour forth pure and potent water from the treasury of our hearts!
Feb 24th, 2020, Mon, 1:17 pm