Jesus’ Compassion

Do you feel lost? Are you in need of revitalization? Do you need rejuvenating? Are you hoping someone will show you the way to a new life? Are you looking for healing? Is there an ailment that has been dominating your life for a long time? Where have you looked for answers?

We go through a variety of situations during our lifetimes. There will be times when we feel lost, not knowing where to turn or what to do next. There will be times when we are tired, worn out, and simply looking for a renewed focus and energy. There will be times of illness.

Jesus knows about these times. He went in search of people who were going through these types of situations. He had compassion on the crowds of people who were looking for relief. He taught them and proclaimed the good news. But He didn’t stop there.

In His compassion, Jesus also healed those who were suffering from disease. He cured them of their sickness. Jesus’ compassion did not end with healing and teaching. He also showed them the way to God. He led them as the shepherd leads his sheep. He will lead us, so long as we are willing to follow Him.

As we endure disease, illness, feelings of being lost, and wonder who might care, we merely need to turn to Jesus. Just as He had compassion on those He encountered when He walked this earth, He has compassion on us and will grant us His grace and mercy.

I pray we all know that Jesus has compassion on us. I pray we turn to Him in our time of need. I pray each one of us will follow the Shepherd as His sheep, trusting Him to lead the way. Turn to Jesus. Follow Jesus. Trust Jesus to care for you. Know that He has compassion for you.

Matthew 9:35-36 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Dying for Someone Else

Who are you willing to die for? Have you spent any time thinking about that question? Have you walked through a scenario in which you would need to make a life and death decision? Have you mentally prepared yourself for it? Does it cause you pause?

Most people don’t want to think about it. They don’t want to think about putting themselves in danger to save someone else. Oh, they may talk big, but they don’t really want to think about it and may not have ever spent time thinking about it, meaning they don’t really know what they would do.

The Apostle Paul tells the church in Rome that it is rare for anyone to die for a righteous person, but they might die for a good person. Does that make sense? Absolutely! Why? Because most people will not die for someone who is truly committed to God. However, because the world decides who they think is good, they may be willing to die for them.

The good news is, God sent Jesus to die for us. Not because we deserved it. Not because we are good. After all, even Jesus said no one is good except God (Mark 10:18). No, Christ died for us because of the love God has for us. Nothing more. Nothing less. It is because of God’s love for us that we live in his grace and by his mercy. It is because of his love for us that we can look forward to eternity with him.

I pray we all think about what it means to die for someone else. I pray we contemplate Jesus dying for us. I pray each one of us knows that Jesus died for us because God loves us. Spend time contemplating dying for someone else. Understand what that means. Know that Jesus died for you. Know that God loves us.

Romans 5:6-8 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.

Character Building

Have you ever done endurance work? Has that work improved your overall endurance? Have you spent time building your character? Were there specific pieces of your character you were working on? What were the steps you were taking to build your character?

Endurance is not easy to build. Physical endurance requires us spending time and energy to build, which we may interpret as suffering. Someone who trains to run a marathon will train for weeks or months leading up to the race and run hundreds of miles.

We can also train ourselves to endure mentally. This type of endurance does not necessarily require physical pain but requires us to give up our personal preferences. Enduring grief, anguish, stress, and mental strain is suffering in a different way. As we give up our preferences and take on God’s desires, we grow in our endurance.

The same suffering and giving up of ourselves builds our character. Our character becomes more like God’s. We learn to see the world as God sees it. We learn to see people as God sees them. Our character changes from selfishness to selflessness. We grow in compassion. We desire to serve rather than be served.

As our character becomes more like God’s, our hope increases. We better understand what it means to hope in Jesus Christ. Our faith is strengthened, we are assured and convicted that our hope in God will be fulfilled. With this character, we can boldly step out in faith, trusting God is always with us and he will guide us through whatever situation we face.

I pray we all build our endurance through the sufferings we face. I pray we submit to God’s desires to build our character. I pray each one of us have our hope assured as we mature. Accept the suffering. Build your endurance. Build your character. Exchange your preferences for God’s desires. Increase your hope. Strengthen your faith.

Romans 5:3-5 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

Stand in Grace

Are you in need of peace? Are you looking for something you already have? What does it mean to you to be justified? Do you think of being justified in your actions? Do you think of standing before a judge who acquits you of your offenses?

Peace can be allusive for us in this world. We see and hear of conflict and drama wherever we go. It occurs in our lives or the lives of those around us. It occurs across our nation and around the world. We may wonder if peace is possible. It is.

When we think of being justified, it is often related to our actions. In fact, it is often our retaliation against someone who has wronged us. In other words, our justification is really about blaming someone else for us taking matters of justice (as we see it) into our own hands. Whether we are standing in front of a judge or seeking to justify ourselves to others who we believe will judge us for our actions.

But being justified before God has nothing to do with blame and it erases judgment. We are justified because of our faith in Jesus and His sacrifice for us. He paid the price we owe for our wrongdoing. Putting our faith in Him and knowing the penalty has been paid is available to us through God’s grace.

It is in the grace of God that we stand. Without God’s grace we cannot stand at all. It is God’s grace that we are to boast about. His wonderful grace provides us with the hope we all seek. It is the hope we have for eternal life. Our hope is not a false hope but a hope that is confident that God will fulfill his promises.

I pray we all accept the peace of God into our lives. I pray we put our faith in Jesus Christ. I pray each one of us know we are justified by our faith and God’s grace, receiving hope, and sharing in God’s glory. Seek God’s peace. Know you are justified by faith. Receive God’s grace. Put your hope in God. Share in his glory.

Romans 5:1-2 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.

Hard to Believe

Have you ever heard something that just seemed to be too good to be true? Did you believe what you heard? Were you skeptical? Did you downright disbelieve it? Is there something you have heard many times over that still seems to be too good to be true?

We have heard some outlandish stories in our time. Some of them have been true and others not. Through experience, we come to expect things to follow a pattern. We inherently develop a belief system regarding what is possible and what is not.

Sarah could not believe that she was going to have a child. After all, she was about ninety years old. She was beyond childbearing age. Her husband, Abraham, was bout one-hundred years old. Through their decades of marriage, there had been no children. Neither expected to have children at this time in their lives.

God comes to tell them they were going to have, not just a child, but a male child within the year. A male child was important as the first-born son inherited the land and property of his father. Sarah laughed at the prediction. She thought it was preposterous. But God reinforces what he told Abraham…and it came to pass just as he said.

We may believe the idea of spending eternity with God in paradise without sin, pain, and sickness is too good to be true. Or we may hold onto a ray of hope it is true without fully believing it. We live our lives as though whatever we do in this life will last forever. It is not to say what we do in this life is unimportant, but it is not the end game. We live this life to choose to follow Jesus, to commit to God, and to accept his promises as true. When we fully believe his promises, we no longer need worry about this life.

I pray we all believe God’s promises. I pray we learn the lesson from Sarah and Abraham. I pray each one of us will choose God, commit to him, and give him all our worry in this life. Believe God’s promises. Trust God to fulfill them. Choose to follow Jesus. Commit yourself to God. Give God your worries.

Genesis 18:13-14 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.”

Recommit to God

How do you go about repaying your debts? Do you set up a payment plan? Do you pay them as quickly as you can to get out from under them? Have you repaid all your debts? Do you know there is one debt you can never repay? How does that make you feel?

Paying off our debt feels good. When we make the last car payment, we are thankful it is done. Making that last house payment is cause for celebration. It can be a relief to simply repay a friend or family member. We pay off many debts in our lifetime. Some of them small and some much larger. 

Despite paying off many debts, there is one we can never repay. However, that does not mean we simply ignore it. We can never repay God for his blessings, especially the gift of eternal life. Yet, we can give him all the credit for his blessings. We can commit ourselves to him. We can declare his blessings before others. We can spread the good news of Jesus.

Notice how the psalmist attempts to repay. Though he knows he can never fully repay God, he honors God. We might say he toasts God, not with a cup of wine, but with the cup of salvation which he knows came from God. He calls on God to give thanks and to vow to be loyal to God. He does this not in a private setting but publicly.

We, too, can toast God and proclaim our faith. In fact, we do just that every time we gather around the communion table. The cup of salvation is the cup we drink that represents the shed blood of Jesus Christ. At the same time, we also renew our vow to be loyal to God. When we think on these things, it makes our time around the table with Jesus a little more significant.

I pray we all lift the cup of salvation to God. I pray we recommit ourselves to Jesus each time we drink it. I pray each one of us call on the name of the Lord publicly to declare his wonderful blessings. Honor God. Give him the credit. Be thankful for his blessings. Lift your cup to him. Recommit to him daily.

Psalm 116:12-14

What shall I return to the Lord

for all his bounty to me? 

I will lift up the cup of salvation 

and call on the name of the Lord,

I will pay my vows to the Lord

in the presence of all his people.

Follow Me

What does it mean to follow someone? Do you recall a mentor you had earlier in life? Do you think of following someone down the highway? Do you think of people who are following you? Are you following someone today?

Over the course of our lives, we may follow many different people. We may follow in the footsteps of our parents. We may follow a mentor or teacher. Social media provides a means for us to follow people or organizations we do not know personally.

In Jesus’ day, to follow someone meant to literally walk in their footsteps. This was especially true of those who followed a rabbi. As the rabbi lifted his foot to take a step forward, his follower would place his foot in his footprint. He would follow so close the dust the rabbi kicked up would land on him.

Jesus asks us to follow Him, just as He asked Matthew to follow Him. Matthew had a well-paying job, even if he was not well liked by his fellow Israelites. Yet, he simply got up and followed. He had no idea where he was going. He did not know what would become of him.

Jesus does not ask us to follow Him and give us all the answers beforehand. Implicit in His asking is to trust Him into the unknown. But is that really any different than anything in life? We have no way of knowing what tomorrow will bring. But when we follow Jesus, we can trust He has our best interest at heart.

I pray we all hear Jesus asking us to follow Him. I pray we trust Him to lead us where we need to go. I pray each one of us will choose to follow Him into the unknown. Hear the call of Jesus. Follow His lead. Go where He asks. Trust Jesus. Give Him your life.

Matthew 9:9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.

Be Healed

Who do you hang around? What type of person are they? Do you judge the people others hang around with? Do you look down your nose at certain types of people? Have you considered what those people need? Or, Who they need? Have you heard why Jesus came?

We hang around people we like, and get along with, generally. Our human nature is to look at those who are different with a bit of wariness. We are unsure about them. Any number of things about them can cause us to pause when we think about them.

When it comes to accepting those who are not like us, we are normally wary. It is not until we spend time with them, getting to know them, that we finally accept them into our circle. It is part of our built-in self-preservation. Most of us don’t want to allow people who will hurt us into our lives. We also do not want to allow people into our lives who may cause us to change our point of view. In other words, we are often like the Pharisees.

Take a look at what Jesus told the Pharisees. He said it was those who are sick who need a doctor. He came to heal those who are sick. In other words, He came to heal all of us! We are all sick! We may not admit it, but we all have something wrong with us. We all battle with sin of some sort. We all need Jesus. Yet, we often are unwilling to share Him with others as Jesus told us to do.

I pray we all realize we are sick and need Jesus. I pray we stop judging others for their shortcomings. I pray each one of us will ask Jesus to heal us and share Him with others. Stop judging others. See your own sickness. Ask Jesus to heal you. Share Jesus with others.

Matthew 9:11-12 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.”

Waiting on the Promises

Are you waiting for a promise to be fulfilled? Do you become frustrated when someone promises something, but it takes a long while for them to fulfill it? Do you prefer promises be filled soon after they are made, if not immediately?

Waiting for a promise to be fulfilled can be frustrating. That is especially true if the promise is a grand promise, something we know will be wonderful. It can be agonizing having to wait. It is exacerbated if the promise doesn’t live up to our expectations.

God promised Abraham that he would be a blessing to all nations. He promised Abraham that he would inherit prime real estate. But Abraham did not receive those promises in this life. It was only after he had passed from this life into eternal life that Abraham had those promises fulfilled. In fact, him being a blessing to all nations continues to be fulfilled.

God has made us promises as well. Some of those we will see fulfilled in this life. Others will not be fulfilled until we inherit eternal life. The question is, are we willing to endure until that occurs? We can endure if we are willing ask God for help. He will grant us the strength to endure, to wait, to inherit what he has promised.

We can be like Abraham. We can see God’s promises fulfilled in this life and eternal life. We will be blessed with more than we can imagine. But we can only do so through our faith and trust in God. Our faith and dependence on him will carry us to the promised land.

I pray we all endure until God fulfills his promises. I pray we ask God to strengthen us with resolve. I pray each one of us continue in our faith and trust in God. Be like Abraham. Put your faith in God. Ask God to increase your faith. Wait for God to fulfill his promises.

Romans 4:13 For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith.

Give Up Your Life

What are you willing to lose? Are you willing to lose something you have so you can acquire something better? Are you willing to trade away something valuable to gain something of higher value? What if that is what is required to gain more than you can imagine?

We often do not want to lose something we have that is of value to us. This is especially true if the object was handed down to us from a parent or grandparent. It may also be true if we paid a large sum of money for it. We like to hold on to our possessions.

Notice that Jesus states that we must give up ourselves to be His follower. Obviously, this does not mean we must physically die. It does mean we must give up our personal preferences, our own desires, and perhaps our possessions.

We must carry our cross. Our cross may be any number of things. We may be like Joni Earekcson Tada, who became a quadriplegic through a diving accident. We may wrestle with being lonely. We may have any number of sins that we continuously fight against.

But notice how Jesus wraps this up. He says to save our life we must lose it. He means we must surrender to Him and His desires for us. When we do this, we gain an abundant life and eternal life. It is through submission to Him, His teachings, and following His example that we gain true life. Otherwise, we live a substitute life. We might call it a fake life. Jesus is the only one who can grant us real life.

I pray we all submit to Jesus. I pray we decide to lose our life to gain a true life. I pray each one of us will give up our preferences, desires, and even our possessions as God requires of us. Submit to Jesus. Give Him your life. Accept true life from Him. Turn your desires over to Him and receive His desires for you.

Luke 9:23-24 Then he said to them all, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.”