Crowd Compassion

When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.  So he began teaching them many things. ~ Mark 6:34

Jesus often referred to us like sheep; an animal that needs watched over on a continual basis.  While I would rather be compared to a more loyal, smart, loving animal, I understand why Jesus referred to us as dumb, slow sheep.  We are just as slow to learn sometimes as they are.  Jesus was moved to compassion when he saw this large crowd and begin teaching them.  It intrigues me that the word "compassion" is used in this verse also.  Compassion is to pity someone, to feel bad, or have concern for the sufferings of others.  I am pretty sure if I was Jesus at this time, a time when I am trying to get away from all people and their constant needs, trying to get away for rest, I would have been mad when I saw the crowd waiting for me.  I'm pretty sure I would have yelled, "Please leave me alone for 24 hours you needy people!"  However, that's not at all how Jesus treated them.  In fact, He could tell that they yearned to lean more and their ears were ready to hear.  I often wonder what he taught them on the banks this time.  This scripture is a teaching moment for me in the fact that I need to be more kind and compassionate with people who God may put in my path no matter how dog tired, or annoyed I am at the end of a long, lingering day.  I need to have compassion on those who may need more from me than I think I can give and lean on Him to fill me up.  Lord, help me have compassion for others when I am tired and weary.  Fill me up to do what you have called me to do.  ~ Amen

Show Good

Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. ~ Proverbs 3:27

Receiving good gifts that are unexpected is a joy in life.  We give good gifts in the form of respect, kindness, gentleness in troubled times and practical gifts that meets needs we have.  When we have that unexpected medical bill that we have no idea how we are going to pay and it's magically taken care of for us.  When we give respect to our parents, employers, or any authority - that is giving a good and deserved gift of character.  We should be in the business of putting others first and being faithful in helping those who need it in practical ways also.  To "withhold good" implies being stingy.  That we have the means, but maybe we are being a little selfish, or judgemental because we don't think that certain people deserves our help, or our best, but that is not how we are called to act.  Contrary to belief, you don't "earn" respect....respect should be given, not earned.  Everyone deserves respect just like everyone deserves breath.  Instead, "when it is in your power to act" means that when you have the means, do it!  You give. Period.  Help.  Give.  Be unselfish.  Love people by doing good.  Don't judge.  I have to admit that I am not very good at any of this.  OUCH!  Confession time.  If I am honest with myself it is much easier for me to give if it doesn't affect my little pocketbook.  I will give you all the time in the world, but don't ask for hard earned cash.  Shame on me!  Doing good for others blesses them, blesses me, and most importantly, doing good brings glory to God.  We are obligated to give our best, the "good" to everyone in practical, tangible and respectful ways.  Respect everyone and give them your best.  I have a lot to work on, but I'm ready.  Will you give your best?  Father, help me to give my best to everyone.  Help me to act and not withhold good. ~ Amen

Spread It

Pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. ~ 2 Thessalonians 3:1

Have you ever worried about some of your unsaved family members and friends?  Every time I have a death close to me, I wonder, "did I do all I can to present the good news to them?"  I'll admit, it's an awful feeling and question to ask myself as I often fall short.  The thought of friends and family members passing without Jesus saddens me.  We can't make the choice for them, but we sure need to make sure we are presenting Jesus' love, offering them the good news, loving on them without judgement and pray that their spiritual eyes would be opened to cause the scales of the world to fall from their eyes.  Because prayer can go where we can't; it can soften hardened hearts and bring hope before it's too late.  Paul knew that he needed to pray for believers so that they could lift others up.  He encouraged people to pray for non-believers with him because he knew the strong power of prayer.  He had seen it!  Pray for our church leaders and other Christians as they bring the good news to their inner circles.  Pray that people may come to know Christ on a very real personal way so that the gospel may spread rapidly and bring great honor to God.  Never stop praying for the spread of Jesus' sacrifice and love.  It's the least we could do. ~ Amen  

Joyful Partnership

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. ~ Philippians 1:4-5

Praying with joy - what?  Have you ever thought about that?  Yes, we often bring God our worries, our terrifying troubles and big ticket prayers, but what about praying with joy and gratitude?  This scripture even talks about praying in the joy of the Lord for fellow believers that we are in fellowship with - the joy of deep relationships that we have on this journey.  Do you have any good spiritual friends like that?  Friends that go deeper with you than just through the mundane daily tasks of living?  There are a handful of friends in my life who share the good news together and find hope through Jesus in this sometimes sketchy thing called life, but I have one who tops them all.  Let me tell you, besides my husband, I know she is my ride, or die; the only other person who knows what I've been through and has pulled me through thick muddy waters with the Lord's help.  She will be a lifetime friend and partner on this journey because of the faith we share, the friendship that we have cultivated over decades and the sheer fact that we hold each other accountable even when it's hard.  That kind of friendship, partnership is hard to find, but it brings me great joy.  Her phone call is one I always have time for.  Everyone needs a spiritually grounded, gospel following friend you can pray and play with.  I know I will have this joyous friendship because of our faith for a lifetime.  If you don't have one - get one! ~ Amen

Unjust Suffering

For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. ~ 1 Peter 2:19

Unjust suffering.  Oh how much of our suffering is unjust and unfair?  It's all over the world everyday.  Somebody starts a cruel rumor about you; someone steals from you and gets away with it; someone takes credit for hard work you have done; someone hurts you for their own personal pleasure and gain.  You cry and are sickened by the very thought of these and many unfair acts.  Wouldn't it be wonderful if we all lived in a just, kind and fully compassionate world?  A lot of us have felt, or at least seen unjust suffering in this wicked, broken and sometimes warped world.  I am blessed and privileged to live in a country where I can freely praise God openly, but I know many men and women in this world who are still fiercely persecuted for their faith.  God will have the final say and judgements on those who inflict unjust suffering on His children.  We are to submit to every human authority that has been put in place and God will lift us up through the suffering and have the final judgement one day.  Christ never promised a trial free life; after all, Jesus himself suffered unjustly for all of us.  If God allowed his own son to suffer, who do we think we are to ask for a pain free life?  God will set it right.  Just hold on and run the race set before you.  We win in the end. ~ Amen  

Clothe Yourself

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ~ Colossians 3:12

Wearing clothes is one thing, but learning to wear Godly characteristics and personalities that are pleasing to His service and putting them on daily during these chaotic times is hard!  We became one of His chosen when we decided to follow Him and our attitude must look quite a bit different than the world's self-serving and often times narcissistic attitudes.  No pride, prejudice, selfishness, rudeness, or mean-spirited people need apply.  Think of how you treat people on a daily basis; are you a compassionate, patient and gentle giant?  Boy do I need to work on all the above and more!  How you treat people may be the very reason some of your family, friends and co-workers have hardened hearts when it comes to Christianity.  Ouch!  In this verse, there are five ways we are to live our life as followers of Christ.  We are part of a large family who are dearly loved, and just as earthly parents love their children and give them guidelines to follow, so does our Heavenly Father.  Love God, love people, be kind, be gentle, be patient.  Sometimes it's a hard struggle and a tall order to follow, but we must try our very best.  Our Father expects it. ~ Amen

Guard Over

Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips. ~ Psalm 141:3

Do you know your words can speak life, or death?  Your tongue can actually kill, steal, and destroy.  Yes, you read that right, just like our enemy we can do the same thing with our words.  We can destroy our friend's dreams, kill our child's spirit and steal the peace in our own homes that we all so desperately pray for.  Jesus warns us that what is in our hearts comes out and sometimes it isn't very tasteful.  The bible repeatedly warns us that we can hastily hurt someone and wound spirits with our words, or we can lift each other up.  The tongue is one of the strongest muscles in the human body and according to Proverbs 18:21, "the tongue has the power of life and death".  In this broken world of harsh disagreement and continued attack on each other, we need to keep our mouths sealed unless we are speaking life.  Our mouths and lips should be gated, locked and sealed if we don't have anything kind, encouraging, or inspiring to say.  People don't need to hear us talk just to hear us blab.  Let us remember that what we allow to be deposited into our hearts and minds usually comes out one day we will all have to give an account to God Almighty of what we did and what we said.  Let us be uplifting; there is already enough that tears us down. ~ Amen 

Not Far

But you, Lord, do not be far from me.  You are my strength; come quickly to help me. ~ Psalm 22:19

Have you ever screamed out loud to God to help you?  I often wonder who non-believers cry out to when they are in desperate need of peace, hope and answers.  I am thankful that I know I can call on my God and he will answer my moaning.  Sometimes there has not been a person I felt like I could cry and moan out to that could take my cries and understand my massive hurt like God can.  After all, He knows the deepest secrets of my heart and sometimes our pain in indescribable, but He sees all, knows all and can comfort like no one else can.  Sometimes only God will do.  I have personally experienced strength that only God can give; strength to pull me through the throws of so much pain I could barely breathe through my burning tears.  I have wrestled with God under the covers of my bed crammed to the bottom of my bed so my boys would not be woke up by their mom's wailing and leg thrashing sounds until God quieted my spirit into a deep peaceful sleep.  I have felt like God was a million miles away when the whole time it was later evident that He had me firmly in His gentle hand.  However, there are those times when God seems to be taking his sweet time and does not come quickly, but crawls to our aide.  To those times I say be patient and wait on the Lord.  His time is not the same as our time, but His time is always right on time. ~ Amen

Convinced That....

I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither present nor future, nor powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is ours in Christ Jesus our Lord. ~ Romans 8:38-39

Separation scares us.  Separation often means a loss of someone, or something.  Most of the time separation involves an unwanted circumstance we didn't create.  Jesus was separated from a perfect paradise in order to come save mankind from their own sinful, selfish and destructive selfs.  If you have confessed with your mighty mouth and believe in your heart that Christ is Lord, He promises YOU that you will never be separated from his unconditional love - no matter where you are, where you have been, what you have done, the choices you have made, the regrets you have - He will not take his unconditional love from you.  Period.  Jesus bridged the massive gap between us and our Creator so that we would not have to be separated from God; that was the whole point of his heartbreaking surrender.  If you are a follower of Jesus, then the demons this world may throw your way, the demons that have been allowed to mess with you and even the demons you have invited into your own life and have willingly listened to can NOT win and separate you from God's unfailing love.  There is nothing you can do that will make God STOP loving you.  NOTHING.  Period.  Think of the most sinful thing you can imagine.  God still LOVES you through that.  Praise God! ~ Amen

Judge Yourselves

Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God.  For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." ~ Acts 4:19-20

When we become followers of Jesus Christ, our eyes should open up spiritually to God's ways and we often see the ways we were following before as very jaded, selfish and "worldly".  You may even have had an experience that has so profoundly impacted you that there is no other explanation than that of Jesus Christ and what his unconditional love and grace has done for you.  No other explanation is needed for why I myself believe in the Almighty God. I have personally seen and experienced His peace; wrestled with His undeserved grace, mercy and love and have felt miraculous changes in my heart and my life that have no other explanation. I have FELT God's embrace.  Period.  Nobody can convince me otherwise; it's to powerful.  Sharing your faith can be scary, but remember that no one can take your experience, or your testimony away and no one can make it invalid - only you.  YOUR testimony is powerful  In this scripture, Peter and John are challenging the Sanhedrin and telling them that only they can decided for themselves who to rightfully obey, but Peter and John know their is only one true God for them.  They have chosen to follow God's authority.  Who do you choose to follow? Ask God to reveal himself to you.  Let your experiences speak to you. ~ AMEN 

Not Destroyed

We are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. ~ Hebrews 10:39

I have often wondered what it would take for me to "shrink" back; to renounce my faith in God Almighty.  When you look around this broken world and see all the tragedies it makes one think and yes, I do have some weird thoughts, I know, but would the death of a beloved child make me shrink back?  But what about the cancer diagnosis with limited life left?  What about losing your parents to a global pandemic? They tell you your husband will never be the same after a major stroke....now what?  This verse gives me tremendous hope that because of my steadfast faith in Christ, He will hold onto me and pull me through the thickest and toughest of circumstances and I will persevere.  Instead of shrinking back to old ways, or worldly ways, or into a deep despair, I will be saved because I believe.  Yes, I may hit rock bottom, but if I hope and hold onto the promises God has given me, He promises to pull me out of my pit.  Even in the face of hardship, we can persevere and endure whatever God allows to happen as long as we lean into Him and trust that we are not alone.  We CAN tackle overwhelming difficulties when we lean in.  Yes, everyone has their doubts and fears, but we are called to trust God even when we can not possibly make any sense out of what is happening around us, or to us.  Hold fast, trust, pray, hope, scream at God if you must (He can take it; believe me, I've done it) for reassurance, hope and enormous amounts of encouragement are all around the corner for those who do now "shrink" away from their faith no matter how hard the situation might be.  I will hold on to the promise that God can make beauty out of ashes.  Hold on!  Be steadfast!  Do not shrink!  Help is on the way! I will not be destroyed!  ~ AMEN