compassion

The Thick Skin of the Beloved

“Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” – 1 John 5:5 When someone has “thick skin,” they don’t get offended by criticism. If we live our lives around God’s love for us and live in that space, we develop a thick skin that enables us to do better and succeed. There’s this great guy who paints my house. He’s got an awesome truck covered in all sorts of rock and roll bumper stickers. He has long hair and tattoos and my son thinks he’s a pirate! As soon as he enters our house, he says, “What’s up, Pastor Bobby?” The last time he was at our house, I asked him, “How are you?” and I shook his hand. It was as if I had grasped a baseball glove that was wrapped in sandpaper; in other words, he had

February 3, 2023 1 Comment

Good Deeds

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.“ – Matthew 5:16 During the Christmas season, we are led to reflect more on the heart of Jesus. Jesus’ good deeds included healing the sick, and having mercy and compassion for others. He also had fellowship with people who society deemed as undesirable to associate with. One young man of good deeds born in 270 AD was Nicholas of Barre, an Ionian Greek. He was a Christian at the time Rome was crucifying Christians, burning them alive and feeding them to lions. He devoted his life to God and simply wanted to bring joy and happiness to people, even though life was so dark and challenging for Christians. He tried many ways to do this, and then something happened — his parents tragically died and left him

December 20, 2022 No Comments

Jesus Has Pity

“While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples.” – Matthew 9:10 For so many believers and even myself at times, it’s important to remember that our walk isn’t just about being holy, but it’s about following God’s calling to reach out and help people who are struggling. Jesus shows us that we can serve people who may not have similar thinking, beliefs, or even know God. Jesus taught and demonstrated to his disciples how to have pity and compassion for another’s misfortune or suffering. Jesus’ ability to extend this grace was a true representation of the Kingdom of God. As Jesus is talking with His disciples, He says “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees.” This text is found in Luke Chapter 12. In today’s mindset, the Pharisees had a bad reputation based on their opposition to

July 20, 2022 1 Comment

Jesus Softens Hard Hearts

“Then he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.’” – Matthew 13:3,4 I touched on this subject last month, but today, I want to look at how hard hearts develop. Many of us are familiar with the parable of the sower, which is the story Jesus told of the farmer who went out to scatter seed; some of it fell on the road, some on rocky soil, some on thorny soil, and some on good soil. The thing that most fascinates me is the seed that fell on the road. Unlike our paved highways today, a road in Jesus’ day would have been simply a dirt-packed trail that had been trodden so frequently it had become impacted, hard, and nothing could grow there.

June 14, 2022 1 Comment

It’s Just Saying “Yes”

“As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. ‘Follow me,’ Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.” – Mark 2:14 The way you get into heaven is by trusting your life to the crucified and resurrected Jesus Christ. That’s the Gospel, by the way. Every religion in the world has some sort of balance sheet for your life. If your good works in whatever cosmic way outweigh your bad works, you go to heaven. That’s actually considered heresy in Christianity. We believe that no one’s good enough; that’s how we’re all equal — that we’re all a bunch of sinners and we need Jesus. And when we’re saved by Him, our life is a response to the fact that He loves us as children. You see, He loves us just as we are, not as we should be. And

May 30, 2022 No Comments

The Gift of Surrender

“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.” – Romans 12:18,19 How do you feel about your boss? I’m guessing that a few of you have inspiring, fair and all-around great bosses. I’ve experienced this and wouldn’t you agree it makes a world of difference? When you work at a job with people you admire and whom you enjoy seeing, you are blessed more than most! But what if the opposite is true? How do you handle it if you have authoritarian figures in your life who take advantage of their position and attempt to keep you from carrying out your responsibilities? I’ve had this experience as well. As hard as we may try to

April 2, 2022 No Comments

You Can’t Love Everyone

“Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” – Matthew 22:37-39 To wrap up our discussion on agape love and death to self, I want to encourage you with one final thought: it’s not your job to love everyone! I can almost hear some of you gasp as I write this, but it’s important to know and understand that Jesus never said to go out and love the entire world. Why? Because that’s impossible for us as humans; we are not God and therefore we can’t conceivably love everyone. We can, however, love everyone who’s near us, and that’s what we should do. It’s the Lord’s job to love the world and it’s your job to love your neighbor.

March 22, 2022 No Comments

Present Through the Suffering of Others

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” – 2 Corinthians 1:3,4 We discussed yesterday how being present in pain allows us to withstand and learn from our life’s winters. Today, I have one last tip with you that will help you grow and bless others during your wilderness seasons: be present with others in their pain. You have the fantastic opportunity to be present with those who are experiencing their own pain, whether you are now in a winter season or have recently entered spring. Everyone who is going through a difficult moment requires someone to accompany them through the valley. Pain alone is the only thing worse than suffering. Those

January 23, 2022 No Comments

Hold Others Gently

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” – Ephesians 4:2 Henri Nouwen once said that being in a relationship with another person is like holding a bird with broken wings. In other words, we must acknowledge that the human soul is fragile. An injured bird is delicate, and it can’t be grasped too tightly lest it be crushed and hurt further. Likewise, as we attempt to connect with and express care for someone else, we must be gentle. Otherwise, we might squash their spirit and smother them in our attempts to “help.” And while we can’t hold on too tightly, we also can’t be careless with our connections. Like an injured bird will fall and die if not cradled securely, when we refuse to engage emotionally with those closest to us — whether our spouse, our kids, or our friends — our bond is

September 14, 2021 No Comments

Marvelous Mercy

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” – 1 Peter 5:8-9 We learned yesterday how David’s son Adonijah attempted to usurp the throne from his ailing father, who had already decided that Solomon would be his successor. After participating in a coronation ceremony that he planned with his brothers, Adonijah threw a huge party to celebrate his self-appointed reign. The only problem was that while he was busy grabbing power through human means, Solomon — the man chosen by God for the job — was rightfully crowned and received the blessing of the people. This was kind of a spoiler for the guests at Adonijah’s soiree, and Scripture says that when

September 8, 2021 No Comments

The Thick Skin of the Beloved

Good Deeds

Jesus Has Pity

Jesus Softens Hard Hearts

It’s Just Saying “Yes”

The Gift of Surrender

You Can’t Love Everyone

Present Through the Suffering of Others

Hold Others Gently

Marvelous Mercy

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