compassion

Sons and Daughters of God

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” – 1 John 3:1 If we know Jesus, we’ve been adopted into the family of God and nothing can take that from us. I once heard a story about a young girl who was in the foster care system. She was constantly being bounced from house to house, because any time she did something wrong or got out of hand, she’d be sent back and placed with a different family. After enduring great instability for so long, she finally found her forever home, and her new parents made it clear that no matter what she did, she was not just a well-behaved guest — she was their daughter. They assured her that even if she behaved poorly, though she might be reprimanded, she would not be

August 6, 2021 No Comments

Grace is Greater Than Guilt

“The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” – 1 Timothy 1:14 Something I’ve learned as I’ve counseled people through the years is that shame always leads to sin and grace always leads to goodness. Nothing helpful comes from self-condemnation and guilt; rather, righteousness and holiness come from a base of grace, or an understanding that acceptance is not dependent upon behavior. The truth is that being emotionally healthy, grounded, and secure is only possible when we understand that in Christ, we are loved just as we are. God knew we were helpless to help ourselves, so He stooped down to us when we were still sinners and made us righteous by the blood of Jesus. This means that if we’ve said “yes” to our Savior’s redemption, we’ve already attained perfection in His eyes. And while

August 5, 2021 No Comments

Help Isn’t Hurried

“In reply Jesus said: ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.’” – Luke 10:30-33 Today, I want to remind you of something important: you cannot help people and be in a hurry. Yesterday, we talked about becoming compassionate listeners and how, by opening our ears and hearts up to others, the Holy Spirit can use us to bring healing to the world. However, if

July 31, 2021 2 Comments

A Compassionate Touch

“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 While there are many words we can use to describe how healing happens in the church, if I were to pick one, it would be compassion. Nearly every time Jesus restored, touched, or taught in the Bible, it says that He had compassion for the people He was helping. In fact, this familiar word literally means to “suffer alongside.” The term passion, which is often used to describe the cross, comes from the french word for suffering, which is pati, and when you add the prefix co, it means to “suffer with.” Truth is, there’s great healing power in offering sympathy and tenderness to an emotionally-wounded neighbor, and since we live in a world that can’t seem to stop

July 30, 2021 No Comments

Acceptance Before Repentance

“All the people saw this and began to mutter, ‘He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.’ But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, ‘Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.’” – Luke 19:7,8 Yesterday, we saw how radical it was that Jesus embraced Zacchaeus, despite the fact that he was a short, crooked tax collector. Even knowing these things, the Lord saw fit to invite Himself over to his house that very day. By extending a hand that said, “I want to get to know you,” He offered a marginalized man a place of belonging, and everything changed. This is because acceptance always precedes repentance. Knowing that he was finally loved for who he was, Zacchaeus’ natural response was to change

May 28, 2021 1 Comment

Who Are Your Untouchables?

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.” – Matthew 5:43-45 As we wrap up our discussion about the four groups of untouchables whom Jesus readily touched, we do well to ask ourselves, “Who are the untouchables in my life?” So today, I invite each of us to consider the answer to this question and to look beyond the obvious before we respond. While it’s easy to reply categorically and to list populations such as vagrants, criminals, or drug addicts, I believe we all have a more personal application…if we dare to admit it. Truth be told, for some of us, it would be easier to walk into the middle of a homeless encampment and sit down and eat lunch

May 25, 2021 No Comments

Forgiving Pharisees

“When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.” – Luke 7:36 For the past couple of days, we’ve looked at two of the four groups of “untouchables” whom Jesus willingingly touched — lepers and Samaritans, and today, I want to look at the third — Pharisees. Interestingly, when we read the gospels, the religious leaders and teachers of the law often appear more villainous than the most violent criminals. Perhaps this is because they were constantly trying to trap the Lord. Yet despite their general hostility toward Him and His teaching, He wanted them to understand the truth, so He welcomed them to learn of His heart. He responded to their accusations with bold words, yet He went out of His way to let them know that He cared about them. For instance, He met

May 23, 2021 No Comments

Touching the Untouchable

“A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, ‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.’ Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’ Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.’” – Matthew 8:2,3 Yesterday, we talked about living as Christ-followers who have pierced hands that are willing to touch the untouchable, just like He did. For the next few days, I want to talk about four specific groups of people Jesus opened His heart to who were considered the least touchable, and what each one teaches us about being His disciples today. First of all (and I’ve taught on this a lot), He extended His hand to a man with leprosy. Now to understand just how ostracized members of this infirmed population were, it’s important to remember that every Jewish boy had the entire Torah, or

May 21, 2021 No Comments

The Hands of Christ

“Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” – Luke 24:39 It’s interesting how much we can learn about people by looking at their hands. Whether they’re wrinkled, tough, well-manicured, or scarred, they tell a story if we choose to pay attention. Yet no matter how young, old, or worn our physical hands are, as disciples of Jesus, our palms are spiritually pierced. Because our Savior was wounded for our healing, as we follow in His footsteps and seek to lead with His heart, we take on His scars, and His sacrifice inspires us to touch the untouchable. In fact, when we study the ministry of our Lord, His healing virtue is nearly always imparted through physical contact. Though His words spoke the universe into existence, when He touched people,

May 20, 2021 No Comments

The Harm in Hypocrisy

“The Lord answered him, ‘You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?’” – Luke 13:15,16 Something we should be careful of whenever we hold someone else to a rigid standard is a lurking evil called hypocrisy. Unfortunately, the church is no stranger to this contradiction of word and deed, and it’s been prevalent in religion since the beginning of time. However, Christ had authority to call it out, because He alone could read the thoughts and intentions of human hearts. In fact, He had no qualms about speaking boldly to the Pharisees when they made a villain out of Him for healing a demon-possessed

May 16, 2021 No Comments

Sons and Daughters of God

Grace is Greater Than Guilt

Help Isn’t Hurried

A Compassionate Touch

Acceptance Before Repentance

Who Are Your Untouchables?

Forgiving Pharisees

Touching the Untouchable

The Hands of Christ

The Harm in Hypocrisy

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