Tag Archives: compassionate

Don’t Forget To Be Human

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As a Pastor I interact with many people of all kinds, shapes and sizes.  There is one thing that people are looking for.  They are looking for people to be real.  A little boy was scared in a thunder and lightening storm.  He went into his parents room and asked to sleep with them.  His mother said no and told him to go to bed in his own room.  A little while later the boy called to his mother for mercy and asked once again to sleep with his parents.  His mother said no.  He again asked; but, this time he asked her to come sleep with him.  She said no because she had to sleep with the boy’s daddy.  The boy said under his breath, “Chicken!”  He was speaking of his dad.  Again the boy tried to get his mother to come sleep with him in his hour of terror.  The mother tried to comfort him by telling him that Jesus is with him.  The boy replied, “But Mom, I need somebody with skin on.”

This idea came to me after reading a photography article.  You can read the article from Digital Photography School here.

When we deal with people they just want us to be real.  There are enough fakes in this world.  It does not matter what it is there are fakes.  I mean, counterfit money are everywhere it seems.  The news is filled with police impersonators, physician impersonators and the list goes on.

When we talk to people they know if we are being real or just spinning them a line.  So, when we deal with people we must be who we are and if we cannot answer all their questions then we need to say so.  Then we need to find the answer and get back to them.  I am guilty of forgetting as I get older to get back with people.  I will be working on something and get an answer and then I cannot remember who I am supposed to tell.

Jesus was real with people.  When He confronted the woman at the well He shot straight with her.   If we are going to have an impact on people we must speak the truth to them.  They will know it.  Look at Ephesians 4:25, “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.”

So, how are you doing?

A Gift From God 8

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The southern gospel group The Isaacs sing a song titled “Heroes”.   You can watch the video here.  It is a powerful song about being a parent.  It starts out by calling parents of special needs children “Heroes”.  As I shared the other day the life of raising a child with special needs is not easy.  I don’t see us as heroes.  I see us as a family that made a vow to God and we are doing everything we possibly can to keep that vow.  That is serious business with God for sure.

There was a story on the news just a few days ago about a couple that had a child with Downs Syndrome.  The mother left.  So, this father has decided that he will take the child and raise it himself.  My hat is off to this man.  He is a hero.  Maybe, he is not a Bible kind of hero; but, he is to be applauded for his courage and his commitment to care for his child no matter.

What would motivate people to do what we do each day?  There are many reasons; but, I would like to think that you could find the answer in the first phrase of II Corinthians 5:14, “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:”.  That is what we have been talking about this month.  Love.  Not just some “feeling”.  Take some medicine and that will pass.  What I am talking about is a love that binds us, commits us to someone or something.  That is real Christlike love.  The Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance tells us that “constraineth” means “to hold together, i.e. to compress (the ears, with a crowd or siege) or arrest (a prisoner); figuratively, to compel, perplex, afflict, preoccupy”.  You see that is a very powerful commitment.

Do you love the LORD so much that you have been arrested and made a prisoner of His?  What has He compelled you to do?  You see, as we look at “A Gift From God” it just might be that you are God’s gift to someone.  Even more important is the fact that they might be counting on you not even knowing that you are God’s answer to their prayer.  You might be “A Gift From God”.  That is humbling.

So, how are you doing?

Provision

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After looking at the pictures flooding social media it appears that the candy makers won again this year.  I think that some of the children should bring us some candy to save themselves for having to eat it all.  Just kidding.

Now that Halloween is in the books for this year we can begin to focus on the real holidays.  I love Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I hate the commercialization of these holidays.  It seems to get worse each year.

Thanksgiving should be a time that is more than football or hunting.  The holidays should be a time for families to get together and enjoy one another.  We need to appreciate one another and we need to let our loved ones know how we feel about them because we do not know if this will be our last time to meet together.

I have been thinking about Mephibosheth.  He is the son of Jonathan, Saul’s son.  He was made lame by his nurse when they were fleeing for their lives.  Mephibosheth lives every day with his disability.

One day, David wants to honor his best friend Jonathan.  He makes inquiry if there is any of Jonathan’s family still alive.  It is discovered that Mephibosheth is alive.  The king sends for him.  I cannot imagine how he felt.  I would be filled with fear that the king was really wanting to eliminate all of the former king’s relatives.

David does the right thing and honors Jonathan by doing right for Mephibosheth.  Look at the words of II Samuel 9:5, “Then king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar.”  The word “Lodebar” means pastureless.  Mephibosheth was living in a bad place.  He probably felt inferior.  Then one day the call comes that the king sent for him.

You never know what it might do for someone to receive a gift out of love.  Maybe we need to do things for people that have no way of repaying us.  I believe that Jesus did that for every single one of us.

So, how are you doing?

Compassion

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On one of the Gaither Gospel Series DVD’s Bill is talking to Cliff Barrows.  Cliff tells of one crusade that Bill Graham started to preach and a man starts walking down the aisle saying, “Billy, it is my turn to preach.  I am supposed to preach tonight.”  Dr. Graham looked at Grady Wilson, who handled these kind of things.  Grady jumped off the platform and went to the man.  He put his arm around him and the told Grady, “I am supposed to preach tonight.”  Grady said to him, “No, you are supposed to preach tomorrow night.”  The man was content and left without incident.

I was caught by the kind actions of Grady Wilson.  He approached this man and could have made a huge scene; but, he didn’t.  He showed great restraint and deep respect for a man that I believe that was suffering from dementia or something like it.  I love that he put his arm around the man and simply led him out of the area.  He removed the distraction quietly and compassionately.

My reader, how do you and I handle people?  Especially, how do we handle people that do not agree with us?  I have been in the presence of so many people over the years that are deeply caught up in “organized religion”.  Most of them were hard and judging.  I mean judging in the way Jesus and the Bible use the concept and not the new way of defining the term.

Jesus had compassion on people.  By the way, Jesus still has compassion on people.  The fact we are here, alive and on planet earth is a testimony to that fact.

Look at Jude 22, “And of some have compassion, making a difference:”  Most Churches talk a good game about wanting to impact people.  Here you go.  Have the compassion of Jesus on people and you will impact them for time and eternity.

So, how are you doing?