“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:31-32 ESV
Tag: Compassionate
A Faith Strong Enough to Love
“The only thing that counts is
faith expressing itself through love.”
Galatians 5:6b
The proof of our growing faith in God through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit is our love, our love for God first, and through Him our love for one another, our love for our neighbor, and even our love for our enemies.
As we cultivate a deeper relationship with God we’ll know Him more, growing in faith and changing into the image of Christ, having His heart and mind, seeing with His eyes of grace and mercy, and loving others the way He does.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
John 13:34
Our love for one another in the family of God is a given, or at least it should be. Jesus said the outward display of love we have for one another would be proof to the world that we are followers of Christ.
But that can get a little tricky sometimes, right? We’re still human and sometimes we can grate on each other’s nerves, say things that are hurtful, treat one another thoughtlessly. But obeying the command to love one another shows our faith in the Lord. It shows a faith that trusts Him and entrusts others to Him, a faith that forgives and loves at all times.
“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply (intently, fervently, enthusiastically, without ceasing), from a pure heart.
1 Peter 1:22
Over time, as we grow in faith, our love for one another will grow, too. We’ll genuinely love others with a deeply affectionate and compassionate heart.
“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Matthew 22:39
Our love for our neighbor might be a little more difficult. Of course our closest neighbor is our family. Sometimes that’s easy, and sometimes family can be, well, challenging. It can take great faith to love them.
But a neighbor is anyone God puts in our path. Maybe we don’t know them. Maybe they’re not believers. Still, God calls us to love them, to show them the love of Jesus, and that may sometimes take even more faith. We have to be able to trust God to take care of us while we take care of someone else. But as we grow in Him, our faith is stronger and we know the Lord will always be with us and will always provide for us.
“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you,
do not demand it back.”
Luke 6:27-30
Now that’s a tough one. Loving our enemies takes a great amount of faith.
But a maturing faith will change who we are. We’ll walk less in our own prideful, self-serving flesh and more in the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit. Our behavior won’t be dictated by how others treat us, but by our understanding of God’s endless love for us, and the great faith and love we have in Him.
A faith that is perfected – matured – is a faith that expresses itself through love no matter what because we know God’s love is not dependent on us. He loves at all times because that’s His nature. We remember that God loved us while we were yet sinners by sending His Son to die on the cross for our sins. It’s a love that desires others, no matter who they are, to see and come to know the love of God through His Son.
“Because of the increase of wickedness,
the love of most will grow cold,
but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”
Matthew 24:12-13
It’s too easy to get caught up in the world’s hatred. We must refuse to, and fix our eyes and hearts on the One who is able, day by day, to save us from a hardened heart, and allow Him to continually fill us with His love, and then go out into the world and share it with others, trusting Him to change hearts as He changed ours.
Dear Heavenly Father, help us grow and walk in faith that expresses itself in love. May we bring you honor and glory by living as witnesses of your great grace and mercy so that others will see you in us, and put their faith in Jesus Christ as their own Lord and Savior, turning one more heart to a life of your love. Please give us wisdom for those who are hard to love. Show us how best to love them, and may we always start with prayer. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
“Love is patient
love is kind.
It does not envy,
it does not boast,
it is not proud.
It does not dishonor others,
it is not self-seeking,
it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil
but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects,
always trusts,
always hopes,
always perseveres.
Love never fails.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
“Come!”
“And because lawlessness will abound,
the love of many will grow cold.”
~Jesus
Matthew 24:12
I’ve been thinking about these words a lot lately. It’s easy to read them and assume that it’s the people who practice lawlessness whose love will grow cold, and that’s certainly true.
But in my own heart I’ve seen how easy it is to simply sit and watch or read about the wickedness going on around us and become angry. Yes, we should have a degree of righteous anger, but if we’re not careful, that righteous anger can turn into self-righteousness, judgment, bitterness, and with them the loss of grace, mercy, faith, and love.
We can get our eyes onto other’s sins and off our own, and forget how much we need forgiveness ourselves. Over time, a lack of repentance and the guilt that sets in can keep us from sitting in the presence of the Lord, the Source of the love we so desperately need.
And slowly, replacing a tender heart of love, anger begins to fester, and the enemy slowly leads us away, not from salvation, but from fellowship with our gracious Heavenly Father.
“You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.”
1 Thessalonians 5:5-8
Let’s be alert, filled with the Holy Spirit, resisting the enemy, abiding in the love of Christ, the One who is able to rescue us from ourselves, and remember the hope Jesus gives in the next breath after His words we started with at the beginning:
“But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” Matthew 24:13
That word “endures” means “to stay under or behind, remain, to undergo, bear trials, have fortitude, persevere, abide, patiently suffer…”
Yes, we’re living in hard times, but remember, the things of this life are not the goal, this life is not the end, it is the beginning. It is the training ground for the life to come; it is where we cling to Christ, and even more through those very hardships, receiving His character for ourselves, growing into spiritual maturity, prepared for what He has for us in the next.
So let us “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:1-2
If followers of Christ should be characterized by anything, it should be by His love. “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
So what should our response be to the violence, the hatred, the blatant disregard for life we see around us? Yes, be angry at the sin, yes, be angry at the enemy and the war he’s declared on Almighty God, and then let’s emulate our Lord and Savior who was filled with love and prayed from the cross that His Father would forgive those who put Him there.
We, too, can let the love God’s given us through the filling of the Holy Spirit lead us to pray for those who are caught in the sin. We can ask our gracious and merciful Heavenly Father to grant them repentance and salvation, pulling them back from the pit of hell, just like He did for us.
So, if you’ve drifted away from the Lord or you deliberately walked away for whatever reason, and your love has grown cold, or maybe your faith is there but it’s lukewarm, which Christ said was even worse than being cold (because it’s so deceiving), or maybe you’ve never given your life to Christ and you know there is something missing, something you desperately need and have been looking for but haven’t yet found, today is the day.
Christ is ready, willing, and able to forgive you and receive you and fill you with His love, a love that is able to go far above and beyond all other loves, a love that will quench our thirsty souls, renew hearts and minds, and heal us more than we can imagine, and this is what He says to you:
“The Spirit and the bride (followers of Christ) say, ‘Come!’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come!’ Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.” Revelation 22:17
“Come!”
The Saturday Song – A Special “O Holy Night”
“For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish
but have eternal life.”
John 3:16
Amidst the twinkling lights, baking, and shopping, I pray we follow our Father’s example and give the most important gift: love. I hope this blesses you as much as it did me. Merry Christmas.
Sunday Praise and a Mother’s Day Prayer of Gratefulness
Dear Heavenly Father, we praise you and thank you for all the ways you’ve blessed us, nurtured us, fed us, taught us, ministered to us, held us, walked with us, called us, provided for us, cared for us, showed us your compassion and hope, and a million other ways you’ve shown yourself faithful to us.
Father, today there are some who are celebrating, some are hoping, some remembering, and some grieving. We pray for each and every one, that you would bless them according to your riches in Christ Jesus.
Thank you for imparting your mothering character to all of us, and for giving us people who have mothered us, whether our own or someone else, and for putting others in our lives so that we can nurture and love them.
You are a God of wonders and miracles and joys and we look to you with hearts of gratefulness today.
Thank you, dear Father. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
Illustration 183074016 © Inna Sinano | Dreamstime.com
Sunday Praise and a Prayer for the Body of Christ
Dear Heavenly Father, we praise you. Thank you for your unending, merciful love that brings healing and goodness into our lives.
Lord, we pray for the body of Christ, for believers whose spiritual walk has been lukewarm, who have allowed themselves to be pulled into the world and the love of things in it, who have been lured into the belief that they have just enough faith to save them, but are missing out all you have for them.
We pray that in your mercy you would open their eyes, soften their hearts, and bring them to repentance and a desire for spiritual things.
We pray our brothers and sisters would be unfulfilled by all the world has to offer, and know that what is missing is you. We pray you would give them a hunger and thirst for righteousness, that they would seek hard after you, and that you would fill them with the peace and joy they long to have.
We pray you would show them the way to true and lasting faith as they give their whole hearts and lives to you.
For those who have believed at one time, but whose hearts have grown cold, LORD, please reveal yourself and show them your desire to love and forgive them, to gather them under your wing and heal their hearts and minds, and to make known to them the plan you have for their lives.
For those who are abiding in you, but maybe there are some areas of their lives they have kept from you, please give your strength and courage to let you have it all. That we would give you our whole hearts, even the hard things, the things we can’t face alone, and face them with you, knowing you are compassionate and full of grace.
Father, help all of us yield our whole selves to you, that we can experience all you have for us, every healing, every blessing, every gift, and every bit of spiritual growth while we have time. And may we be a light, Lord, for the whole world to see how great is your love. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
Sunday Praise and a Prayer for the Sick
Dear Heavenly Father, we praise you. You are the omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent God. You are faithful to hear our prayers, and we thank you for hearing our prayer today.
Father, we lift up to you those who are facing life-altering and life-threatening illnesses.
For those who know you, we ask that you would renew their strength and hope. We pray you would comfort them and fill them with your peace that passes all understanding. We pray you would surround them with people who support them with love and friendship. We ask that you would also give strength and hope for their loved ones and caregivers.
For those who don’t yet know you, we pray you would reveal yourself to them in a very personal way. Maybe they’ve blamed you for what they’re going through. Maybe they’re angry, or lost and just don’t know where to turn. We pray you would not allow the enemy to fill their minds with lies.
Father, we know what a personal and compassionate God you are, and we ask that you would show them that you know them and you love them.
We pray you would open their eyes and turn their hearts toward you, that they would receive you as their Lord, their Savior, their Hope to walk with them through this time, giving them all they need and more.
We pray you would remove all fear and help them keep their focus on You, the God Who is bigger than anything they’ll face here on earth. We pray you would give them strength and courage to walk in confidence with you each day.
Father, you are also the Great Physician. You created our bodies and you can heal them. If it be your will, Lord, we ask that you would do miracles and grant healing and restoration. We pray you would open doors and move mountains to do those things that need to be done.
We pray you would give the doctors and nurses your wisdom, your skill, and your compassion.
We pray, Lord, that you would also open doors to provide financially, and that all debt is paid.
Father, we pray you would be glorified in all these circumstances. What the enemy has meant for evil, we pray you would use for your good. We lay it all at your feet, trusting you, and we thank you ahead of time for what you’re going to do.
In Jesus’ precious and holy name we pray, amen.
The God Who Hears Us
“Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts.” Luke 2:25-27a
We don’t always hear a lot about Simeon, and there’s only a small paragraph about him, but there’s a lot behind those few words.
His name was Simeon, and names held a lot of meaning in the Hebrew culture.
The name Simeon was first used in Genesis as the name Leah gave the second son she conceived with Jacob.
“She (Leah) conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, ‘Because the Lord heard that I am not loved, He gave me this one too.’ So she named him Simeon.” Genesis 29:33
So, why did Leah name him Simeon? Because in the Hebrew Simeon means “hearing.”
The Lord heard (same root word) that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah. He heard Leah’s heart grieve and groan, had mercy on her, and gave her another son.
Jesus’ birth was the end of 400 years of silence from the God of the Israelites.
The Israelites had largely turned away from God and His ways, and they endured much persecution, the desecration of the Holy of Holies, and the capture and recapture of Israel by multiple peoples.
God might have been silent, but He was not unseeing or unhearing.
So “when the set time had fully come, God sent His Son…” Galatians 4:4
God had heard the grieving and groaning of His people and gave the world a Son.
As Joseph and Mary took the baby Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem to consecrate Him to the Lord, the Holy Spirit led Simeon, whose name means “to hear,” to see the Savior of the world.
God hears. He is attentive to our cries. He is ever discerning and perceiving of the needs and concerns and trials and tribulations of one person as well as an entire people.
We need to remember that. Deep down in our hearts we need to believe that because if we don’t we won’t pray. If we think all is lost, if we think it’s useless, that God isn’t hearing us, we’ll give up hope and we’ll stop praying.
Have hope, take courage, we have a God who hears.
God’s Word shows us, through Leah and through Simeon, that God is a hearing, compassionate, and loving God.
So as we start this year, let’s remember that God hears our prayers and continue to pour out our hearts to Him who hears us and will answer when the set time has fully come.
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him.” 1 John 5:14-15
Guard Your Heart
Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
Proverbs 4:23
The Saturday Song – Give Me Your Eyes
If there’s anything God shows us about Himself in His word it’s that He is a personal God. Yes, He loves the whole world, but He also sees and loves the individual.
He saw Hagar and her son a distance away, alone in the desert, waiting to die, and had compassion on them.
He saw Hannah, alone in the temple, weeping and praying for a son, and granted her request.
He saw Mary, a humble worshipper of God, and made her the mother of the Messiah.
He saw the Samaritan woman, sitting alone by the well, and gave her hope through the greatest message of all time.
He saw the man with leprosy, and having compassion on him, healed him, restoring his life.
He saw the woman who had bled for twelve years when, in faith, she touched His cloak and was healed.
He saw John, alone on the island of Patmos, and gave him a vision of the Son and of His coming kingdom to give the world.
He sees you right now, too, and whatever you’re going through He has compassion for you.
Father, give me your eyes.