Monthly Archives: August 2012

Compassion

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Compassion….This is a word that you hear a lot, but what does it truly look like?  In Matthew 9:36 it says Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.  In James 1:27 James says Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:  to look after orphans and widows in their distress…  Generally speaking, the neediest people in the early church were orphans and widows, the principle James is expressing in this passage is our responsibility to care for those in need.  As believers, we are striving to be like Jesus, with His character and filled with His attributes.  But lets get past the “religious” lingo and really examine what compassion looks like for us in today’s world?  


I find myself making judgment on who I believe deserves my compassion.  Not necessarily by their looks, how they dress, etc but I find myself making judgments of “well, they are merely suffering the consequences of their poor choices”.  Let’s look at the parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32; his Father’s reaction to him coming home was not one of judgment or condemnation for all of the wrong choices he made; rather we see him say  22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.  23  And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate.  24  For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’  And they began to celebrate.  


What does Compassion look like to you?  Have you ever been on the receiving end?  Have you ever been on the giving end?  As believers in Christ, we are called to be filled with compassion, we are called to take care of the needy.  There are opportunities all around us to show compassion to one another.  There are people who God brings into our life for a specific purpose – sometimes it is easy to rationalize them away but oh the joy that comes when we listen and act when God leads.  

A couple of weeks ago, a lady came into our place of business to have her car repaired.  She had been in an auto accident and was obviously quite frustrated about the whole matter (which is a typical reaction).  She shared her frustration of the car accident with Kim Sammons, one of our Team Members, but emphatically concluded that this minor inconvenience was nothing in the scheme of things; she had lost her 5 year old son a little over a year ago in a previous car accident.  Kim was overwhelmed with emotion because she immediately knew what car accident she was referring to.  Kim had witnessed this tragic event and had been troubled because of the loss of the little boy.  Kim knew God had their paths cross for a specific reason.  It wasn’t just coincidence that Kim had witnessed the accident which took the life of this lady’s son and then a year later, their paths crossed again.  Tears were shed as they talked about the day from a year ago and Kim was so moved by this, she wanted to act and show compassion for her.  One reason the lady was frustrated about this accident was the out of pocket costs that she was going to incur.  Kim saw this opportunity to show compassion by paying the deductible for her.  Kim did not share with the customer her intent to pay until she came to pick up her vehicle when the repairs were completed.  The customer then shared she had financial problems that she hadn’t told anyone about, she just prayed God would help her.  In Kim’s words “He did, through us we answered her prayer!”  She could have brushed it off but she didn’t, she acted on the opportunity that God brought into her life.  

Look for what opportunities God is bringing to you – who has he placed in your life today?  Maybe it is someone you see every day or maybe it is someone you have never seen before in your life.  Matthew 5:16 says In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. 

This week is LOVE WEEK at Genesis Church  – simply a week for us to show our compassion for others.  We have the opportunity to donate items for an orphanage in Guatemala, donate items needed for a local school here in Tallahassee and are encouraged to do random acts of kindness.  There are opportunities all around us!  My desire is to be filled with the compassion of Jesus!

What Should I Do?

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Decisions, everyday, everyone of us have decisions to make.  Some small and some seem insurmountable when trying to determine the right move to make and when.  We have work decisions, family decisions, financial decisions, personal decisions and God wants us to bring those questions to Him.  Not just once, but every time we are presented with a decision to make.  Do you ask God before you make a decision?

In 2 Samuel we see the Philistines chasing after King David and David ask God “What should I do?”  2 Samuel 5:18-19 Now the Philistines had arrived and spread out in the valley of Rephaim.  19 So David asked the Lord, “Should I march up against the Philistines?  Will you hand them over to me?”  The Lord said to David, “March up, for I will indeed hand the Philistines over to you.”  We see the first thing King David did when he needed to make a decision – go to God for the answer.

How many decisions do you have to make this week?  As I sit here this evening, I find myself with a multitude of decisions to make.  Some I have asked God to guide me to make the right decisions, others I have not.  2 Chronicles 16:9 says God is always on the alert, constantly on the lookout for people who are totally committed to him.  You were foolish to go for human help when you could have had God’s help.  Now you’re in trouble-one round of war after another.  So why don’t we go to Him for every decision?

Now let’s look just a little further in 2 Samuel 5 and see that David did what God told him to do and he defeated the Philistine army.  2 Samuel 5:20 So David marched against Baal Perazim and defeated them there.  Then he said, “The Lord has burst out against my enemies like waters burst out.”  So he called the name of that place Baal Perzim.  Then we will see David confronted with the same situation again, starting in verse 22 The Philistines again came up and spread out in the valley of Rephaim.  23 So David asked the Lord what he should do.  This time the Lord said to him, “Don’t march straight up.  Instead, circle behind them and come against them opposite the trees.  24 When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the trees, act decisively.  For at that moment the Lord is going before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.  25 David did just as the Lord commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines from Gibeon all the way to Gezar.  

David was faced with the same decision to make.  How many times are we faced with the same decision and we merely make the assumption, God told us to handle it this way before so let’s do it again.  If David had made that assumption, he would have gone up straight at the Philistines and may have been defeated.  But instead, He asked God, “what should I do?”

So how long do you wait for God to give you an answer before you just handle it yourself?  Do you wait on Him, or give Him a deadline to give you an answer?  Those were hard questions for me to ask myself!!  If you are a follower of Christ, you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you to guide you in making decisions.  How many times do you find yourself on your knees asking God, “what should I do?”  In James, scripture says But if any of you lack wisdom, you should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, it will be given to you.  But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt.  For the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  God will give you wisdom, He will show you what to do, but you must ask believing that He will give you His answer.  It might not be your answer on your timeline, but He will answer.