This blog is designed to create community for believers and provide support for seekers. I encourage all readers to share their faith in an effort to lift and encourage one another.
“When you come and say you are not fit, haven’t got good clothes, haven’t got righteousness enough to be a Christian, remember that Christ will furnish you with the uniform of heaven, and you will be set down at the marriage feast of the Lamb.”
– D.L. Moody
Thank you, Lord, for creating us in your image. Thank you for preparing a place for us and for preparing us for that place.
Photo credit: Emma Sturm
Here’s another commandment. He has forgiven all who accept him. Sounds to me like we are to do the same.
It doesn’t get much clearer than this. We are clearly to love one another with devotion. What are some of the ways you actively seek to honor others above yours
Father, open my eyes and my mind to fresh ways to honors others and serve them in love.
Zechariah 7:9 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.’”
Often we study the bible in passages, or stories that are sectioned off by the editors. This sectioning is helpful to the reader, and helps to identify separate incidents and unify them in the readers’ minds. Sometimes, however, it is important to tie the separate incidents together. Such is the case in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 14. In this chapter are two very familiar stories: One, the beheading of John the Baptist; two, the feeding of the 5,000 with five loaves of bread and two fish. Each of these stories, taken separately, has an important message for every one of us and should be read and studied carefully. But when the stories are tied together, there is yet another message for us in scripture.
Listen to what is said at the end of the story of John’s beheading: “John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus” (Matt. 14:12 NIV). Can you imagine how Jesus must have felt? His cousin, a young man in his early thirties, had just died horrible death. What a gruesome scene that would have been at the palace, with Herodias’s daughter triumphantly carrying John’s bloodied head on a platter to her mother. What grief must have filled Jesus’ heart. Matthew 14:13, the beginning of the next story, hints at his grief: “When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place.” Surely, Jesus desired some time alone at this difficult moment in his young life. But he was not to find his solitude. “Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick” (13b, 14).
I cannot imagine His depth of compassion for these people. In his time of grief, needing so desperately to be alone, he turned to a large crowd of people, all apparently oblivious to his grief, and during his time of need, he ministered to their needs. He apparently spent much time healing people in the crowd, for as evening approached, the disciples wanted to send the crowd away to buy themselves some food. Once again, we glimpse Jesus’ compassion, for he “replied, ‘They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat’” (16). It would have been perfectly logical for Jesus to send them away so they could eat and he could grieve. But, once again, his compassion was far greater than his needs. He multiplied their meager supplies so that everyone could eat his fill, with twelve basketfuls left over! After everyone had eaten and the leftovers had been gathered up, Jesus sent his disciples across the lake on a boat, dismissed the crowd, and “went up on a mountainside by himself to pray” (23). In his time of grief and fatigue, Jesus turned to his father in prayer and solitude only after the needs of strangers were met.
I don’t know why this illustration of His compassion should surprise and move me. For I know a far greater example of compassion toward the sinful human race. His compassion is so boundless, he not only relinquished his time to mourn for his cousin, He willingly gave up his life, at the very young age of 33, for sinners like you and me.
Lord, Your compassion humbles me. Only God could put others’ needs ahead of His. Only God would take the punishment for a sinful human race. Lord, if only we had even a small measure of compassion, what amazing feats would be accomplished in Your name.
Psalm 34:15 “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry.”
Sounds like a command to me. Not an easy one, but what Jesus commands, nevertheless.
Jeus, I want to do what you command. Sometimes that is difficult. Give me the strength and wisdom to love my enemies and pray for those who persecute me. Make me more like you.
“Can you worship a God who isn’t obligated to explain His actions to you? Could it be your arrogance that makes you think God owes you an explanation?”
— Francis Chan
Well, this quote certainly requires some heavy thought.
Lord, take away my arrogance. Teach me to trust you completely. Who am I to question your actions?
Such a beautiful verse. Something to contemplate. How do we imitate Christ’s love? He gave himself up for us, so what do we give up for him? What do we sacrifice that can be a fragrant offering to God?
Thank you, Jesus, for your ultimate offering, pleasing to God and saving us. Show us the ways you want us to sacrifice, ways that will be pleasing to you.
Such a wonderful verse and such a great reminder that God loves all his children, even when we appear unlovable to others.
Lord, help me to remember that You love ALL Your children, even ones who don’t appear so nice. Help me to see them through Your eyes and to offer them Your grace, love, and peace.
Dropping the Stones
Caught in the act, they dragged her into the temple courts.
Head down, hands trembling, she avoided the eyes of the angry men surrounding her.
The men couldn’t wait to pass judgment on her.
Their faces turned hard as the stones they longed to throw. After all, that was God’s law.
But the man who wrote on the ground, the pure man, the innocent one, the creator, savior, shepherd of men. He spoke to the crowd.
“Let him who is without sin throw the first stone.”
Angry muttering ceased.
Hearts of stone softened.
Angry fists opened.
Stones thudded to the ground.
One by one, with empty hands, the men turned away.
No stones were thrown that day.
So why do I harden my heart?
Why do I look for stones to throw?
Why do I feel the weight of these stones in my hands and on my heart?
I, too, am a sinner.
I am not the sinless man drawing on the ground.
Creator, shepherd, savior, teach me to open my heart and my hands. Teach me to drop the stones of judgment. Teach me to accept your grace and to offer it to other sinners.
“Jesus tells us to set our hearts on the kingdom. Setting our hearts on something involves not only serious aspirations but also strong determination. A spiritual life requires human effort. The forces that keep pulling us back into a worry-filled life are far from easy to overcome.”
Henri Nouwen
Lord, help me to keep my focus on You. Show me how to put you first, and I know all other aspects of life will fall into place. Thank you for your love and your grace.
Growing Our Faith Together 