Hello my dear friends! As I write today, I look out the window and see a breezy day as Irene blows by South Carolina. On one hand, I am relieved that "she" decided to ignore us and head up north. On the other hand, I have dear friends in the Lord who are in her path and will be given a much more rude introduction to her fury. I am burdened to pray for them. I know you will pray too. No doubt, there will be destruction of personal property that will cause great loss. Even sadder, there will be the destruction of property owned by the poor who will never recover. Those who have homes today will be homeless tomorrow. Who will help these people? As believers we know who should bear the greater responsibility: its not the government, it is the Church of Jesus Christ.
This is the theme of today's Psalms of Discipleship: if you want to get blessed by the Lord, consider the helpless. We help because He first helped us.
In His care,
Denny
Psalms of Discipleship—Principle #33
Life Principles For Those Who Choose To Follow Jesus And Live The Discipled Life
Key Scripture: How blessed is he who considers the helpless; The LORD will deliver him in a day of trouble. Psalm 41:1
Core Value: Service
One of the predominate themes of the Scriptures is stewardship. For example, if we have been given much, much is required of us. If we are in places of influence, we are expected to use our influence to help others who lack “power.” We must remember, that in God’s eyes, we are not owners of what He has entrusted to us, but “managers” or “stewards” only. I realize that this runs counter to a culture where the winner is considered to be the person who has accumulated the most toys at the end. For many, their life mission has become: we work, we collect, we store, we go back to work and collect and store and do so until we can take it to our graves. It is a “me only” life. The gospel is completely different: it is a “Christ in me” life. It is Christ in me who allows me to work, collect and store so I might be able to help those who are helpless. It’s a call to service, and if we embrace it, the promise of Scripture is that the Lord will consider us blessed.
“Praise God from Whom all blessings flow.” Let the blessings flow!
Principle #33 & Personal Application: The quality disciple has compassion for the poor.
• If we take care of the poor, the Lord will bless us: “How blessed is he who considers the helpless (the poor).”
• If we take care of the poor, the Lord will take care of us: “The Lord will deliver him in a day of trouble.”
• We are to love the poor, with a sense of humility and service:
7 And He began speaking a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how they had been picking out the places of honor at the table, saying to them, 8 "When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him, 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, 'Give your place to this man,' and then in disgrace you proceed to occupy the last place. 10 "But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher'; then you will have honor in the sight of all who are at the table with you. 11 "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." 12 And He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment. 13 "But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." Luke 14:7-14 (NASB95)
Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Romans 12:16 (NASB95)
Reflect & Respond: Some Really Good Questions To Ponder…
In what ways has the Lord called me to minister to the poor?
Do I know anyone who is poor? What can I do to serve them?
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You say that the poor will always be with us. Give me Your eyes to see them; Your heart to love them; Your compassion to serve them. May I never become so full of myself that I ignore the needs of my fellow man.
The Essential Core Values Of The Quality Disciple Are…
Grace—Worship—Bible Study—Prayer—Community—Service—Evangelism
Denny Bates & Something New Christian Publishers © 2011 All rights reserved.
www.dennybates.com
http://thequalitydisciple.blogspot.com
Showing posts with label compassion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label compassion. Show all posts
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Psalms of Discipleship--Principle #31--Grace--August 13, 2011
Hello my dear friends, I pray that each one of you are experiencing the Lord's abundant love and compassion upon you today. All around us are lonely people, very lonely people who need to experience God's unconditional love. If we have tasted of that great love, then surely we need to look for opportunities to give it away. This is the theme of today's Psalms of Discipleship: the value of experiencing unconditional love, and then giving it away.
Loved by the Good Shepherd,
Denny
Psalms of Discipleship—Principle #31
Life Principles For Those Who Choose To Follow Jesus And Live The Discipled Life
Key Scripture: You, O LORD, will not withhold Your compassion from me; Your lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me. Psalm 40:11
Core Value: Grace
Do you really know how to give love away . . . with no strings attached?
In the world’s economy, love always comes with a very important condition: “you be nice to me, and I’ll be nice to you. You do things my way and I will like you. However, if you ever do something or say something I do not like, I will withhold my love from you.” That’s how it is for many Christians. Love becomes a powerful leverage, to either reward or to punish. Withheld love. It happens between parents and children, between friends, and yes, even between us and God. If our children disappoint us, we are tempted not to love them fully. If our friends fail us, we snatch back our love. And if God does not act like we want Him to act, we chose to hold Him hostage using withheld love as the bargaining chip. “Lord, if you do things my way, then I will reward you by loving you more.” It’s common. It’s easy to do. And it’s wrong on so many levels.
Fortunately, we are not without hope. God does not hold a grudge. Through grace, the Good Shepherd gives His love and compassion to us. His grace allows us to love and to be loved, unconditionally. Remember, grace is getting something we do not deserve. Grace is unmerited favor. Grace is free and grace is good for us. And when we begin to understand and live in a way where grace is highly valued, we can become advocates for the kind of love that changes the world, and yes, even us.
We love, because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19
Principle #31 & Personal Application: The quality disciple has a view of God who is compassionate and sustains His people with love and truth.
• Grace helps us see God as He really is: He is compassionate to His people.
• Grace allows us to experience His wonderful mercy: His mercy preserves us.
• Grace grounds us in His absolute truth: His truth gives us reason for not having to fear.
Reflect & Respond: Some Really Good Questions To Ponder…
How would I describe my view of my heavenly Father: as a compassionate Father or an over-demanding tyrant?
What does it mean that the Lord will continually preserve me with His lovingkindness and His truth?
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, how I thank You for not withholding Your compassion from me. How I thank You for continually preserving me with Your lovingkindess (mercy) and Your truth. May I always live in Your grace and may I always be sure to not withhold compassion from others. May I always be merciful and an advocate for truth.
The Essential Core Values Of The Quality Disciple Are…
Grace—Worship—Bible Study—Prayer—Community—Service —Evangelism
Denny Bates & Something New Christian Publishers © 2011 All rights reserved.
www.dennybates.com
http://thequalitydisciple.blog spot.com/
Loved by the Good Shepherd,
Denny
Psalms of Discipleship—Principle #31
Life Principles For Those Who Choose To Follow Jesus And Live The Discipled Life
Key Scripture: You, O LORD, will not withhold Your compassion from me; Your lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me. Psalm 40:11
Core Value: Grace
Do you really know how to give love away . . . with no strings attached?
In the world’s economy, love always comes with a very important condition: “you be nice to me, and I’ll be nice to you. You do things my way and I will like you. However, if you ever do something or say something I do not like, I will withhold my love from you.” That’s how it is for many Christians. Love becomes a powerful leverage, to either reward or to punish. Withheld love. It happens between parents and children, between friends, and yes, even between us and God. If our children disappoint us, we are tempted not to love them fully. If our friends fail us, we snatch back our love. And if God does not act like we want Him to act, we chose to hold Him hostage using withheld love as the bargaining chip. “Lord, if you do things my way, then I will reward you by loving you more.” It’s common. It’s easy to do. And it’s wrong on so many levels.
Fortunately, we are not without hope. God does not hold a grudge. Through grace, the Good Shepherd gives His love and compassion to us. His grace allows us to love and to be loved, unconditionally. Remember, grace is getting something we do not deserve. Grace is unmerited favor. Grace is free and grace is good for us. And when we begin to understand and live in a way where grace is highly valued, we can become advocates for the kind of love that changes the world, and yes, even us.
We love, because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19
Principle #31 & Personal Application: The quality disciple has a view of God who is compassionate and sustains His people with love and truth.
• Grace helps us see God as He really is: He is compassionate to His people.
• Grace allows us to experience His wonderful mercy: His mercy preserves us.
• Grace grounds us in His absolute truth: His truth gives us reason for not having to fear.
Reflect & Respond: Some Really Good Questions To Ponder…
How would I describe my view of my heavenly Father: as a compassionate Father or an over-demanding tyrant?
What does it mean that the Lord will continually preserve me with His lovingkindness and His truth?
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, how I thank You for not withholding Your compassion from me. How I thank You for continually preserving me with Your lovingkindess (mercy) and Your truth. May I always live in Your grace and may I always be sure to not withhold compassion from others. May I always be merciful and an advocate for truth.
The Essential Core Values Of The Quality Disciple Are…
Grace—Worship—Bible Study—Prayer—Community—Service —Evangelism
Denny Bates & Something New Christian Publishers © 2011 All rights reserved.
www.dennybates.com
http://thequalitydisciple.blog spot.com/
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