Jesus’ Compassion

When I’m ready to be alone…I’m ready to be ALONE! That’s where I recharge. I’ve been known to get away by myself for a week at a time. And when I’m alone, I don’t want contact with the outside world. 

There are two important stories back-to-back in Mark 7 & 8. The first says Jesus entered a house and wanted no one to know it. He’d just had a confrontation with the Pharisees and then spent time teaching his disciples what it meant. I can’t imagine how exhausted he was. He’d been traveling, healing, teaching, and doing miracles. Those all set him up for attacks from the enemy. So not only was he tired physically, but he was spent emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. If anyone deserved a break, it was Jesus. But instead, a Greek woman hears he’s in the house and comes and wants a demon cast out of her daughter. Instead of having her sent away, he interacts with this woman and then delivers her daughter—from where he sat. 

This may seem like a small thing. But Jesus was SPENT! He gave out of what he didn’t have. Instead of being exhausted and thinking only of himself, he sacrificed and gave. He leaves there and performs another miracle on his way to the Sea of Galilee…which brings us to chapter 8. 

It's here that Jesus spends three days teaching a multitude of over 4000 people. He tells his disciples, “I have compassion on these people because they’ve been listening to me teach for three days and have no food.  We can’t send them home like this or they may faint along the way.” Jesus doesn’t say, “Guys, I’ve been teaching for three days and have eaten very little. I’m exhausted. Will you figure out how to get these people some food and send them away while I go sleep?”  No. Jesus takes the little they find, blesses and breaks it, and feeds over 4000 people. 

Did you know that a person preaching a 30-minute sermon can expend the same amount of energy as someone working an 8-hour work day? They give mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Jesus had to have been exhausted—and coming off of a time when he was already spent! But…he had compassion. He didn’t ask the disciples to “fix it.”  Instead, he demonstrated how to give out of compassion when you have nothing left to give. He was always mentoring them…and us. 

We’re living in a day where the needs are great and people need to know about Jesus. We have a choice. I have a choice. I can come home tired, hide away, and kick my feet up…or I can have compassion for the hungry and feed them.

Which will you do?  Which will I do?

Love Yourself

Love Yourself

Are we to love ourselves? I know…Mark 12:31 says to love your neighbor as yourself.  But can we love our neighbor if we don’t love ourselves? I’m not talking about taking it to the extreme and basking in self-love exclusively and becoming so self-absorbed that you’ve become a narcissist. That’s sinful. But are you free from self-hate and inner condemning voices? Have you forgiven yourself and others? Have you been released from thinking critically of yourself? If you haven’t, that’s the place to start before you can actively start being kind to yourself. And it takes the power of the Holy Spirit to do that spiritual surgery. 

Why is it so much easier to say we should do some self-care or be kind to ourselves rather than love ourselves? I think we’ve been taught it’s wrong to love ourselves.  Satan wants us stuck in a place of self-loathing so we never reach out to others in love—which is the second greatest commandment, by the way.  He knows if we live in a place of self-doubt, that commandment will never be fulfilled effectively.  

Sometimes, after we’ve walked through a particularly hard season or after we’ve spent time taking care of others extensively, we especially need to take care of ourselves…love ourselves. We’re living in stressful times—we need some relief! It can be as simple as listening to music, walking by a stream, eating a delicious meal, listening to children laugh, reading a book, browsing in a store you love, or getting away alone for a short period of time. Whatever it is, it needs to fill your soul. It needs to make you want to breathe in deeply and absorb the moment. It should calm any jangling nerves. It should bring rest.  

The greatest way to love yourself is to love God first. Turn your eyes to Jesus, read His Word, and let him speak to your heart. Let him rid you of every anxious thought. After He meets your needs, He will gently and clearly show you the next way to love someone else.  

Be kind to yourself. Give to yourself. Do some self-care. Get filled up! Love yourself. 

And then…love others.

Satan is a TERRORIST!

Gone are the days when we laughed about a red-horned Satan with a pitchfork! Satan’s not playing games anymore. He’s revealed the truth of who he is—and he’s the original and ultimate TERRORIST!

You could probably tell your own stories of his attacks. But let me tell you of one of my own. I’d committed to praying and fasting with a friend this past week. Satan immediately began attacking—Andy had a setback from his surgery. He’d been doing so well! He was already walking about three miles a day and had gotten back to preaching. But as soon as I began praying and fasting, he had a significant setback that landed us in the ER twice and the doctor’s office once. We thought for sure he would end up in the ER again three different times! Just a coincidence? You tell me! The attacks stopped when my fast was completed. *My friend encountered her own form of terrorism.  

Satan knows praying and fasting are terms of warfare. He’s no longer playing around. He sees those moves and counters them with his terrorism. His ultimate goal is to kill us—hopefully before we know Jesus. 

This isn’t to discourage you from praying and fasting!  Oh no!! This is to encourage you to step up your own wargaming! If we want to win…if we want to have sure and complete victory…we need to press into God with all we’ve got. We need to bring heaven to earth! We need to use the keys of the kingdom He’s given us. Pray the Word! Stand in faith with the Word! Petition God to defeat the enemy!! Pray and fast!

Satan is a liar, a deceiver, a bully, a fear mongerer, a sniper, a terrorist. He hates us with a vengeance. But he’s also defeated. Stand with God on that truth! God IS victory!

*By the way…we saw God break through in my friend’s life in a significant, yet unexpected, way after praying and fasting this week! Glory to God!!

Checklist for a Good Shepherd

Jesus was the perfect shepherd. In fact, one of his names is the Good Shepherd. He also gave us a great example by how he shepherded his disciples. So what kind of shepherd am I? If you’re fulfilling the Great Commission by going into all the world and making disciples, you’re a shepherd, too. You also may be shepherding your own children. It’s not an easy job. It may be frustrating, you may get dirty, and it will be time-consuming…but the result of healthy sheep is its own great reward! This isn’t a comprehensive checklist. Let’s ask the Good Shepherd how we’re doing.  

•Are you taking care of the needs of the sheep? Are you giving them nourishing food with truth? Or are you just fattening them up with your own thoughts?

•Do you lead your sheep to quietness and rest? Or are they all running at a frenetic pace in circles, accomplishing very little in the kingdom of God?

•Are you teaching your sheep to listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd? 

•Do your sheep know you intimately? Are you available to them? Do you invite them near so they hear your voice—and know your voice? 

•Are you walking in righteousness? Or do you have hidden sins? You can’t lead in righteousness if you’re not walking in righteousness. 

•Do your sheep know you have their back? Do they know you won’t throw them to the wolves? Do you guard them with your life? Are you willing to go into full-fledged spiritual warfare on their behalf?

•Do you teach TRUTH even in the presence of the enemy—fearlessly? 

•Are you a healer? Do you personally care and apply prayer over the sheep? Are you teaching them how to take thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ?

•Do you rejoice with and over your sheep? Do you applaud their growth? Do you celebrate their victories?  Do you encourage them personally?

•Do you extend mercy and grace even when the sheep don’t quite “get it”?

•Where are you leading the sheep? If it’s anywhere other than God, you’re leading them in the wrong direction. 

•A good shepherd isn’t good because he fixates on improving his position.  In fact, he denies himself. He’s good because he has the good of the sheep in his heart. 

•A good shepherd gathers the lamb in his arms and carries him—it may be because the lamb can’t keep up or it may be to comfort him or to hear the shepherd’s heart. He gently leads the lambs. 

•A good shepherd knows how to protect the sheep from infighting. He disciplines them. He may separate rams who become aggressive when there are too many of them together. 

•A good shepherd bottle feeds the young who may have been rejected by their mothers.  

•Sheep smell. Sheep bite. Sheep wander. Sheep fight. The good shepherd knows all of these things and is on constant alert.  Shepherding can be exhausting—but he’s up for the challenge!

•Are you a shepherd or a hireling? 

A shepherd cares for every need intimately. A hireling cares for his own needs. A shepherd leads the sheep to pastures. A hireling drives them to slaughter. A shepherd protects the sheep. A hireling protects himself from the sheep. A shepherd is involved in the sheep’s messy births. A hireling is willing to sacrifice the sheep and just count his losses. A shepherd feeds the sheep nourishing food for their good. A hireling fattens the sheep with cheap food to sell them. The sheep knows the shepherd’s voice because he walks with them. The sheep don’t know the hireling—except from a distance. A shepherd grows his flock. A hireling wants growth—but it doesn’t have to be by birth. He’s willing to get sheep from other shepherd’s pastures. Intimacy with the shepherd creates safety. A lack of intimacy with a hireling feels safe—but safe from whom? The hireling? A good shepherd is willing to lay down his life for the sheep. A hireling runs at the first sign of danger. A good shepherd walks in truth and righteousness. A hireling runs from truth and hides his sin.  

•The good shepherd loves his sheep. He will protect them at all costs—even at great expense to himself. He sacrifices for the sheep because he loves them. 

The good news is God shepherds the shepherds. ❤️