We are all in this together, so always be kinder than necessary. What goes around comes around. No one has ever made themselves strong by showing how small someone else is. Everyone you meet is learning something, is afraid of something, loves something, and has lost something. Know this. And be extra kind today.

In other words, don’t just preach online.

Actually do the difficult things, too.

Be compassionate in whatever way you can.

Be a beacon of hope to people you pass on the street.

Embody what you preach.

Many of the kindest gestures you’ll ever make, and the most important things you’ll ever do, won’t come easy and will never be seen publicly.

Comment at: https://el2.convertkit-mail.com/c/8kuwx0ldwuohk3wpgtl/48hvheh2dm37vv/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubWFyY2FuZGFuZ2VsLmNvbS8yMDIwLzA2LzIyLzctZGlmZmljdWx0LXRoaW5ncy15b3Utc2hvdWxkLXN0YXJ0LWRvaW5nLWZvci10aGUtcGVvcGxlLWFyb3VuZC15b3Uv

Have Compassion

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone else. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Colossians 3:12-13 NIV

Pray

Lord, sensitize me to others and their needs.

Observe 

Is God challenging you to adjust your outlook or attitude? When we adopt a positive attitude, it directly impacts our outlook, personalities, and relationships. With our busy schedules and multitudes of distractions, we rarely stop to consider what’s going on in the lives of others. When we intentionally slow down and observe the world around us, we can see more clearly the struggles and challenges many are facing.

Are you simply being polite when you bump into a co-worker, friend, or loved one and ask, “How are you?” Or do you really want to know? Have you ever been asked that question, only to realize the person asking really doesn’t care about the answer?

When we take the time to ask people how they are doing and genuinely listen to and care about their response, we gain a more realistic perspective of the person’s circumstances and put ourselves in a better position to feel and show compassion.

Wife of evangelist Billy Graham, Ruth Bell Graham, was known to be the glue that held the Graham family together. It’s said she modeled Christ-like compassion and would happily give someone the dress off her back. In fact, that’s exactly what she did. During a world evangelism conference, Ruth found a change of clothes and gave an African pastor the dress she was wearing when he mentioned he just couldn’t return home without bringing his wife a gift.

Go to: patheos.com/blogs/courageforlife/2019/05/have-compassion/

What is Loving My Neighbor Supposed to Look Like?

 

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Matthew 5:7 (NIV)

Do you ever feel like the injustice, intimidation and violence in our world will never stop? Jesus’ world was not that much different from ours. The Roman Empire was not merciful either. Even the Jewish leaders had serious issues with mercy too. So the common people were caught between the merciless, oppressive Roman Empire and the merciless, compromised religious establishment. So mercy Himself came to show us a better way to be human. Jesus knew we could never give mercy until we experienced divine mercy. If you do not possess it, you cannot give it away. Jesus, the One who is the endless fountain of mercy, was sent to earth so humanity could come and drink the life-giving waters of His mercy. As He extended mercy, Jesus also taught us how to be merciful. In Matthew 5:7, He said “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” According to Jesus, merciful people love their neighbors. But this isn’t a sentimental love; this is a kind of mercy that looks like the cross of Jesus. Jesus told a story about an unlikely neighbor who displayed mercy to an unlikely recipient. We know it now as the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus pointed out that as a man lay on the side of the road, clinging to life, a Jewish priest and a Levite came down from Jerusalem, saw him, and didn’t offer to help.   Read more: http://info.proverbs31.org/what-is-loving-my-neighbor-supposed-to-look-like-dr-derwin-l-gray

Worship IS Essential, But So Is Loving Your Neighbor

Since yesterday, when the President of the United States proclaimed churches to be essential, I have seen two major themes emanating from my Christian Facebook friends and pages I follow. Mind you, these are from professing Christians, not some outside news pundits or any other kind of outsider.

1. Churches are, in fact, essential, and should be allowed to reopen, because the government can’t tell the Church what to do.
2. Since Christians can worship anywhere, and since God’s work can continue in the world through the Church without official worship gatherings, said worship gatherings are not essential.

Neither of these is convincing in the least, for me, at least.

Regarding the first position, the COVID-19 crisis is a real thing. It is not a hoax. It is not a concerted effort to take away your rights and freedom. If you disagree, frankly, you’ve been listening to too many fringe conspiracy theorists. You have taken your position from nutcase Facebook status updates from people with some sort of persecution complex. Christians in this country are, by and large, not persecuted. These restrictions are in place because large gatherings pose a huge risk to the people in attendance, and to public health in general. There are documented cases of this happening, both present and historical. Perpetuating this fear is both irresponsible and lacking in faith in Christ, our living Head.

Read the rest: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/ponderanew/2020/05/23/worship-is-essential-but-so-is-loving-your-neighbor/

Carry Each Other’s Burdens Today!

https://raymcdonald.wordpress.com/2020/05/01/carry-each-others-burdens-today/

Colossians 2:2

Colossians 2:2:

…that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ…

In the previous verse, Paul shared his pastoral longing for the Colossians and those in Laodicea. In this verse, he tells them what he desires for them, namely, their encouragement, unity, assurance, and knowledge of Christ.

All of us need encouragement. There may be times where we need it more, but there’s never a day when we don’t need it at all. May we, as God’s people, be known by continually finding ways to encourage one another. As we do so, it will help foster unity. Paul prays that their hearts will be knit together in love. Love binds us together; it knits us to one another (see 3:14). Our unity is based on the truth of the gospel, which transcends all other walls of division. We may not agree on everything, but if we are brothers and sisters in Christ, then we have the foundation for unity.

Paul desires that they would have the “full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of…Christ.” Christ is the source of all spiritual knowledge. Having biblical knowledge and an understanding of doctrine is vital to our faith. We can’t “just love Jesus” if we don’t know the truths that he has taught us in his word. We must love the Lord our God with all our minds. This is why Scripture continually warns against false teachers. Unity is important, but we can’t be unified on false doctrine.

APPLICATION QUESTIONS: https://growingingrace.blog/2020/04/21/social-distancing-devos-colossians-22/

If I Don’t Have Love

Love is an action, or so many Christians believe. Atheists? Not so much. In a discussion on the topic in the atheist FB group some years ago, the distinction was clear.

The difference shocked me. Apparently quite a bit separates the thinking of atheists and theist, far more than what we believe about the existence of God.

Apparently a Christian’s faith in God (I can’t speak for other theists), is the bedrock for a host of other beliefs: that love should be something we live out and offer to our neighbors, our enemies, our brothers and sisters in the faith; that the life of every human has value, no matter what the size of the body or the intellect; that sin is part of our DNA, part of being human; that judgment awaits; that there is life after life; and many more.

That exchange about love, though, stuck with me. Some time ago, a fledgling writer, in the process of describing her current project, said, No one today knows what love is.

She’s right. Our culture has bought into the lie that love is nothing more than an emotion, not a commitment, not an action.

I could end this post at this point, except there’s a line in 1 Corinthians 13, often referred to as the Love Chapter, that got me to thinking. It’s verse 3: “And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.”

Read the rest of this thought-provoking blog at: https://rebeccaluellamiller.wordpress.com/2020/04/15/if-i-dont-have-love/

The Church as a Caring Community

A Broadcast with Burk Parsons

Throughout Scripture, God exhorts His people to love one another and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Today, Burk Parsons considers this calling to love and encourages Christians to remain steadfast in a time of suffering and confusion.

LISTEN NOW

6 Practical Ways to Share Your Faith During the Coronavirus Pandemic

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/newwineskins/6-practical-ways-to-share-your-faith-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic/

5 Relationships That Every Christian Needs, Especially Now

In these crazy days of the coronavirus threat, I’ve missed hanging out with other believers. In fact, I’ve grown to appreciate them in new ways–and I realize how much I need them. As I think about relationships, here are five relationships every follower of Christ needs:

1. God – I know this one’s a given, but too often we know God in our head and not in our heart. Having a genuine relationship with God means wanting to speak to Him, hear from Him, be obedient to Him, and tell others about Him. I’m not sure many believers have that kind of relationship with our Creator.

The others are at: http://chucklawless.com/2020/03/5-relationships-that-every-christian-needs-especially-now/