Mercy!

I once read the true story of a preacher was organizing an evangelistic outreach using small acts of kindness to demonstrate Christ's love. He phoned several neighborhood grocery stores and Laundromats for permission to do specific services.

On one call, the employee who answered the phone hesitated, then said, "I'll need to ask the manager, but first, let me make sure I understand: You want to clean up the parking lot, retrieve shopping carts hold umbrellas for customers, and you don't want anything in return."

"Yes, that's right," the preacher replied.

After a few moments the employee returned to the phone.

"I'm sorry," he said, "we can't let you do that because if we let you do it, we'd have to let everyone else do it, too!"

(Ann Jeffries, Kansas City, KS Christian Reader, "Lite Fare.")

Now why did that store respond like that? Because NO ONE does stuff like that!

This church was obviously out for something… an ulterior motive. And the grocery store was right. The church did have an ulterior motive - they wanted to reach their world for Christ and the tool they were using was something called “showing mercy.”

What exactly IS mercy? Mercy is:  a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion (that’s what God does) and it is also … compassionate treatment of others because of his divine favor (that’s what Jesus-followers do).

Basically, mercy is the act of getting your hands dirty helping others. Mercy is where a person visits the shut-ins, feeds the hungry, clothes the naked. This is giving your offering first and making a point to give over and beyond. Mercy is when is follower of Jesus is doing the love of Jesus. And they do this act without expecting to be paid to do it or recognized.

You know I love ya, Don

The mission that changed the world!

When Jesus read the Isaiah text to the Synagogue crowd it would have been understood, by every Jew listening, that…

            (1) those words applied to the Messiah, the Anointed One, and

            (2) they referred to the year of Jubilee.

The Jews had a custom, ordained by God, that not only would every seventh day of the week be  a Sabbath, a day of rest, but that every seventh year would also be a Sabbath, when the land would not be farmed, and so on . . .

And after every seventh Sabbath year (that is, every fiftieth year) there would be what was called the “year of Jubilee.

In that year,

            all slaves would be set free,

            all those whose poverty had forced them to sell

                        their lands would receive them back again, and

            those who had lost family members into slavery

                        or imprisonment would be reunited with their loved ones . . .

So you can see why it was called “The Jubilee!” That is what Jesus said His mission was  . . . A mission is a calling: an objective or task that is his to carry out. What the Law prescribed and what Isaiah promised, Jesus fulfilled!

He came to bring good news to the poor, the kind of news that was supposed to have them dancing in the streets every fifty years! He came to bring broken families together, to bind up the brokenhearted, and to heal the hurting!

He came to free the slaves, to open the doors of darkness, to untie people’s hands, and to unfold their wings! To proclaim the year of JUBILEE! But not just one year every fifty—that was already supposed to be the case— but Jesus came to bring a worldwide Jubilee every year, every day, that would speak good news to the poor, liberty to the captives, healing to the brokenhearted, forgiveness for the guilty, freedom for those who feel controlled, release for those who feel trapped, deliverance, laughter, relief, joy … JUBILEE!

That was His mission  . . .  and it is our mission as well.

Our mission is not merely to go to church for an hour a two a week. Your mission is to take joy and praise and worship and healing and fun out in public, out to the streets, and share it with the world around you.

                                               

But in revealing Himself as the Anointed One, Jesus introduces His mission ...  then expects us to adopt his methods ... and apply His guiding principles. You know I love ya, Don

Not Only Chosen - loved.

“Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”- Colossians 3:12

I have always liked this verse because God chose me. There is an old song titled, "He Loved Me" that I used for my entrance recital at Pacific Christian College. The song takes the verse above and combines it with Romans 8. Not only did God love me but He made a way that I might be a chosen child of the creator of the universe and nothing will separate me from that love.

God is also faithful and steadfast in the truth of His power. There is nothing that can separate me from God's love...nothing! Therefore, it is my response to completely cover myself with compassion, humility, gentleness, and patience...Why? Because He loved me first and totally transformed my life.

You may ask, "how do I know these are true?" My answer in totally conviction and sincerity, "He lives, works, and dwells within my heart. I have seen, lived, and experienced Jesus to long to deny Him."

I trust He can transform life for you as well....you know I love ya - Don

Confrontation - Unavoidable!

The Confrontation Principle (John Maxwell's): Caring for people should precede confronting people. Conflict is hard…Conflict is like cancer: early detection increases the possibility of a healthy outcome. In order to connect with people we need to care for people before we confront people. In the second phrase of 1 Peter 2:17, it reads, “Love the brotherhood of believers.”

The illustration I have for this is Jesus himself. At a time when the world is literally spitting at Jesus, he had the power to vaporize them. They are mocking him and crucifying him, and Jesus could have called angels to rip their tongues out of their mouths he created and then had the nails shoved up their noses (now you know what I would have done!)….but what do we see Jesus say, “Father, forgive them. They know not what they do.” Jesus was able to forgive because He cared for them and he was also confronting sin…

There will always be conflict when we connect with others. How we handle the conflict will define “who” we are in Christ Jesus. May we be bold and confront conflict with conviction and compassion. You know I love ya - Don