Tag: compassion
Why are Christians so Mean? (A transparent answer to a hard question)
“Why are Christians so mean?” Sadly, the question is asked more frequently than we’d like to admit. Let me begin by saying if you feel you’ve been mistreated by a Christian or you’ve witnessed someone else mistreated by one, I am sincerely sorry. That shouldn’t happen. People—and especially Christians—should love one another. Unfortunately, the reality…
Guard Your Heart (The Sin of Cursing)
In the post entitled “Guard Your Heart (Be Careful How You Talk),” we looked at how our speech is determined by our thoughts and that, if we want to make our speech more Christ-like, then we must make our thoughts more Christ-like. Today, I want to look at another aspect of our speech: cursing. Yesterday,…
Church Notes: Courage, Truth and Compassion
These are my notes from our 7/29/2012 church meeting. Leader: Jon Atchison Assignment We will talk about courage as that has been on my heart lately. As our culture further slips into a moral landscape that is foreign to the Kingdom of God, we have the ability to truly Shine as lights in a dark…
December 14 – Paul’s Letter to the Colossians
Reading Col. 1:1-4:18 Philemon 1-25 Devotional During the two years that Paul is under house arrest in Rome, he writes four letters which are sometimes called The Prison Epistles (the word “epistle” means a letter). Today we read Paul’s letter to the Colossians and to Philemon. Paul had not visited the city of Colosse, but…
November 8 – Jesus Raises Lazarus
Reading John 11:1-54 Devotional Jesus had three friends who were brothers and sisters, Mary, Martha and Lazarus who apparently lived in the town of Bethany, which is about 2 miles from Jerusalem. (Note: This is likely the same Mary and Martha referred to in Luke 10:38-42 where Martha wanted Mary to help her prepare the…
November 6 – Who is My Neighbor?
Reading Luke 9:51-56; 17:11-19; 10:1-24 Matt. 11:28-30 Luke 10:25-42; 11:1-13 John 10:22-42 Devotional 25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” 27 He answered,…
November 2 – Jesus Feeds 4,000 People
Reading Matt. 15:21-31; Mark 7:24-37 Mark 8:1-10 Matt. 16:1-12; Mark 8:11-21 Mark 8:22-26 Devotional Not long after Jesus fed a group of over 5,000 people, He fed another crowd of about 4,000 people. Jesus said: 2 “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat.…
November 1 – Jesus Walks on Water
Reading Mark 6:34; Luke 9:11b Mark 6:35-44; John 6:5-14 Mark 6:45-50; John 6:15-21 Matt. 14:28-33; Mark 6:51-52 Mark 6:53-56 John 6:22-71 Mark 7:1-13 Matt. 15:10-20; Mark 7:14-23 John 7:1 Devotional Today’s reading includes two amazing miracles Jesus performed: feeding over five thousand people with only five loaves of bread and two fish; and walking on…
October 31 – Jesus Promises Conflict
Reading Matt. 9:35-38 Matt. 10:1-15; Mark 6:7 Matt. 10:16-42 Matt. 11:1; Luke 9:6 Mark 6:14-16; Luke 9:7-9 Matt. 14:3-12a; Mark 6:17-29 Mark 6:30-33; Luke 9:10-11a; John 6:1 Devotional As Jesus traveled throughout the towns and villages He was moved with compassion because the people were harassed and helpless, like sheep with no shepherd to lead…