Category Archives: Compassionate

Romans 9 Highlights at Least Two Key Themes

It is not the children of the flesh, but those of faith and the promise that are Israel, or God’s people.  This is not to say that Christians replace Israel as God’s people. Remember that Yeshua’s disciples and Yeshua were of Jewish ancestry. It is by faith that Jewish people find and follow Messiah and by faith that Gentiles may do so as well. Israel is not replaced, but rather the Gentiles are grafted into Israel when they follow Yeshua (Romans 11: 16-24). Others may be removed due to lack of faith.

Another key theme from our scripture reading today is that God will determine His purposes for each person. He will have mercy on whom He chooses, and He will harden whom He chooses. He is righteous in doing so and we do well not to focus our attention on second guessing God. Rather, seek to understand Him more and allow our perspective to mature and change as needed.

Romans 9

Solicitude for Israel

      1I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, 2that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. 3For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, 4who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, 5whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

      6But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; 7nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: “THROUGH ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS WILL BE NAMED.” 8That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants. 9For this is the word of promise: “AT THIS TIME I WILL COME, AND SARAH SHALL HAVE A SON.” 10And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; 11for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, 12it was said to her, “THE OLDER WILL SERVE THE YOUNGER.” 13Just as it is written, “JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED.”

      14What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! 15For He says to Moses, “I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION.” 16So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. 17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE I RAISED YOU UP, TO DEMONSTRATE MY POWER IN YOU, AND THAT MY NAME MIGHT BE PROCLAIMED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH.” 18So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.

      19You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?” 20On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? 21Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? 22What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? 23And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, 24even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.

25As He says also in Hosea,
“I WILL CALL THOSE WHO WERE NOT MY PEOPLE, ‘MY PEOPLE,’
AND HER WHO WAS NOT BELOVED, ‘BELOVED.’”

      26“AND IT SHALL BE THAT IN THE PLACE WHERE IT WAS SAID TO THEM, ‘YOU ARE NOT MY PEOPLE,’
THERE THEY SHALL BE CALLED SONS OF THE LIVING GOD.”

      27Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “THOUGH THE NUMBER OF THE SONS OF ISRAEL BE LIKE THE SAND OF THE SEA, IT IS THE REMNANT THAT WILL BE SAVED; 28FOR THE LORD WILL EXECUTE HIS WORD ON THE EARTH, THOROUGHLY AND QUICKLY.”

29And just as Isaiah foretold,
“UNLESS THE LORD OF SABAOTH HAD LEFT TO US A POSTERITY,
WE WOULD HAVE BECOME LIKE SODOM, AND WOULD HAVE RESEMBLED GOMORRAH.”

      30What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; 31but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. 32Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone,

33just as it is written,
“BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE,
AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”

It is difficult at times to understand that Pharaoh was used by God through his rejection of God! It does not seem fair to us that God raised up Pharaoh to be on the receiving end of some punishing miracles (from Egypt’s perspective). Some things are harder to understand than others in God’s word, but that does not make them any less relevant or true. Who are we to question God?

 20On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? 21Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? 22What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? 23And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, 24even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.

We do well to accept what scripture we understand on reason and take the rest on faith. Do I need to know how an airplane works to fly in one? Must I know the details of how gravity works to learn how to navigate without injury? Is it important for me to understand the details of my eye in order to wear glasses or contact lenses and see clearly? Of course not! Why, then, are we so tempted to reject that which we do not immediately understand in scripture? Study and pray and ask God to reveal the truth to you and He will… in His timing. In the meanwhile, learn to act and think in such a way that you recognize the truth of God’s word even if you don’t understand the why and how.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please grant me humility and wisdom and guide me in my understanding and relationship with You. Let me trust in You rather than my own opinion. Amen. 

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ


Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

The Kindness of God Leads to Repentance

None of us are so holy and righteous that we will avoid facing judgment. We will all face judgment before Yahweh. But for His grace in extending the offer of salvation through Yeshua, and our decision to accept it and submit to Yahweh we all would go to hell. All are judged guilty of not living up to our Father’s holy and perfect standard. No matter how much we study and learn or how much we pray… we must caution ourselves against thinking that we have all the answers and those who are different are all fools worthy of condemnation. We are all worthy of condemnation. We all need our Father’s grace and mercy.

Romans 2:1-16

The Impartiality of God

      1Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. 2And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. 3But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? 4Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? 5But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS: 7to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; 8but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. 9There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, 10but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 11For there is no partiality with God.

      12For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; 13for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. 14For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, 15in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, 16on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.

Paul calls out that all people, following the law or not, cannot be justified without Yeshua. You either sin without the Law or sin under the Law. Yahweh is impartial and will judge both consistently. It is not through the Law that we are saved, but through Yeshua.

It is very interesting though, to consider that Paul is not speaking against the Law. In fact, the opposite is true! He even points out in verses 14-15 that some who do not have the Law, still after submitting to Yahweh through Yeshua instinctively act in accordance with the Law as if it is written on their hearts. He is pointing out that in fact, it is good and righteous to be a doer of the Law. Recognize this is after the death and resurrection of Yeshua. The Law still correctly characterizes how we should live!

While we are called to “judge”, or discern, right from wrong and rebuke wrong and do right… we should be careful not to focus on judging the salvation of others based on compliance to the Law. We should be attentive to focusing on our own relationship with and obedience to Yahweh. Show grace and mercy to others who strive wholeheartedly after Yahweh, without endorsing or accepting wrong behavior and attitudes.

Do not forsake the Law, as Paul still indicates it is a guide that can help us, even if some may start to instinctively live out the Law to some degree without hearing it taught as the Law.

We also cannot let it escape our notice that our actions matter. They are a reflection of our heart and our striving to submit to Yahweh, or not.

6who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS: 7to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; 8but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. 9There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, 10but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 11For there is no partiality with God.

Behaviors and attitudes matter. Obeying the law matters as a reflection of our submission to and love for Yahweh. We cannot simply say “I believe in Yeshua”, go to church once a week, and live like a pagan and expect that to be pleasing to Yahweh.

13for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.

Those who wholeheartedly submit to Christ as Savior and Lord will reflect that in their actions. If we say to ourselves, “We believe in Christ”, but do not obey Him… we must challenge ourselves to test if we really mean it.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, thank You for Your Law that guides us. Thank You for the entirety of Your holy word in scriptures. Help us to live out according to Your instructions and not according to the instructions of man, which are often corrupted. Open the eyes of Your people to better understand how to passionately live for You in Your way! Help us to accept salvation as a gift through Yeshua with gratitude, but also truly repent and turn from our sins. Help us show grace and mercy to others as we receive it from You. Amen.

—-

Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Follow God, Serve Others

The longer I follow after Yeshua, and the more I seek Him, the more deeply I am moved emotionally as I read certain passages in scripture rather than just reading them academically.  Jesus sat and ate with His disciples during the Passover associated with what we now refer to as “The Lord’s Supper” or “The Last Supper”. He knew His body would be broken and His blood spilled… and very soon. He wanted, not to be alone to seek pleasure in these final moments, but rather to help prepare His closest friends for what was to come next. He sang a hymn with them! Never a complaint or gripe about what was coming.

He cared enough to warn them ahead of time even of what their reactions would be… to deny Him. He was not chastising them. He was preparing them. He did not say to them “Do not deny me”, but rather only that they would deny Him.

What a true picture of strength and greatness our Lord remains! To the end, willingly pursuing the Father’s plans and seeking to help others to prepare to endure what was coming. He was not focused only on Himself and the impact to Him.

Mark 14:22-31

The Lord’s Supper

      22While they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is My body.” 23And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24And He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25“Truly I say to you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

      26After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

      27And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, because it is written, ‘I WILL STRIKE DOWN THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP SHALL BE SCATTERED.’ 28“But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” 29But Peter said to Him, “Even though all may fall away, yet I will not.” 30And Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you, that this very night, before a rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny Me three times.” 31But Peter kept saying insistently, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And they all were saying the same thing also.

Let us seek to follow Yeshua’s example. Let us look to the Father for guidance and reassurance and look for how we can serve and help others even when we are facing troubling times. Let us remember that Yeshua died for each of us. But He has risen again! He is Lord!

Jesus Was A Willing Sacrifice

As I read through certain passages in scripture, I am boldly and plainly reminded that Yeshua knew what was to happen and willingly submitted to the Father in sacrificing Himself to pay for our sins. A good way to internalize this a bit more personally is to say to yourself, “Jesus died for MY sins.”

Don’t rush past this thought, dwell on it. Jesus knew what was going to happen before it happened. He was not surprised or trapped or “caught”. He already knew exactly what was to happen. He willingly took the place of the Passover lamb, sacrificed for MY sins… and yours.

Mark 14:12-21

The Last Passover

      12On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was being sacrificed, His disciples said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?” 13And He sent two of His disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him; 14and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is My guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?”’ 15“And he himself will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; prepare for us there.” 16The disciples went out and came to the city, and found it just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.

      17When it was evening He came with the twelve. 18As they were reclining at the table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me—one who is eating with Me.” 19They began to be grieved and to say to Him one by one, “Surely not I?” 20And He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who dips with Me in the bowl. 21“For the Son of Man is to go just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”

Knowing that Jesus willingly suffered and died on MY behalf, and yours… should I not come before Him humbly and thankfully to accept this offer of forgiveness by grace through faith? We each must decide. If someone offered you a new car, would you be thankful or would you reject them and keep doing your own thing? So too we must each decide if we will come before Jesus humbly and ask forgiveness for our sins, turning from them and turning our actions and behaviors and attitudes to the ways of Jehovah, that we see modeled in the life of Jesus. Will we choose to accept the gift of salvation, of forgiveness, from the punishment and judgment we have justly earned?

Take care, however, as you can not simply call on the name of Jesus to save you and then continue to go about ignoring or rejecting everything He taught and lived as example. You must truly accept Him as Lord, which will be reflected in how your life changes to reflect His ways instead of your own.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, thank You for Yeshua. Thank You for grace and forgiveness. Please forgive my sin and help me to repent and live wholeheartedly for You, according to Your ways snd not the ways of man or the flesh. You are worthy of praise! Amen.

 Shalom.

Devotion by John in service to Christ

—-

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Moved by Compassion

It is easy to breeze by the miracle of feeding 4000 plus women and children at the end of Matthew 15. We have previously read about the feeding of 5000 and there is already a lot to absorb in this chapter. Don’t overlook it. Sometimes we face situations where there seems to be no way to accomplish something. Our God can make a way. It is never beyond His reach. Trust in Him.

Do not overlook that it was compassion that drove Him to feed the crowds. He sees people in need and does not simply pity them or expect them to help themselves. he does not focus blame on them for foolishly bringing nothing to eat. He has compassion on them to meet their needs. I want this kind of compassion.

Matthew 15:32-39

Four Thousand Fed

      32And Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, “I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.” 33The disciples said to Him, “Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?” 34And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” 35And He directed the people to sit down on the ground; 36and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and giving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 37And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven large baskets full. 38And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.

      39And sending away the crowds, Jesus got into the boat and came to the region of Magadan.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, thank You for Your love and compassion for Your people, for me. Help me to have that kind of compassion for others. Help me to see them through Your eyes. Also, help Your people be encouraged that nothing is beyond You. There is no obstacle You can not overcome. All praise and honor be to You. Amen. 

Shalom,

Devotion by John in service to Christ

—-

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Treat Others How You Want Yahweh to Treat You

The book of Mark is like a highlight reel. There is a lot packed in each chapter and not all of it has a lot of background context. Fortunately, if we are willing to invest a bit of time, we can cross reference with the other gospels and help to ensure we understand more completely.

Yeshua warned His disciples that the standard of measure they would use, is what our Father will use to judge them. Keep this in mind when reading Luke 6. If we first read Luke 6 strictly from the perspective of how we should treat others, we may tend to think that it is a very high bar and maybe find it a it tough to wrap our minds around. I get a slightly different perspective when I read it from the perspective of this is how I would like others to treat me, including my heavenly Father!

We are to engage others using a very challenging and selfless standard and in turn trust that the LORD will have mercy and grace on us accordingly.

Mark 4:24

 24And He was saying to them, “Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides.

Luke 6:27-38

    27“But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29“Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. 30“Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. 31“Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. 32“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33“If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34“If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. 35“But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. 36“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

      37“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned. 38“Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

The closing line says it all… we are to treat others by the same standard we wish for God to use in His relationship with us and also how we would like others to treat us. Take time to dwell on that and truly allow yourself the humility to accept where you are not living up to the right standard. I have quite a bit of room to grow in this area. There is more grace and mercy I can pour out to others in my relationship with them… more love… more giving. I pray the Holy Spirit helps me and I know He will, because He always does. Praise God He is so compassionate and loving and filled with mercy and grace in His relationship with me. Let me be so to others.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please lead me in how I treat others. Help me to be selfless and filled with mercy, compassion, and grace. Thank You for the mercy, compassion, and grace You have for me and others. Amen. 

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ


Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Do Not Grieve Yeshua With the Hardness of Your Heart

Sometimes we can get very focused on certain ways of dong things. We can be sure we are right. In fact, we may be so sure we are right, that we lose track of what is most important. We may miss Yeshua working through or in someone we do not expect. We may look past miracles or the opportunity to help someone, because we are so focused on following the rules.

In fact, if the rules in question are Yahweh’s commands, we may indeed be right to want to follow them. However, we still need to take care that we don’t get so focused on someone obeying the rules that we let our hearts grow hard and miss out on something that may be even more important. Mark 3 records an example we should pay attention to. Think beyond the miracle and beyond the perspective of the man who is healed. Focus for today on Yeshua’s anger at the hardness of their hearts in focusing more on “getting” Yeshua and less on a man being healed.

Mark 3:1-6

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

      1He entered again into a synagogue; and a man was there whose hand was withered. 2They were watching Him to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. 3He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and come forward!” 4And He said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent. 5After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6The Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please help me have a love of obeying Your commands, but also help me to keep focused on loving others and helping them. Let not my heart grow hard. Help me to be loving and kind.  Amen. 

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

—-

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Share Joyfully What the LORD Does For You

Yeshua was certainly not like so many teachers and pastors today, looking for attention all the time. He actually tried to downplay how widely those He healed would tell others, so He could enter the city publicly and teach. However, sometimes the ones whose lives He transformed were so joyful they could not seem to contain themselves.

Mark 1:40-45

    40And a leper came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” 41Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” 42Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. 43And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, 44and He said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” 45But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around, to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas; and they were coming to Him from everywhere.

When is the last time you found yourself filled with joy that the LORD has helped or healed you, or even the basic promise and hope of salvation through Christ?  I find I am often caught up in the day to day and may be at risk of taking salvation for granted. I should be filled constantly with the kind of joy that the leper in Mark 1 was filled with, unable to contain myself from sharing with others.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please fill me with joy and thankfulness for Your offer of salvation and hope. Thank You for mercy and grace. Thank You for how often You help me in my life. Please forgive me for not always reacting as I should. Please help me to live joyfully and share all You do for me and have already done for me with others. Amen. 

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

—-

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.