August 3, 2008

I saw this article and it hit me hard. I think God has been trying to teach me this but I still don't understand it all the way but I know this is important for true peace and happiness!!
Do You Want More?

Do you want more of Jesus? Is your heart engaged with the things that move His heart? Do you want more of the Father's love deposited in your heart? How can we understand this amazing love that He so deeply desires for us to experience? His love is beyond our mental abilities to comprehend.

Many of us have tainted understandings of what a father is like. Our understanding of fatherhood is shaped by our childhood experiences with our earthly fathers. So, we have to ask ourselves, "What do I really know about God and His heart? What do I really know about His mercy and compassion?"

To know His mercy and compassion, we must open our hearts to Him. We must go to the place where He exposes the tenderness of His heart - into the written Word.

Act Justly and Love Mercy

In the book, The Justice God Is Seeking, the author and our friend David Ruis writes, "Steeped in humility, we are called to act justly and to love mercy. Don't miss this! Justice is an action, to be done in and through the power of Christian community, but mercy is to be loved. It is not an action; it is a passion."

True compassion and mercy stem from a passion for the Father's heart. Do you love mercy? When we learn to truly love mercy and compassion, out of our passion for God's heart, we will be motivated to act justly.

Justice and righteousness form the foundation of the Father's throne. The psalmist writes, "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne: mercy and loving-kindness and truth go before Your face" (Psalm 89:14).

Go to God's throne of grace as we begin and ask Him for a grace of impartation and a spirit of revelation to come upon you. Ask God to enlighten your mind and to fill your heart with His fire. Open your heart to the Holy Spirit and let Him speak to you, guide you, teach you, and move you. Let the river of God, which is always full, flow forth in all its energy and power.

Consider the Weak and the Poor

Did you ever consider the fact that happiness comes from walking in compassion? This is what David meant when he wrote, "Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is he who considers the weak and the poor: the Lord will deliver him in the time of evil and trouble" (Psalm 41:1). What a glorious promise this is!

The psalmist then goes on to list some of the other benefits to be derived from considering the weak and the poor (see Psalm 41:2-4):

The Lord will protect us.
The Lord will keep us alive.
We shall be called "blessed in the land."
We will not be given over to our enemies.
The Lord will sustain us.
The Lord will refresh us.
The Lord will strengthen us.
The Lord will turn, change, and transform us.

These are just some of the things that happen when we are filled with compassion and reach out in love to others. Doesn't this make you want to really be in tune with God's heart as you begin your journey? Then consider the following thoughts.

God's Heart Concerning Honor

The following Scripture shook me to the core of my being as its truth penetrated my spirit: "He who oppresses the poor reproaches, mocks, and insults his Maker, but he who is kind and merciful to the needy honors Him" (Proverbs 14:31). I don't know how this could be any clearer.

Do you want to honor God? If your answer is yes, you must operate in kindness and mercy to the needy. To do otherwise brings reproach, mockery, and insult to God!

God's Heart Concerning Lending

In Proverbs 19:17 we read, "He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and that which he has given He will repay to him."

This reminds me of what Jesus said, "ÖTruly I tell you, in so far as you did it for one of the least (in the estimation of men) of these My brethren, you did it for Me" (Matthew 25:40).

What you give to the poor, you give to God, and He promises to repay you!

God's Heart Concerning Righteousness

God wants our righteousness to be consistent, as the following verse from Proverbs shows: "The (consistently) righteous man knows and cares for the rights of the poor, but the wicked man has no interest in such knowledge" (Proverbs 29:7).

Look at the contrast that is painted for us here. Whereas the righteous person knows and cares for the rights of the poor, the wicked person is completely uninterested in such knowledge and activity.

I would like to think of myself as a righteous person, but there have been many, many times when I've had to repent of my lack of mercy and my unwillingness to tune my heart to God's heart.

My desire is to be like the woman who is described in Proverbs 31:20, "She opens her hand to the poor, yes, she reaches out her filled hands to the needy (whether in body, mind, or spirit)." This verse speaks volumes to me, for it shows a righteous woman in action.

The Compassion of Jesus

Jesus always saw the need first, then He was moved with a compassion so strong that it always led Him to do something in response to the need. Matthew writes, "When He saw the throngs, He was moved with pity and sympathy for them, because they were bewildered (harassed and distressed and dejected and helpless), like sheep without a shepherd" (Matthew 9:36).

He then went on to tell His disciples to pray that God would send laborers into His harvest. We need to engage in the same kind of prayer today, for so many people are confused like sheep without a shepherd. God is looking for people who will go out into the fields that are now white unto harvest. (See Matthew 9:37-38.)

The Greek word for compassion (pity and sympathy) that is used here is splanchnizomai, and it means to be moved deep within. It involves a sense of yearning in behalf of others.

If you have compassion, you will be moved to take action as Jesus always was and is. God wants you to know His compassion, receive His compassion, live His compassion, and share His compassion with others.

All the Scriptures within this chapter open God's heart to you. He is your loving Heavenly Father, and He wants you to share in His compassion.

Compassion will move so deeply within your being that many times you will find yourself moved to the point of tears and agony. Ah, this is a beautiful place. God places great value in your tears, and as we turn to the next chapter, you will discover this is a deep well which moves Heaven on behalf of others.

Let's Pray: Heavenly Father, we come to You right now in the name of Jesus. We ask You to light the fire of passion in our lives and let it become the kind of compassion that doesn't just look at the need, but looks to You. Help us to become so passionate for loving You and knowing Your heart that we will move in compassion to all those in need.

We ask that You will bring about a corporate shift of thinking and acting in the entire Body of Christ, that Your people would become passionate about compassion by being passionate for You.

We cry out to You, Father, and ask that You would take the Scriptures we've read and discussed in this chapter and drop their truths deep within our hearts. Let Your Word continue to flow within the depths of our spirits so we will be able to receive all the spiritual nutrients You have for us. Drop Your plumb line of justice through all of our thoughts and feelings, all of our traditions and training, and let us learn to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with You.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
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