Heart of Compassion

Appreciation

Appreciation is the grease that keeps relationships moving. Nothing is more powerful to convey the value of an individual. Genuine appreciation feeds the soul of the giver as well as the one who receives it. Many of the letters Paul writes starts with expressions of appreciation for example in Colossians he writes "We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,” (Col1:3) Paul conveys his appreciation for the believers in Thessalonica, “How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? (1Th 3:9). It is easy to overlook these as a simple greeting but the represented more. It was a great encouragement to the church knowing that Paul was thinking and praying for them.

Why is appreciation so lacking in many relationships? I think it is rooted in the expectations we have of others. Thoughts like “well its their job”, or “they are only doing what they are supposed to do” It is so easy to let expectations blind us to the opportunities to show people we value them. I have made many friends in the service industries by going out of my way to thank them for doing a good job. Think of the people that serve us here at SCF. Ushers, greeters, coffee makers, children's workers, communion preparers, people who come in early and give of their time. Do you ever think to tell them you appreciate them?

How does appreciation benefit the giver? 

 For one thing it gets our minds of ourselves. It opens our eyes to see the good in people. It is an antidote to pessimistic thinking. When I pause and see someone giving of their time and goodwill it challenges me to do likewise. When I express gratitude it changes my perception, I begin to see the abundance of good in the little things. I learn to love in a practical way when I really stop and notice people. Dale Carnegie an American writer and lecturer, believed that it is possible to change other people's behavior by changing one's behavior toward them. He wrote “the deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated and the desire to be important.” Think about this in terms of your own life, don't we all want to be noticed and valued? Doesn't you heart soar a little when someone notices and comments on your efforts? We have the power to lift people up. When we bless others we are blessed in return. Pro 11:25 says it well “The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed: those who help others are helped.”

How does appreciation benefit the receiver?

It tells us that we are noticed and we are significant. So many times the encouragement that comes from others reaffirms God's love for us. Proverbs paints a work picture of the power of encouragement  “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.” (Pro 25:11) I remember when I was a young believer I was discouraged and feeling insignificant. I lived in a Christian commune and had the responsibility of milking 3 cows. I was a city boy and did not like cows at all. I milked the cows and walked the 200 yards back to the kitchen carrying 10 gals of milk in the rain feeling ready to throw in the towel and leave and go back to the streets. We I arrived there was a lady by the name of MaryLu Kelly that met me at the door and spoke genuine words of appreciation, she told me how much the milk meant to the single mothers and how Jesus loved the way I served, she told me I was a man of God! It was life changing for me. I still carry her encouragement in my heart after 45 years. You and I have a powerful gift we can give, to notice people, to build them up.

It has been a while.

It has been quite a while since I have posted any thing on my blog.  I can't really explain why except so many life changes.  I am in different season now with a new perspectives on the journey.  Both spiritual and personal.  I will be adding new posts regularly. Stay tuned

Christmas Thoughts

“Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a     son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High”  (Luke 1:30-32)

A baby born in an animal stable a to a young teenage girl.  We romanticize this picture but it must of be terrifying for Mary and Joseph.  I remember the birth of our first child. We were just kids really. Watching Margi struggle through a long difficult labor was the most intense and terrifying experience.  Yet as we held or newborn baby our hearts filled with thanksgiving and expectations for the future.  That is the nature of hope, to look to the future with an expectation of good things.  I think Mary and Joseph lived their lives with hope in their hearts. They couldn't not see the whole journey laid out for them, but they had hope.  The  promise of God sustains, it causes us to look to the future with courage, faith and expectations of God's grace working in our lives.

Relationships

Building the Church is the forge that brings out the best or the worst in people. Anyone who is involved in church work has felt the disappointment of fractured relationships or the pain of friendship that has turned sour because of a commitment to serving the Lord and His people. Maybe it has happened when you chose to support a leader when others were disenfranchised. Maybe someone has become offended and you refuse to take part in the bitterness that followed. Some times we feel loss when we just follow the Lord’s leading to a different place and relationships fade in time. It isn’t a much talked about part of the package of the disciple’s life, but it is a very real reality. Peter questioned Jesus on this very issue...Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.

Following Christ will mean that some relationships will not continue. Jesus directs His followers to look at the bigger picture in faith. If we are honest we gain far more than we lose. When I look at the 40+ years of serving Jesus I have found a deep reservoir of peace and a strong sense of purpose. I have seen God bring so many quality people into my life. I have found that the deep relationships in my life are built on something deeper than the whims of superficial ‘what’s in it for me”. The committed followers of Christ understand what it means to lay down their life for one another. They know what it means to labor together for the expansion of the Kingdom. My deepest friendships that have endured for decades are those who have given their life to, and paid a price to see the Kingdom move forward. Many of them have experienced loss and yet are compelled to continue to have an open heart and an inclusive spirit. Why can they stay open and not cynical?  Because they know the story is ultimately not about them, but serving Christ and His purposes. They have settled the issue; they look to eternity ultimately choosing Christ above all.

Standing Firm

It is important to remember that as Christians that our citizenship is in another Kingdom.  Our lives are to be spent in allegiance to another King.I have been musing the last few months of how much our culture is changing and I have been some what alarmed to see many Christians cave into the pressure to conform to present culture.  Biblical norms are being abandoned and there is a growing indifference to what the Bible teaches.  Being a Christian is more than being nice people, at its heart is an allegiance to Jesus, to embrace His values and His word.  Many will embrace God's word when it speaks of love and grace, yet when it comes to something that has a requirement of them or a commandment they feel uncomfortable with they discount it.  We can't escape what the Bible says is wrong, it is wrong.  When the Bible is at odds with current culture we must stand firm.  When the Bible points us to being loyal to Him and His Church we must do it.  James in his epsitle writes...

"Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing."   (James 1:21-25  ESV) 

Jim Durkin who led an amazing movement during the Jesus People movement spoke of his own experience when he turned away from accepting the whole counsel of the Bible.  His church in shambles, his marriage broken, alone in a cabin with his life a mess he cried out to God, "why has all this happened to me?"  God spoke to him and said, "you have added three words to My words, you say "the Bible says, 'but we know...',  from now on accept and do what My word says and in the dong of it you will come to understand it.  That encounter changed Jim's life, and as he taught this truth it changed the lives of thousands of young people. Some will say I am being simplistic yet I know of no other way to live.  We are comanded to love our neighbor, lets do it.  We are to care for the broken hearted, lets do it.  We are to call sin for what it is, and offence to God, yet speak of mercy and forgiveness.  Lets walk in the fear of the Lord, and yet be confident in our standing with Him.  Lets be the 
the be ambassadors for Christ that we are called to be.

Love

Serving in Mission of Hope has forced me to examine my own heart. There is a certain fatigue that comes from constantly giving to other people.  Especially when people you serve may not seem to appreciate your efforts.  That is when the rubber hits the road and we can examine our motives for serving. Love has become such a trite concept. It has been reduced to almost a greeting card type of sentimentality. For many it has become a concept that is rooted in warm fuzzy feelings. Love is much deeper. It challenges and confronts the self nature and calls us to a reasoned life given to serving others. I have been reading the Gospels and have been struck on how much Jesus commands us to love others. He even makes loving and serving others a test of our love for Him. Jesus said, "if you love me keep my commandments". Another time He speaking to His followers, "a new command I give you, love as I have loved you!" It is the big idea that Jesus would hammer into His followers. Every writer in the New Testament will repeat or expound on Christ's command. Concepts like obedience, honor, service are all rooted in love and carry the price of self- sacrifice.We need to learn how to love. Does God need our fruitfulness? Is he impressed with our accomplishments? I can only conclude that He is not. He is not pragmatic. How we live and our motivations are as important as what we accomplish. Jesus lays out his agenda for greatness and what the disciples should embrace as a philosophy of ministry. Love one another! Live a life that has been set free from the tyranny of self and see others needs.I want to live like Christ. This is what freedom looks like.

Phil. 2:3-11 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not {merely} look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, {and} being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Lord help me to live like this!!