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| "But
when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion
for them, because they were weary and scattered,
like sheep having no shepherd." |
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MATTHEW
9:36 (NKJV) |
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| When
many Christians even hear the word "evangelism",
they immediately curl up like a pill bug, petrified that
their pastor is going to make them go hand out tracks
at the 7 Eleven or preach with a bullhorn in front of
the local sports stadium. |
| Although
both of those methods certainly qualify, evangelism as
illustrated by Jesus' life is oftentimes a much different
picture. Throughout the Gospels, we read story after story
of Jesus touching and transforming people's lives. How?
Through a lifestyle of compassion
that, like a magnet, literally drew people to himself. |
| What
does this rare compassion look like? For Jesus, it was
meeting people at their point of need, coming down to
their level, and showing them with his actions that he
deeply cared. |
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Click
the shovel icon if you ever want
to "dig deeper" into any of the
points below. |
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| 1 |
| What
does compassion mean? |
dig
deeper » |
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| According
to Strong's Dictionary, the word
"compassion" in Matthew 9:36, our
key passage, comes from the Greek word splagchnizomai,
meaning "to have the bowels yearn,
i.e. (figuratively) feel sympathy, to pity." |
| This
strange, yet intriguing, definition is further
clarified in Vine's, which explains
that the same word is used in Luke 15:20 to
describe the heart of the father when he sees
his prodigal son returning home. "But
when he was still a great way off, his father
saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell
on his neck and kissed him" (NKJV). |
| From
this quick glance, it's clear that true
compassion is a deep, heart-wrenching yearning
to give unconditional love and acceptance
to another, whether that person "deserves"
it or not. Easy to see how that type of compassion
changes lives...Read more |
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| Action
Step: Make a point
to begin praying daily for Jesus'
heart of compassion to be made
more evident as you interact with
people in your daily life. |
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| 2 |
| What
does compassion do? |
dig
deeper » |
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| "But
a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came
where he was. And when he saw him, he had
compassion. So he went to him and bandaged
his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he
set him on his own animal, brought him to
an inn, and took care of him."
LUKE 10:33-34 (NKJV) |
| Compassion
is not a passive pursuit. It's an active,
servant-hearted, "nothing's below me",
mindset. It's stepping in and getting your
hands dirty when everyone else is saying,
"That's not my concern." It's a
rare, sacrificial willingness to lay down
your time, energy, and personal comfort to
be a part of someone else's story. |
| When
Jesus was "moved with compassion"
for people, he didn't merely feel pity for
them, throw up a "courtesy prayer",
and then walk on by — he acted
on the impulse in his heart and did
something to meet people's practical,
emotional, and spiritual needs. Read
more |
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| Action
Step: Think of a
person who you have a hard time
getting along with. Do something
thoughtful for him/her within
the next seven days — write
them an encouraging note, take
them out to lunch, or offer to
help them out with a project they
have going (more
ideas). |
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| It's
so easy to get caught up in the busyness and
stress of life and forget about the people
we come in contact with every day —
people who desperately need to experience
the life-changing compassion of Jesus Christ. |
| This
week, make a point to continually ask yourself
a couple simple questions: |
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• |
How
would Jesus see this person? |
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What
simple things can I do to show the compassion
of Jesus to the people around me? |
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| You'll
find that as you make a conscious choice to
see people the way Jesus sees them, His compassion
will naturally flow out of you into other
people. And that's a privilege you don't want
to pass up on! |
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| • |
The
New King James Version. Copyright © 1982, Thomas
Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. |
| • |
International
Standard Bible Encyclopedia,
Electronic Database. Copyright © 1995-1996
by Biblesoft. All rights reserved. |
| • |
Vine's
Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words. Copyright
© 1985 by Thomas Nelson Publishers. All rights
reserved. Used by permission. |
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| • |
Deuteronomy
30:1-3 |
| • |
Psalm
78:38 |
| • |
Psalm
86:15 |
| • |
Matthew
14:14 |
| • |
Matthew
18:33 |
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Mark
5:19 |
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Hebrews
10:34 |
| • |
1
Peter 3:8-9 |
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| • |
How
would you define "compassion"? |
| • |
Read
the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15.
Talk about the kind of compassion the father showed
his son. |
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Do
you feel like you go out of your way to show this
kind of compassion to people? Why or why not? |
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What
do you think is the biggest thing holding you back
from consistently modeling the compassion of Jesus
in your daily life? |
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Break
into groups of two and have each person write down
the name of someone they know who needs to see the
true compassion of Jesus. |
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Then,
have them write down the answer to this question: |
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What
can you personally do to show compassion to that
person during the next 7 days? |
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