FUMBLING THE BALL

“Live [compassionately], friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived.”  (Galatians 6:1-3 MSG)                   

Churches that focus on compassion and love, that are rooted in the spiritual dimension, over time enhance their ability to offer creative and life-giving ministries and mission, but churches that focus solely on ministry and mission can lose their souls if they forget to love people involved in them. A major component, then, of spiritual leadership is being a compassionate leader…

There’s a comment made in many churches that I’ve always hated: “So-and-so dropped the ball on that one.” What this means is that a person agreed to do something, but then failed, for whatever reason, to accomplish it. What bothers me about the phrase is that it shows a lack of compassion. The phrase has its origins in football: a player fumbles and “drops the ball,” which messes up the offense. The reality is that in football, people fumble. They don’t fumble intentionally. It’s always a mistake. Sometimes they fumble because they are trying too hard to do too much. Sometimes they fumble because they lose sight of the ball. Sometimes they fumble because they are anxious or afraid. Nobody fumbles on purpose. But on good teams, when players fumble, it is up to the rest of the team either to get the ball back or to prevent the other team from capitalizing on the fumble. Good team leaders tell the rest, “Don’t worry about the fumble. Just focus on what we need to do, and eventually we’ll get another opportunity. And if we fumble again, we all have to get the ball back.”

Compassionate leaders recognize that people don’t fail on purpose. They fail for a variety of reasons, including not knowing how to do something, trying to do too much, losing sight of the goal, or lacking confidence. Good leaders have compassion and let people know that it is OK to make mistakes or fail, that a new opportunity will eventually present itself, and that the person is still valued and important. 

-- N. Graham Standish in “Becoming a Blessed Church: Forming a Church of Spiritual Purpose, Presence, and Power”

#6482

HONORING ONE ANOTHER

“Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.”  (Romans 12:9-10 NLT)

We can honor others in one of two ways. One involves ulterior motives. We honor our bosses so they will reward us, our employees so they will work harder, the wealthy so they will contribute to our causes, the powerful so they will use their power for us and not against us. God’s way involves love. As Christians, we honor people because they have been created in God’s image, because they are brothers and sisters in Christ, and because they have a unique contribution to make to Christ’s church. Does God’s way of honoring others sound too difficult for your competitive nature? Why not try to “outdo one another in showing honor” (Romans 12:10 ESV)? Put others first! 

-- From the “Life Application Study Bible”

#6440

WHAT KIND OF WITNESS ARE WE?

Jesus said to His disciples, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”  (John 13:34-35 NIV)

Sheldon Vanauken (1914–1996) wrote that the strongest argument for Christianity is Christians, when they are drawing life from God. The strongest argument against Christianity? Also Christians, when they become exclusive, self-righteous, and complacent.

Dallas Willard (1925-2013) [in his book “The Spirit of the Disciplines”] wrote, "How many people are radically and permanently repelled from The Way by Christians who are unfeeling, stiff, unapproachable, boringly lifeless, obsessive, and dissatisfied? Yet such Christians are everywhere, and what they are missing is the wholesome liveliness springing from a balanced vitality with the freedom of God's loving rule…. Spirituality wrongly understood or pursued is a major source of human misery and rebellion against God."

-- John Ortberg in “The Life You've Always Wanted”

#6414

EMBODYING GOD'S LOVE

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  (John 13:34-35 NIV)

The earliest generations of Christians were known as a community that practiced sacrificial love. In a letter to the emperor Hadrian, a Christian named Aristides described the community this way:

"They love one another, and from widows they do not turn away their esteem; and they deliver the orphan from him who treats him harshly. And he who has, gives to him who has not, without boasting. And when they see a stranger, they take him in to their homes and rejoice over him as a very brother; for they do not call them brethren after the flesh, but brethren after the Spirit and in God." (Translated by D. M. Kay, www.earlychristianwritings.com)

At its best, the church continues to do these things today. Thousands of churches feed the poor, welcome strangers, and help those suffering from natural disasters.

Yet the church is composed of human beings who are sinners. We are all too familiar with the many ways we fall short of truly embodying God's love. Nevertheless, loving and acting on that love remain the church's purpose and calling from God. 

-- Scott J. Jones in “The Wesleyan Way: A Faith That Matters”

#6154

THE FREEDOM TO SEE BEYOND OURSELVES

“Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”  (Philippians 2:4)

As fireworks light up the skies and flags wave proudly across the U.S., we’re reminded of the cost of freedom -- of those who gave up their comfort, their safety, even their lives, so that others might live free. July 4th is a celebration not just of liberty, but of the extraordinary spirit of sacrifice that made it possible.

Paul’s words in Philippians 2:4 challenge us in a similar way. Freedom, in Christ and in country, is never meant to be hoarded -- it’s meant to be shared, stewarded, and used in service to others. As we enjoy the blessings of this nation, we’re reminded to ask: Am I using my freedom to look after the interests of others, not just my own?

In a culture that often celebrates individualism, Philippians 2:4 is a radical call back to community. It’s about remembering that true greatness is not found in how far we get ahead, but in how well we lift others up.

Enjoy your hot dogs and parades -- but also take a moment to do something selfless. Call a lonely neighbor. Listen before you speak. Be the person who brings peace where there’s tension and hope where there’s hurt.

Let freedom ring -- but let the love of Christ lead.

Lord, thank You for the gift of this nation and the freedom we enjoy. Help us not to take it for granted, nor to use it selfishly. Teach us to see others, not as obstacles or outsiders, but as neighbors to serve. May we reflect the self-giving love of Jesus, who gave everything that we might be free. In His name we pray, amen. 

-- SOUND BITES Ministry, compiled from a variety of sources

#6150

A SPIRIT OF UNITY

“[Christ] is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”  (Colossians 1:17 NIV)

During World War II, Hitler commanded all religious groups to unite so that he could control them. Among the Brethren assemblies, half complied and half refused. Those who went along with the order had a much easier time. Those who did not, faced harsh persecution. In almost every family of those who resisted, someone died in a concentration camp.  

When the war was over, feelings of bitterness ran deep between the groups and there was much tension. Finally they decided that the situation had to be healed. Leaders from each group met at a quiet retreat. For several days, each person spent time in prayer, examining his own heart in the light of Christ's commands. Then they came together.  Francis Schaeffer, who told of the incident, asked a friend who was there, "What did you do then?" "We were just one," he replied. As they confessed their hostility and bitterness to God and yielded to His control, the Holy Spirit created a spirit of unity among them. Love filled their hearts and dissolved their hatred.

When love prevails among believers, especially in times of strong disagreement, it presents to the world an indisputable mark of a true follower of Jesus Christ. 

-- From “Our Daily Bread,” October 4, 1992

#6128

WORTHLESS VS. PURE RELIGION

“Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”  (James 1:26-27 NIV)

Some religion is "worthless," to use James' precise word, in that it has no effect on us at all.  It leaves us unchanged.  The one who practices that religion "deceives himself" (a phrase that takes us back to verse 22:  "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves").  We think we're doing well, but we're not.

This is a religion that comes of prattling about the Word but not doing it.  The Word tries to act upon us, but we will not humbly receive it and so it makes no imprint upon our souls.  That religion, says James, is illusory and fanciful because it leaves us unchanged.

Pure religion shows itself in quiet, spontaneous acts of love -- looking after "orphans and widows in their distress," caring for the hapless and helpless, the mournful, the friendless, the forsaken, the ragamuffins, "the wretched of the earth."  It does what most people are unwilling to do.  It "exaggerates what the world neglects," says G.K. Chesterton.

God is on the side of the widow and orphan, perhaps because most people are not:  "Leave your orphans [with Me]," He says, "I will protect their lives.  Your widows too can trust in Me" (Jeremiah 49:11).  He is "a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows…"  (Psalm 68:5).  We are most like God when we care for those He cares for. 

-- David Roper in “Growing Slowly Wise” 

#6126

INSTRUMENTS IN GOD’S HEALING

“Let each of you look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”  (Philippians 2:4 ESV)

There comes a time, if we are to be healed, that we turn our attention away from our wounds and focus on something greater than ourselves. Many wounds do not heal because we continuously irritate them by constant examination. If we want to be healed, it helps to forget about ourselves and our wounds for a while and lose ourselves in helping, serving, and caring for others…

We all have the opportunity to be what Henri Nouwen calls “wounded healers.” Because we know what it is like to be wounded, we can understand, help, and be an instrument in God’s healing. 

-- James W. Moore and Bob J. Moore in “Lord, Give Me Patience!... And Give It to Me Right Now!” 

#6120

THE COMMUNITY GOD LONGS TO BUILD

Christian community, like beauty, often presents itself in the intimate, the common, the close at hand. It comes to bud and flower in the simplest of places. Race by, and we miss it. Wait to see it in some idealized state, and we pass without knowing it is there.

…On the matter of Christian community, Jesus was direct and pointed: “Where two or three are gathered in My name, I am there among them” (Matthew 18:20). These words clearly contain a counsel of simplicity. As Jesus’ followers, if we are to find true community with one another and with Him, then we should look not just to the massive throng or the dramatic moment. We should look as well to the simplest instance of one life brushing up against another. We should open ourselves to the small and intimate moments when persons draw together in their joys and in their needs.

If love flows among us, even briefly, God is there -- in [the frustrations of daily living], in places of staggering beauty, in the realms of darkest communal pain. If we find ourselves bound together even momentarily, God is present. We taste with our spirits the community God longs to build. 

-- Stephen V. Doughty in an article called “Simple Place” in Weavings Journal, May/June 2003

#6119

CULTIVATING COMPASSION

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ESV)

Let me describe what it means to be truly present. Being present involves letting go of our constant preoccupations, immersing ourselves in the here and now, and giving ourselves wholeheartedly to whatever is at hand. …

It’s about becoming more aware, alert, awake to the fullness of the immediate moment. If we are with another person, it means engaging with him or her with all of our heart, our mind, our soul, and our strength.

Such wholehearted attention requires patience, time, and disciplined effort. And it is one of the greatest gifts that we can give to those around us, especially our suffering neighbor. 

-- Trevor Hudson in “A Mile in My Shoes: Cultivating Compassion,” © 2005 by Trevor Hudson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books

#6107

BEARING WITNESS TO THE GOOD NEWS

The Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 mandates that every follower of Christ is on mission to "go and make disciples of all nations." Jesus gave this instruction to all His followers, both as individuals and as the body of Christ. We, as a small group and as a church, bear collective witness to the good news of Jesus Christ.

One of Jesus' final instructions to His disciples is found in John 13:34-35: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another." Note that Jesus did not say people will know we are Christians by how many churches we build, how many Bible studies we complete, how many prayers we say, or how many people come to our church. The litmus test is clear: people will know we are Christ-followers when we love each other the way Jesus does.

Theologian Francis Schaeffer asserted, "Our relationship with each other is the criterion the world uses to judge whether our message is truthful -- Christian community is the final apologetic." Our non-believing friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors are watching and deciding on the validity of the gospel message. We need others to help us live lives worthy of God's calling so that people will see the power of God's love in and through us.

Ultimately, small groups are a way of living out our purpose, both as individuals and as a collective group of believers -- to be the church. We share a common foundation of faith and God has called us to live out the implications of that faith in a relational community, in the context that we call a small group. 

-- Carolyn Taketa in “Making a Case for Small Groups”  

#6059

GROWING OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH ONE ANOTHER

The New Testament places great emphasis on the importance of personal relationships among believers. We are told to love one another (John 13:34), to encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11), to comfort one another (2 Corinthians 1:4), to share our burdens with one another (Galatians 6:2), to instruct one another (Romans 15:14), to forgive one another (Colossians 3:13), to serve one another (Galatians 5:13), and to pray for one another (James 5:16). All of this obviously means more than merely having superficial acquaintances.

Knowing other people on this level requires real work and commitment on our part. And it involves a setting where we can be “real” with each other. For us to develop these real, vibrant, biblical relationships, we need to be face-to-face. Think about the various settings you are in at church. Are you just looking at the back of the head in front of you? Or are you in a small group or class where you have the opportunity to be real, to be face-to-face with other believers? These “one another” passages are not just suggestions but are essential for fostering a loving and unified community.

As we strive to live out these “one another” commands, let’s remember that they are not just about actions but about the heart behind them. Genuine love, humility, and a desire to build each other up should motivate us. By doing so, we reflect the love of Christ and create a community that glorifies God.

For over 50 years I have experienced that something very BIG happens in small groups. Don’t miss out on an opportunity to grow in your relationship with God and with one another. 

-- Rev. David T. Wilkinson, SOUND BITES Ministry

#5930

LOVE ONE ANOTHER

Our Lord has recommended His love to us as the pattern and the example of our love to one another.  As, therefore, He is continually making intercession for us all, so we ought to intercede and pray for one another.

“A new commandment,” said Jesus, “I give to you, that you love one another, as I have loved you.  By this shall all people know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34,35)

The newness of this precept did not consist in that people were commanded to love one another, for this was an old precept, both of the law of Moses and of nature.  But it was new in this respect, that it was to initiate a new and, till then, unheard-of example of love; it was to love one another as Christ had loved us.  And if others are to know that we are disciples of Christ, by thus loving one another according to His new example of love, then it is certain that if we are void of this love we make it as plainly known to others that we are not His disciples. 

-- Adapted from William Law (1686-1761) in “A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life”

#5926

 

COMMITTED TO ONE ANOTHER

“Now you are no longer strangers to God and foreigners to heaven, but you are members of God’s very own family, citizens of God’s country, and you belong in God’s household with every other Christian. What a foundation you stand on now: the apostles and the prophets; and the cornerstone of the building is Jesus Christ Himself! We who believe are carefully joined together with Christ as parts of a beautiful, constantly growing temple for God. And you also are joined with Him and with each other by the Spirit and are part of this dwelling place of God.”  (Ephesians 2:19-22 TLB)

When you became a Christian, you committed yourself to Jesus Christ. Now you can become a part of the local body of believers committing yourself to those people. That is what “church membership” is -- a commitment to other Christians. It is a decision to become a participant, not merely a spectator. You stop being a consumer and become a contributor…

Who can count on you? Can anyone? There is no such thing as a Lone-Ranger Christian. Koinonia, the Greek word translated “fellowship” in the Bible, means being as committed to each other as we are to Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). One way love expresses itself is in faithfulness to others [in the body of Christ, the church]. 

-- Rick Warren in “God’s Power to Change Your Life”

#5834

BELIEVE IN THE LORD JESUS – Part 3 of 4

Supposing Jesus was the Son of God, is basic Christianity merely an acquiescence in this truth? No. Once persuaded of the deity of Christ’s person, we must examine the nature of His work. For what purpose did He visit this world? The Biblical answer is “Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” (1 Timothy 1:15b) Jesus of Nazareth is the heaven-sent Saviour whom we sinners need. We need to be forgiven and to be restored to fellowship with the all-holy God, from Whom our sins have separated us. We need to be set free from our selfishness and given strength to live up to our ideals. We need to learn to love one another, friend and foe alike. This is the meaning of “salvation.” This is what Christ came to win for us by His death and resurrection. 

-- John R. W. Stott in “Basic Christianity” 

#5790

DO WE LOVE JESUS? – Part 2

One day, as part of a series of messages designed to set a new direction and to connect with the heart of what is basic and essential about our lives as spiritual beings, my wife, Rebekah, preached a series titled “Do You Love Jesus?”

Evidently she caused quite a stir. Early the next day a gentleman wielding a lot of political clout strode into her office and demanded, “What do you mean by asking us if we love Jesus?”

“It’s a good question,” she responded. “So let me make it a little more personal: Tell me, ‘George,’ do you love Jesus?”

The man was beside himself. The very idea, the affront of the question. How dare anyone ask about such a personal and potentially emotional topic? Why, that was between him and Jesus.

The point, of course, is that our love for Jesus needs to be immediate, intense, and quite overwhelming. A deeply personal love, yes, but also a love that is profoundly visible. If we do not allow ourselves to fall in love with the Savior to the extent that our emotions, our thoughts, and ultimately our behaviors are all touched and enlarged by that love – then our spiritual journey will not take us much farther than tentative participation at best...

Love for Jesus changes us from the inside out. 

-- Derek Maul in “Get Real: A Spiritual Journey for Men”

#5774

DO WE LOVE JESUS? – Part 1

“Jesus said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love Me?’”  (John 21:17a NIV)

One reason spiritual life is so vibrant at my church is because we have so many men who aren’t afraid to show their deep love for Jesus. “The Holy Spirit is loose in this church,” my good friend Jerry said one Sunday. That’s what happens when both women and men have the courage to let go of their cultural inhibitions and allow themselves to be touched personally by a living Savior.

Things haven’t always been that way. Indeed, a decade ago the number of faithful and active men involved was disappointingly low and mostly limited to those over fifty.  As a community of faith our corporate spiritual growth was significantly stunted.  You could walk into the sanctuary on Sunday morning, and all you could feel was the presence of hungry people waiting for something that wasn’t happening. Good people, yes, but there was little sense of vitality, no powerful rush of spiritual energy, and scant evidence of the abundant joy to be found when we claim and embrace our love for Jesus. 

-- Derek Maul in “Get Real: A Spiritual Journey for Men”

#5773

REBUKE FROM A PROPHET

"A man who says he loves God..."

One time, twenty or so years ago, I was in Japan on a speaking tour with a close personal friend. He was a number of years older than I was. As we walked down the street in Yokohama, Japan, the name of a common friend came up, and I said something unkind about that person. It was sarcastic. It was cynical. It was a put-down. My older friend stopped, turned, and faced me until his face was right in front of mine. With deep, slow words he said, "Gordon, a man who says he loves God would not say a thing like that about a friend."

He could have put a knife into my ribs, and the pain would not have been any less. He did what a prophet does. But you know something? There have been ten thousand times in the last twenty years that I have been saved from making a jerk of myself. When I've been tempted to say something unkind about a brother or sister, I hear my friend's voice say, "Gordon, a man who says he loves God would not speak in such a way about a friend."

Prophets do that. They remind us of the truth and where we are falling short. If you avoid prophets -- and a lot of people do -- you do so at the peril of your spiritual journey. You and I need [friends who are] prophets.

-- Gordon MacDonald in a sermon titled "Feeling As God Feels"

#5656

FREEDOM IN CHRIST

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”  (Romans 8:1-2 NIV)

Grace, the gift that cannot be earned, has set us free from being slaves to the law. Because we have felt God's love -- that amazing grace -- we are free from the world's silly games. We can step outside the ways of the world that say our worth is measured in power and possessions and prestige. We are free because we know who we are – children of God. Freedom for us is not about creating yourself in your own image, but about finding the Creator's love for you in your own soul.

We are set free from the anxiety of the world to love one another as Christ loves us, which means that the love that sets us free binds us to our brothers and sisters. Therefore, the sign of our freedom is finally the sign of the cross. Because Jesus was free, He was not afraid of what the world could do to Him. He would not bow down to Pilate or play the political game. He would not cut a deal so that someone else would suffer and He would keep His resume intact. He was free to love without fear and to live and die for us.

Once we know Christ's love for us, everything changes. That love changes how we see and act toward other people …

We are to serve one another not because we have to, not because we are trying to win God's affection by doing the right thing, but because the nature of love is to love. 

-- Excerpted from “From Anger to Zion: An Alphabet of Faith” by Porter Taylor

A HEART OF COMPASSION

“The most important [commandment],” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”  (Mark 12:29-30 NIV)

It is a sad commentary and sadder irony that Christians are often viewed as heartless.  And I think it’s because we’ve engaged our culture mind-first instead of heart-first.  Let me explain.  I believe that Scripture is the inspired Word of God, right down to the jot and tittle.  That means that even word sequence is significant.  And when Jesus reveals the four primal elements of love, the heart comes first.  I’m afraid that the Western church has tried to engage our culture mind-first instead of heart-first.  But minds often remain closed to truth until hearts have been opened by compassion.  There is certainly a place for logical, left-brained explanations of faith.  But compassion is the ultimate apologetic.  There is no defense against it. 

-- Mark Batterson in “PRIMAL: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity”

#5631