Mark Twain in chapter five of his book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, wrote of Tom at a church service: The service began with a list of announcements which he thought would go on “to the crack of doom.” He talked about the prayer which was generous in its detail and he resented it whenever anything new was added in. The preacher’s sermon “droned along [so] monotonously… and was so prosy that many a head began to nod.
This reminds us of what happens when we come together to worship. The announcements are a little long, the songs aren’t to our liking, the preacher is a little boring. Some of us even do things to keep ourselves awake. We are at a different time. Forty years ago people didn’t ask, why do I have to go to church (worship)? Things have changed, culturally and intellectually so that we look at life a little differently. Sunday morning is now seen as a time to relax. If we don’t like the way things are where we presently worship, we will look for a place where things are the way we want them to be. Most people when they think about worship do not think about it as essential or the most critical thing they will do during the week.
We come together every Lord’s Day to be in the presence of God. Even though it may not look like much, and even when we don’t leave with a feeling of excitement, what happens during worship is of great importance because this is where we approach Mount Zion and we offer our praise to the One who is worthy of all praise. May we never as Christians take this opportunity in a light manner!
In the Old Testament, we have in great detail, at times, the compassion of God. He is compassionate by nature, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to…
How many of us have been unwilling to forgive a person even one time when they sought our forgiveness? How many of us grudgingly forgave one time, but were unwilling to do so a second time? How many of us would have been willing to go Peter’s seven times, but set our limit there?
According to Mark 15:39, there was a centurion who was standing right in front of Jesus at the cross. When he saw the way Jesus took His last breath, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
Compassion is to be shown to the regulars as we might consider them. Rebellious people receive compassion because of who God is, not what they have done, because of his grace, not because they deserve it, because he is just, not because they are right. Repentant people are shown compassion because they learn to fear the LORD, usually because of the punishment put upon them; when rebellious or disobedient people return to God and cry out for deliverance, God shows them compassion. God wants to show his compassion to you.
The question for each of us is simple: To whom will you prove to be a neighbor? Will you be the hands of Jesus by being a messenger of His compassion to a world that is lost and in great need.
You and I still have the same choice before us today:
a. Either, Jesus is a complete fraud,
1) If this is true, then you and I must avoid Him at all costs.
b. Or, everything He said about Himself is true.
1) In which case He is the Son of God.
2) You and I have no other to whom we may turn for our salvation.
Which will you decide?
If you are a Christian, you have received God’s compassion and received Jesus’ sacrifice for your sins. Be motivated by God’s compassion to pass on compassion. Demonstrate God’s compassion through good deeds and teaching truth. If you are not yet a Christian, receive this information: God is compassionate. He loved you so much that he sent his Son to be a living example of his compassion. He demonstrated his love for you by sending his Son to die for your sins and your forgiveness.
God’s compassion is like that of a father for his children .“Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust” (Psalm 103:13-14).
Jesus told His brothers that His time differed from their time. They could come and go without any significance — for them any time was right. He, on the other hand, always pleased His Father, God, so His time movements were those that His Father desired.
Everybody who desires to see Jesus can see his revelation in creation, see him in his word, and see the changes in others who came to see Jesus. Jesus comes to the rescue when his believing followers “go into all the world and preach the gospel.”
