THE COMPASSION OF CHRIST

09/11/2023

"But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd" (Matthew 9:36).

There is a compassion that we ought to have as the Body of Christ, and it ought to propel us as it propelled the Master to reach out to the unchurched in today's theme scripture. We are the closest to Jesus that many will ever come in contact with. And as strange as this might sound, it's a heavy responsibility that we must bear to dispense His compassion to our world. This weight of compassion made Paul posit, "For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!"

The idea, then, is that the compassion of Christ is something that is internally generated from your heart to propel you toward outreach. But what happens when your heart has become too callous to generate the compassion required to reach others with the gospel? What happens when there is no drive to reach out to sinners because the compassion required to see as they are, in a state of abject alienation, has been lost?

The answer is to re-tenderize your heart, and nothing tenderizes the heart of a believer like doing James 5:16. The Amplified Bible captures this portion of scripture best: "Therefore, confess your sins to one another [your false steps, your offenses], and pray for one another, that you may be healed and restored. The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) is able to accomplish much [when put into action and made effective by God—it is dynamic and can have tremendous power]."

This prayer is a prayer of recognition, revival, and renewal. Specifically, you may pray this prayer several times a day, wherein you recognize the callous state of your heart and persist in calling forth the compassion of Christ that already resides within you. The nature of this prayer is one of undistracted focus. It is heartfelt, which means that you are wasting your time if it doesn't move you emotionally. And lastly, the content of this prayer might be akin to the words of the Psalmist; "My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise. Awake, my glory! Awake, lute and harp! I will awaken the dawn" (Psalm 57:7-8).

If you pray like this, your heart will begin to become tender again, so much so that ministering to others, apologizing when the occasion demands, and blurting out the mind of the Spirit without rationalizing will become a feature of your renewed Christian walk.

If you have not met your 5+ME goals for 2023, this might be the missing ingredient as to why you have not met them. It is time to let loose the compassion of Christ from within.

Have a blissful day!

Faith-Filled Confession

The wisdom of God is alive in me. And my heart is the candle of the Lord searching out the compassion of Christ that God lodged within me. Therefore, I bring forth compassion by the wisdom of God, and I am dutiful to use it to change my world, answering the cries of many with the gospel as is in my ordination. I declare that I am helped by God and nothing can impede the compassion of Christ from flowing forth from within me. In Jesus' name. Amen

Prayer Points

Pray that God's people will live revived, broken, and awaken to God's will, grace, instruction, and correction in righteousness.

Pray that God's people will live undistracted by the pleasures of this world.

Pray that every peculiar test, temptation, and challenge confronting them will fade away in the face of God's glory in them. Pray that none of us will yield to the demand of the flesh and the devil.

ONE YEAR READING PLAN: Proverbs 19-20; 2 Corinthians 3