The Practice of Compassion
Following Jesus as an act of resistance to our cultural push toward hurry, hustle, distraction and shallowness. Most of our greatest mistakes tend to come when we’re in a hurry.…
Following Jesus as an act of resistance to our cultural push toward hurry, hustle, distraction and shallowness. Most of our greatest mistakes tend to come when we’re in a hurry.…
We do these practices like (slowing, simplicity, silence, solitude, sabbath and more) in order to grow the fruit of the Spirit within us and cultivate compassion like Christ within our…
Luke 15:11-32; Genesis 2-3 Aloneness reaches deep into the inner recesses of the human heart. No one likes to be alone. I was flying recently to Orlando: girl on airplane:…
Why do we give? The first hit when you Google “why should I be generous?” is this article which lays out four reasons: 1) Giving frees you from the “burden…
Our doorbell rang – an odd occasion –I got up from the dinner table and walked toward the door. My step hitched halfway to the door as I realized it…
As a child of God, you have a very special relationship with other Christians. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians pictures this relationship in two different ways. First, every believer is…
Introduction Have you ever seen someone try to experience the benefits of something without doing what was required to gain them? As an onlooker, it can be frustrating watching a…
There are many opinions on what these three terms mean and how they relate to each other. Here are my thoughts. All three terms describe a process whereby a person…
Dear Roger, I’m concerned that the “haves” in our society are getting more, while the “have-nots” are falling farther behind. We are a middle-class family, and I’ve never really associated…
Dear Roger, I hear so many people these days saying, “Christians are the problem,” or “Christians are unloving and judgmental.” Why is having a moral compass and a…
Today, the need I see for Christian boldness is a little different. It’s not so much that evangelicals are grasping for so-called “Christian America.” Rather, it’s our being drawn into…
Some of the best advice I’ve heard about how to deal with people who are grieving is to walk softly around a broken heart. Brokenhearted people need hope, and hope…
When leading through uncertainty, you must display your humanity. You have to be vulnerable, transparent, real. The people who are looking to you need to experience your empathy because they…
There are three test areas to evaluate if we’re personally doing church right – are we growing in knowledge, love, and service? How do the following verses reinforce the importance…
Dear Roger, The needy are increasing every day as the coronavirus continues to disrupt everyday life.. I’d like some guidelines on what the Bible says about generosity. Can you help? Many people…
A Unique Take on the Good Samaritan. Excellent illustrations!
From the very first moment those little eyes open and we hear them cry for the first time, we love our children. Yes, there are moments that we may get…
Our churches face a new challenge. Do we obey the government and observe quarantine, or do we exercise our religious liberty to assemble and worship? Of course, we should comply…
Kids are the best comforters! I was five when I was diagnosed with scarlet fever and pneumonia and imprisoned (I mean quarantined) at home for four months! My kindergarten buddies…
Recently I received a thoughtful question from a reader asking if homosexuality is a “worse” sin than others in God’s view. Here’s my answer. The point isn’t that homosexual sin…
How do you combine compassionate love with confrontational truth? What’s the secret to “speaking the truth in love”? The apostle John knew. Pastor John MacArthur gives us a glimpse of…
We understand intellectually that life isn’t fair, but our culture acts as though life should be fair. There’s been a convergence within our society between justice and fairness. Justice is…
Empathy does not appear automatically. Nor does it develop in a smooth, steady progression. Indwelling sin is a constant impediment (as illustrated throughout the Book of Proverbs), which requires a…
It’s a challenge you face as a church leader: what do you do with people who only occasionally attend church? Like at Easter or Christmas or special occasions? But infrequent…
Intercessors live on the frontier of change. We are positioned to stand between the needs of man and the provision of God. Because we are the agents of redemption, Satan…
Sometimes, saying “I’ll pray for you” is just the Christian equivalent of ending a date by saying “I’ll give you a call.” It shouldn’t be, in a dating situation you…
Dear Roger, Last week I helped lead my friend to Christ. It’s the first time I’ve ever done anything like that. She began crying as she confessed her…
Social media is changing you and me in more profound ways than any of us imagine. Like a growing number of people, I’m increasingly concerned with how addictive tech has…
Dear Roger, I have been deeply offended because my spouse has been mistreated by a trusted friend and I can’t seem to get past it. How do I find it…
It is amazing how quickly a reputation can be ruined! I had been asked to be the speaker at my home church’s women’s retreat one fall. The more I prayed…
Grace really is, relationally speaking, it really is the unsettling solution for just about everything. Jesus was full of grace. He extended it to people who were nothing like him,…
David, a young adult with autism and mute from birth, was admitted to the hospital for medication adjustment (Names and details have been changed). Two weeks earlier David’s parents had…
Roger, During my freshman year of college I was raped. I have had this fear inside of me that it’s going to happen again. Each day I feel scared and…
God’s love to all humanity is a love of compassion. To say it another way, it is a love of pity. It is a broken-hearted love. He is “good, and ready to…
Jesus embodied compassion. What can we learn from how He treated others? True compassion demands action. It interrupts our daily routine. Caring costs. But compassion changes lives! Preached at LifeChurch.tv.…
So many of us suffer with false guilt; we take moral responsibility for actions, events, and situations that were not our fault. False guilt has no value; it is always…
God is a “today” God. God is a “now” God. Don’t get caught up in what happened yesterday or what will happen tomorrow. Enjoy God today. God is with you.…
One of the key ways to reach an unchurched audience is through special events. Warren Bird writes: “For church leaders who are trying to crack the code on more effectively…
Mark 9 allows us an eyewitness account of a mountain top experience Jesus has with some of his early followers. It’s known as the ‘transfiguration’ – which is a fancy…
It will come as no surprise to most that the U.S. population has been consistently loosening its ties with church over the past few decades. In the early 1990s, only…
Peter grows from a roughshod fisherman to a gentle and caring shepherd of God’s people. When we serve as God’s shepherds, we must be broken, humble and love unconditionally. Those…
There’s been much hand-wringing over ISIS’s success in recruiting young men from the West to join their holy war. Contrary to the stereotype of the poor, disadvantaged youth acting out…
Jesus healed in many ways, but in the case of the leper, Jesus reached out and touched him. The very essence of Christianity is to touch the untouchable, love the…
Is she a collection of body parts? Is she made of plastic? Or is she a whole person with a soul, full of all the things that make a person…
Perhaps you’ve heard a story like this before. Jason is 19-years old. He wants to take a year-long break from school before going to college so that he can backpack…
Dear Roger, What if you are having thoughts attempting rape, then you position yourself to do it, but then you don’t do it because you know God is watching…
Divorce touches each of us, sooner or later. A friend, a brother, a co-worker, or perhaps, you. If you haven’t been affected by divorce, you probably will be-it’s one of…
We all have vampires in our lives. They’re not the ones with pale skin and blood-thirsty fangs – but they do suck the life out of us. They live in…
Are you clueless or savvy when you relate to others? You can develop great relationships with others if you learn to develop high social intelligence. What Does Social Intelligence Look…
How important is your reputation to you? Have you suffered rejection and slander for following Jesus? How many of us Christians would follow Jesus during His time? His reputation was…
Adultery? Are you kidding me? What a time for the worship leader to betray his God, his family, and his church! The triumphal entry donkey was already booked, Jesus’ beard…
Every person is created in the image of God Himself. Jesus loved the most unlikely people- God. In one way or another all human beings reflect God himself. Jesus served…
I’ve been following the Lord for a little over 30 years now. And as I’ve watched the passing parade, some of the most zealous, devout, committed Christians that I knew…
Jesus loves the disabled and uses them in a mighty way for His kingdom work. Like Paul, He uses weakness to build spiritual strength and great faith. Nancy Guthrie relates…
What exactly did Jesus do the week before He died? As we enter into His suffering, we grow in our compassion and understanding of our Savior. THE PROOF OF THE…
Her sparkling blue eyes lit up as I slipped into the dimly lit hospital room. Donna McClure, my dearest friend, was a platinum blonde cowgirl with a heart the size…
Tim’s head was pressed hard against a burning hot rock wall. It was so hot the skin on his check was sizzling. Gasping for breath behind the shemagh which barely…
The image of God on the earth should show in the lives of Christ’s followers. Others should be surprised to see the love, forgiveness and spiritual power in our lives.…
The church at Laodecia was called lukewarm by Christ because they were apathetic, materialistic, and self-sufficient. We must not be satisfied with our spiritual condition. We must be humble and…
True humility is not self-focused, but filled with thoughts of God and compassion for others. How can we build them up? Do you want to brag about something? Brag about…
Is change, spiritual growth, a natural part of becoming a Christian? Yes. Living in the status of disciple has, as a natural part and progression, spiritual formation in Christlikeness. Progression…
Fingernails on the chalkboard. Leaky bathroom faucets at 4:00 a.m. Chirping smoke alarms that can’t be found. Screaming toddlers in the cereal aisle at the grocery store. Annoying? Off-putting? The…
A person of compassion is one who feels the needs of others. Com-passion. Compassion is not something that can be turned on and off like a water faucet. It is…
Dear Roger, Was Jesus a socialist? Sincerely, Wayne Dear Wayne, First of all, Jesus Christ is Jesus Christ. His beliefs transcend any economic or governmental system. His kingdom…
How do we define the “still, small voice of God?” This particular phrase is reminiscent of the scene where the prophet Elijah said that God appeared to him not in…
Paul the apostle teaches that if we know who we are and believe who we are, then we must live who we are-walking worthy of Jesus Christ. We reflect His…
Who is our neighbor? Our neighbor is anyone of any race, creed, or social background who is in need. Deep fulfillment and joy are ours when we pause and give…
Jesus delivered the Gadarene demoniac from a life of torment and desolation. Instead of rejoicing over Jesus’ power and the man’s deliverance, the Gadarenes were angry because they lost their…
Jonah became angry that God saved Ninevah. We need to remember the kind of God we have and the kind of people He invites. We must be caring, listening and…
My dear Muslim friends, That Allah does not love the sinner is abundantly clear in the Quran. Note just a few of the many passages in the Quran addressing this…
Genesis 43 recounts the reunion of Joseph and his long-lost brothers. The moving story in this chapter paints a picture of brothers expressing fear, guilt, grief and pain. Emotions are a…
Sometimes we are so selfish that we fail to see the needs of the lost. Blinded by his own comfort zone, Jonah refuses to extend to others what God has…
I stopped off at a local bookstore with my daughter yesterday and picked up two seasonally published magazines about the Bible. One was published by U.S. News and World Report. The other…
Paul poses four questions. If we are encouraged by Christ, can we give that same encouragement to others? If we are comforted by Him, can we comfort others? If we…
Church is never a perfect place. The closest to perfection the church will ever become here on earth is described in Acts 2 on the Day of Pentecost. A great…
Amos chides God’s people for living in luxury and apathy, and refusing to have compassion upon the poor. He encourages them to wake up and see the needs of others.
God is greater than any distance we create. He is all-knowing, all-powerful and everywhere all the time. Even though our inclination is to wander, God focuses on proximity. Jesus came…
Jesus constantly amazed people throughout His life. He amazed them by accepting them unconditionally. He amazed them by comforting them in their pain. He amazed them by supporting them in…