Crying for The Lost

Why doesn't it break our hearts?

Jeremiah 4:19-22 My heart, my heart—I writhe in pain! My heart pounds within me! I cannot be still. For I have heard the blast of enemy trumpets and the roar of their battle cries. 20 Waves of destruction roll over the land, until it lies in complete desolation. Suddenly my tents are destroyed; in a moment my shelters are crushed.

21 How long must I see the battle flags and hear the trumpets of war? 22 “My people are foolish and do not know me,” says the Lord. “They are stupid children who have no understanding. They are clever enough at doing wrong, but they have no idea how to do right!"

Jeremiah 6:6 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: “Cut down the trees for battering rams. Build siege ramps against the walls of Jerusalem. This is the city to be punished, for she is wicked through and through.

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Imagine if you knew that God was upset that he was preparing for judgement. Imagine that you received a message from God that your nations idolatry, arrogance and pride were going to be judged very harshly and that many people that you know are going to die.  It shouldn't be that difficult to imagine, after-all, we have received that message from God.

Jeremiah is brokenhearted for the people of Israel, it reminds me of Jesus when he was approaching Jerusalem (Luke 19:41-43), he was very sad because he knew that they would soon see the destruction of Jerusalem. Just like in Jeremiah's time, the people in Jesus time thought that they were safe from anything happening that would be too bad, they thought that surely God wouldn't destroy his temple. (Jeremiah 7:1-15) That's sort of like saying that going to church is going to save you, wrong!

Jesus cried for the people around him

Matthew 9:36-38  When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  He said to His disciples, "The harvest is great, but the workers are few.  So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask Him to send more workers into His fields."

It is so easy to disconnect to the reality of the spiritual condition of those that are around us and the future that those people have. We have been given a message from God, warning us that our city, our nation and even the entire world is full of people that are not ready for the judgement day that is coming. How much do we really care? Do we have a burden for the lost?

I need to pray for my friends, for the people at work, for the people that I see while I am doing everyday life. I need to have the same burden that Christ had, or how about the burden that Paul had? (Romans 9:1-3) I need to allow God to use my hands to serve, my feet to pursue the lost sheep, my mouth to speak up for him.

My prayer:

Break my heart for what breaks Yours, everything I am for Your Kingdom's cause, as I walk from earth into eternity. -- Hillsong United

My Best Friend

A series on Jesus final teachings before his betrayal.

John 15:12-17  This is My commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.  13  There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends.

14  You are My friends if you do what I command.  15  I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn't confide in His slaves. Now you are My friends, since I have told you everything the Father told Me.  16  You didn't choose Me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using My name.  17  This is My command: Love each other.

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Jesus told his disciples that he loves them just as much as God the Father loves God the Son. (John 15:9) The next thing that he tells them is that they are to love each other in the same manner even to the point of laying down your life for them.

That is a pretty drastic extreme that we probably won't need to ever do but we could all take a review of ourselves and see how we are doing at being a friend. Are we really good friends with the people in our lives?

There are a lot of examples of good friends in the Bible, there was David and Jonathon, Ruth and Naomi, but there were also some friends that are like Job's friends that didn't always get it right. We can all blow it as a friend but over-all a true friend is very beneficial to have, here is a list that I found in my study:

Good Friends:
Comfort and sympathy Support and encouragement               Shared joy and sorrow Loving rebuke Encouragement to do good Challenge Worshiping together Sharing possessions Praying for one another Forgiving each other	Job 2:11-13 1 Samuel 23:16-17; Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 Romans 12:15 Proverbs 27:6,9; Ephesians 4:15 Romans 14:13; Hebrews 10:24 Proverbs 27:17 Psalms 55:13-14 Acts 11:29 James 5:16 Proverbs 17:9

We should learn from Jesus example, everyday he made new friends, he included anybody that was willing. Jesus didn't neglect or avoid different types of people like we do, he chose to make friends with the sinners and the scum, the very people that we tend to avoid. Jesus made it very clear in John 15:17, he tells us to love each other, he didn't give us any exceptions or fine print.

Sometimes I treat my friends a lot better than I treat God, too many times he is avoided or pushed to the back seat, I won't talk to him or take the time to hear what he has to say. God is my greatest friend and I should not take that too lightly; he deserves a lot better than I give him.

Thank you Lord for your love for all of us, help me to be a good friend so that people will see you in my life.

You Can't Reach The Lost If You Hide From Them

Do you rejoice when the lost are found?

Luke 15:1-10 Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. 2 This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!

3 So Jesus told them this story: 4 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. 6 When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!

8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.” 

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Eating with sinners! How could Jesus do that again? The Pharisees fussed at him before when he was having dinner with the "scum" right after he asked one of those "scum" to be his disciple. (Luke 5:30-32) After that incident Jesus still had the nerve to feed over 5,000 people, and you can imagine that there must have been some lowlife people there that day. (Luke 9:10-17)

Jesus always makes things simple and to all of this criticism Jesus explains a very simple concept: "To reach sinners you can't avoid them." How could anybody find anything that is lost if they avoid the places where the lost thing could be? Easy enough?

We have all been lost sheep

1 Peter 2:25 Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls.

The Pharisees didn't realize that at the foot of the cross we are all equal, we are all lost sheep and we are all worth looking for. Jesus knew that none of us is worthy but by his grace he has enabled us to be friends of God. (Romans 5:11)

These two parables about things that are lost are telling me that:

1. I have to get out there away from the safety of the flock, go find a lost sheep and bring him back to the Savior. 
2. I need to turn on the lights and pierce the darkness so that the lost can be found.

Thank you Lord for saving me and calling me your friend. Help me to feel a stronger urgency to find the lost.

God Cares About Our Sorrows

Jesus compassion moves him to action.

Luke 7:11-17  Soon afterward Jesus went with his disciples to the village of Nain, and a large crowd followed him.

12 A funeral procession was coming out as he approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son, and a large crowd from the village was with her.

13 When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” he said. 14 Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. “Young man,” he said, “I tell you, get up.” 15 Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother.

16 Great fear swept the crowd, and they praised God, saying, “A mighty prophet has risen among us,” and “God has visited his people today.” 17 And the news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding countryside.

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In our previous study on Luke 7:1-10 we read about Jesus healing the slave of a centurion in the city of Capernaum. The Roman official had amazing faith that was superior to anybody else that Jesus had met.

Today we catch up with Jesus as he is coming to the village of Nain, he has traveled 25 miles southwest of Capernaum, as he was coming in the village gate there was a funeral procession on the way out.

Jesus humanness comes out, as he sees the widow that has lost her only son, he gets very emotional. Jesus compassion for the lady pushed him to get involved, he saw her fears and her sadness, he wasn't asked to step in and do anything but he couldn't stand by and watch without doing something. 

Imagine this scene, everybody is mourning the dead son and then Jesus touches the coffin and tells the boy to get up. Imagine carrying a coffin that starts to wiggle around on it's own, the person sits up and starts talking. All of a sudden the sadness is gone and everybody is amazed and praising God.

Lamentations 3:22-24  The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. 23 Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.  24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”

Jesus is our hope, his love and his mercy never end, I must remember how compassionate that God is to us when we suffer. 

Thank you Lord for your concern for humanity. You are so mighty yet you care about my fears and sadness.

You might like to read:
Promises You Can Count On  //  Focus On God   //  Something From Nothing

Bring in the Poor

Works of charity are better than works of showing off.

 Luke 14:12-14  Then He turned to His host. "When you put on a luncheon or a banquet," He said, "don't invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward.  13  Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.  14  Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you."

Proverbs 14:31  Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but helping the poor honors Him.

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What an awkward situation we have here. Jesus is at a rich leader of the Pharisees home for dinner and he lets the guy know that he shouldn't invite all of his rich friends to the banquet but rather he should have invited "the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind."

There is no doubt that Jesus was the only poor man there, this religious group still didn't get it when Jesus told them:

Matthew 9:13  Then He added, "Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: 'I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.' For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners."

If we spend too much of our time planning activities with our friends and with those that have the power to help us get ahead, then we will not be focused on the desire of Jesus for us and we will have no interest in helping others.

Help me Lord to always be focused on what is important to you, help me to be a friend to those that are in need, showing the same compassion that you have for them.

You might like to read: Commands of Jesus blog series.

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Feed My Sheep

Start caring about someone.

John 21:17,19  A third time He asked him, "Simon son of John, do you love Me?" Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, "Lord, You know everything. You know that I love You."

Jesus said, "Then feed My sheep," then Jesus told him, "Follow Me."

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What was Jesus plan to change the world? Care for people. Sounds way too simple, how could caring for people have any great impact on our world?

The power of a touch, a kind word or the smallest act of kindness all have the potential to turn a life around and that is what Jesus is all about, he always showed compassion for others. Whether he was caring for his disciples that were stuck in a vicious storm, or if he was healing someone, or if he was feeding the crowds that had been following him without any food.

Jesus plan was to get people to start caring, he cared and then he told somebody else to care and then they cared for somebody and so on, until now it is my turn to keep it going. My mission is to care for people where I am, in the workplace, my neighborhood, the grocery store or where ever. How else could I fulfill the second greatest command and love my neighbor?

Luke 10:36-37  “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked. The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

Help me Lord to be more like you through caring, help me to see people through your eyes so that I will be aware of people that need somebody to care