Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Loving Like Jesus

This post has been weeks in the pondering and the typing…I have been going through a variety of frustrating health issues along with some adjustments and changes in my role of mother and teacher to my children as they grow in their teenage years.
Today, as I face yet another health issue, I can’t help but wonder what God is trying to teach me. I KNOW He is teaching me something through it all because I don’t believe anything is wasted as we encounter any circumstances in living daily life. In the past few months I have been humbled within the mind, within the emotions, and within the body. As I endure each health issue and its complexities, I come face to face with my physical frailty and the frailty in the human wisdom of doctors. As earthly wisdom often fails, I know and completely trust in THE One Great Healer Who never fails—He is my Doctor, my Rock, my Fortress, and my Strength.

Monday, April 21, 2008

His Strength is Perfect

This song is absolutely for this very moment in my life. I am so emotional right now regarding this season of my health and my motherhood, but I KNOW the TRUTH that…

His strength is perfect…

I can do all things
Through Christ who gives me strength
But sometimes I wonder what He can do through me
No great success to show, no glory on my own
Yet in my weakness He is there to let me know…

His strength is perfect when our strength is gone
He’ll carry us when we can’t carry on
Raised in His power, the weak become strong
His strength is perfect, His strength is perfect

We can only know
The power that He holds
When we truly see how deep our weakness goes
His strength in us begins
Where ours comes to an end
He hears our humble cry and proves again…

His strength is perfect when our strength is gone
He’ll carry us when we can’t carry on
Raised in His power, the weak become strong
His strength is perfect, His strength is perfect


(“His Strength is Perfect” originally sung by Steven Curtis Chapman,
I do not know who sings this version on YouTube,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sO-7OZJ17M0&feature=related)


Leaning on HIS perfect strength for mine is gone...now I know I can really be strong…

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Humbled Further

This morning I was glancing back in my journal writings of the last week. Something suddenly became very obvious to me as I reviewed my journey with God over the past few days.

There has definitely been a theme of God humbling me in my mind about how little I really know and understand. I know it is God’s doing because the realization is not harsh or condemning. It’s just a simple realization, a humble one, of how little I really comprehend. A few days ago I asked God to “rip out of me” anything that is misled and false and leave nothing but what is perfectly His. I asked Him to rip out of me all false assumptions or ideals that I have learned or been taught which are human foolishness. I asked to be cleansed of all the falseness and the misleadings that have certainly come to reside in my mind, heart, and faith—requesting all that to be replaced purely with Him instead.

The day after those requests I wrote down that I felt more and more clueless. I had come face to face with how little I really knew or understood of the fullness of God and His ways and many other things. I realized how simple-minded I really am. I am truly humbled because of that. I certainly grasp how without God infusing me with understanding, knowledge, or wisdom I am completely ignorant. I am feeling and experiencing this so strongly now—it’s humbling, sobering, freeing, and wonderful all at the same time.

Yesterday, the realization hit me powerfully again. I was feeling awful about not having had better words of encouragement or wisdom for a dear friend that is going through some tough times. I also contemplated how little I “know” and “see” spiritually compared to how big it all truly is. The spiritual realm is complicated, and I know that I comprehend so little in comparison.

So God is doing this “ripping out” of me as I have asked Him to. Here I am today being humbled, yet again.

I am a frail human being infused by the powerful Spirit of God, infused by Christ, and living and breathing for Him. If I know anything of real truth, if I understand any real truth, if I “get” anything at all it’s because He makes it possible. Period.

Gratefully His…

Monday, April 14, 2008

He Will Come to You

If what you thought was the truth is a lie
And what you fought to keep on breathing has died
You face the lonely nights and wrestle with the dark
And you reach to find the love to fill the space inside your heart

It's hard to put it into words the way you feel
It's an ache and emptiness that lingers still
Are you a victim of the past without a trace of hope in sight?
And it all goes by so fast without a way to make it right
If you worry, don't worry

God will come and wrap His arms around you
It wouldn't be too much
For Him to love you as He found you
And it may seem like you're too far gone
But He loves you like His only Son
And He will come
He will come

From the bounty of a river there's a flow
And from the beauty of the Father's heart's a home
That never leaves you empty, no, and never leaves you bare
So come and bring your guilt and shame
Come and leave it there
If you're willing, He is willing

God will come and wrap His arms around you
It wouldn't be too much
For Him to love you as He found you
And it may seem like you're too far gone
But He loves you like His only Son
And He will come
He will come

Oh, you don't have to be worthy
You don't have to be anything but willing
To fall into His arms
Willing to fall into His arms

God will come and wrap His arms around you
It wouldn't be too much

For Him to love you as He found you
And it may seem like you're too far gone
But He loves you like His only Son
He will come

(“He Will Come” sung by Mandisa)
(http://www.discoveringgodministries.org/He_Will_Come.mp3)


Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Building God's Church

Recently there was a thread of discussion on the Home Church Discussion List about people remaining silent in house church meetings. A house church is different in many ways from a traditional church, and one of those ways is in how the meeting occurs. Everyone is free and welcome to equally share from their hearts or their God-given gifts as the Spirit leads. The meeting is not dependent or focused on only one individual’s contribution. It is about the body of Christ coming together equally and expressing Christ together.

In the discussion that took place on the list some asked if people should be forced or “helped” into being more vocal. I highly disagree that course should be taken. The meeting should not be about what we want; it should be about how the Spirit leads as we focus on God and Christ. There were a couple of responses that were shared that I thought had valuable insights; not just about the meetings but also about relationships and loving like Jesus. I share them here:

To: hcdl@yahoogroups.com
From: mufasa1615

I think a lot of us who have grown up in a traditional church carry some of that baggage with us when we go into a house church type setting. The format may be the same but often we still have a lot of things that hinder the spirit from really moving freely among us. I came across a quote today that said:

"I've come to see that GOD'S version of 'House Church' is not bringing church to the home, but bringing the life of the home into the church." -Benny, Manilla area, Philippines

I think we often loose sight of that when we look to build relationships with those around us. Maybe the people that are silent need a little more time and TLC before they open up. Maybe they just need to get to know people around them better. Instead of trying to figure out a way to GET them to talk, maybe we can live with them in such a way that they can't HELP but talk. LOVE them. SERVE them. Lay down your life for them. Sacrifice for them. Do things they don't expect. Treat them in a way that they can't help to be drawn to the Jesus inside of you. THEN you might see that flower open up. :)

Our God is LONGsuffering. How many things do I have in my OWN life that required Him to lovingly wait until I "got it". How many things are in my own life NOW that He is waiting for me to "get"? I think the more we get into the business of loving people and caring about them on a DAILY basis and not just here and there whenever it "fits" into our schedule, the more Life God will bring to those times everyone is together. Maybe the more we do things together throughout the week, doing the common everyday things of life TOGETHER, looking for ways to lighten a load or carry a burden, and the more we let people into our worlds to see the good the bad AND the ugly, the more of that will overflow into our times when we're all together. One of the reasons I never opened up in a traditional church setting is that I didn't REALLY know anyone and they didn't REALLY know me and I didn't know what I could really trust them with. I'm sure they felt the same way. Maybe if we could just get to know people and build their trust in us the rest will take care of itself.

Those are just some thoughts I had when I was considering life as it relates to religion and relationships and how desperately we need to rebuild from the ground up when it comes to meetings…I agree with those who said you can't "force" someone to share.



To: hcdl@yahoogroups.com
From: Stephen

It may be that our impatience is self serving and that we should instead seek to keep the meetings informal in ways that everyone feels comfortable. Our relationships with people no matter their style (quiet or loud) are not about us ... they should be about serving them (as our brother so wonderfully stated above).


I think that in our impatience to see God's Church revealed on earth we end up seeking a false god ... that is our own desires ... rather than really caring for those who God has given for us to mentor and serve. Impatience is always about "me" ... patience is always about serving others. For some reason we often have this idea that the perfect model will serve us best ... but in reality this thing isn't about self serving at all. It's about being the Church ... and that means so much more than going to a meeting.

It’s about being the ekklesia, the out-called of Christ, and loving as Christ loves.

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Proud Sponsors

Well, we have two new additions to our family. Today, we began to sponsor two children; a boy from Uganda and a girl from the Philippines.

This past week the organization, Compassion International, popped into my mind more than once; I wasn’t sure why until today. Then this morning I was dreaming that I had a baby boy and was changing his diaper but that I couldn’t remember his name and had to look it up in the baby book.

This morning we also “happened” to go to a church service at the church where two of our children belong to the youth group. One of my boys had just gone on a mission trip to Missouri with the group and they were going to share pictures and stories about the trip. So we went all together as a family for this event. At this morning’s service at that church, “it just happened to be” that they were encouraging the congregation to sponsor a child through the Compassion International organization.

I realized that after various years of knowing about Compassion and their ministry to children in various countries of the world, it was now the time for us to reach out and adopt one of these children and to help care for them. Not wanting to be partial to a girl or to a boy, I decided that we should sponsor one of each and make it even.

Meet Alethea, our “adopted” four year old little girl. I picked her to be our girl because her name means “truth” in the Greek language. In her home, Alethea helps by running errands. She lives with her grandfather and her grandmother. Her grandfather is not employed and her grandmother is sometimes employed as a laborer. Alethea is not presently attending school. Playing house and playing with dolls are her favorite activities. She also attends church activities regularly.


Meet Taremwa, our “adopted” seven year old little boy. I picked him to be our boy because he has been waiting over six months for a sponsor family and lives in an AIDS infected area. Taremwa lives with his mother. He is responsible for carrying water, caring for children and running errands. His mother is sometimes employed as a laborer. There are 2 children in the family. As part of Compassion's ministry, Taremwa participates in church activities. He is also in kindergarten where his performance is average. Soccer, playing with cars, and singing are his favorite activities.


We have been given much, blessed much, and been very faithfully taken care of by our Lord. I felt He was calling us now to give abundantly to others in the same way He has given to us. There are SO many needy people in this world. Oftentimes I feel like I am helpless to really make an impact or change. What I would REALLY love to do is to travel to some of the places like where little Alethea and Taremwa live and just LOVE and HUG on the people there…I long to love them like Jesus. This is a start.

Blessed!

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Love Without Limits

See the faces in the crowd
Everyone is reaching out
Searching for something that's real

See the souls behind the eyes
Left with no way to disguise
The yearning inside

He loves without limits
Sees us every minute
Wherever we are walking
He is near
His spirit is relentless
His hope for us is endless
I know, I know
He loves without limits




There's no mountain that's too steep
There's no ocean that's too deep
Nothing can keep Him from us

He's the lover of our souls
He's the one that makes us whole
Oh, don't you know
If we could only see how far
God will reach to touch our hearts

He loves without limits
Sees us every minute
Wherever we are walking
He is near
His spirit is relentless
His hope for us is endless
I know, I know
He loves without limits

God’s love is limitless…

(“Love Without Limits” sung by Natalie Grant)
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgHvBHkz0h4)

What shall be separating us from the love of God in Christ Jesus?...neither death nor life, nor messengers, nor sovereignties, nor the present, nor what is impending, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. (Romans 8:35-39)

God’s power and love are boundless. They are not bound nor held back by any thing. He created every thing. Therefore, He IS the power over all things.

For His glory…

Christ's Sacrificial Love

For Christ, while we are still infirm, still in accord with the era, for the sake of the irreverent, died. For hardly for the sake of a just man will anyone be dying: for, for the sake of a good man, perhaps someone may even be daring to die, yet God is commending this love of His to us, seeing that, while we are still sinners, Christ died for our sakes. (Romans 5:6-8)

While we were immersed in our sins, God loved us so much that He had His Son—His very image—die for us and give Himself up for our sakes. He gave of Himself sacrificially while we were entrenched deep in our wrongdoings.

Christ held nothing back.

He didn’t tell us to get our act together first.

Christ didn’t call us to righteousness before He gave Himself up for us.

He didn’t yell, point His fingers at us and tell us that if we straightened up then He might decide to die for our sake because then we might be worth His effort.

Christ did it beforehand.

We were considered worthy of His full effort before we straightened up.

We were worthy of His effort while we were still dirty, soiled, and unable to help ourselves out of our own muck.

He considered us worthy of His sacrificial love while we were still content to live and breathe and lie in our own mess.

Christ’s cost: priceless…beyond our capacity to fully understand.

Our cost: zero.

“While we are still sinners, Christ died for our sakes”

For those who follow after Christ, for those who’s Lord in this life is Christ…that is the kind of love we are called to embrace others with…

…because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Friday, April 4, 2008

Humbled

This morning I was completely humbled by contemplating God’s immensity with my smallness. I was humbled by knowing that I am so small in comparison to God’s grandeur—my knowledge and my understanding are as one little ant compares to the size of this world. I am humbled before His incredible and indescribable greatness. He is THE significant One.

Who measures the waters in the hollow of His hand, gauges the heavens with a span, contains the soil of the earth in a peck measure, and weighs with a balance the mountains and the hills with scales? Who gauges the spirit of YHWH and is informing Him as a man of His counsel? With whom does He take counsel? And who is giving Him understanding, is teaching Him in judgment’s path, is teaching Him knowledge and is informing Him the way of understanding? Or who has given to Him first, and it shall be repaid to him?


Behold all nations are as a drop from a bucket, and as dust on the scales are they accounted. Behold, like thinnest gauze He lifts up the coastlands. And Lebanon is not sufficient for consuming, and all its animals are not sufficient for an ascent offering. And all the nations are as nothing in front of Him; less than nil and a chaos are they accounted by Him.


To whom then shall you liken El, and what likeness shall you arrange for Him? A carving? A craftsman makes a molten image, and a goldsmith stamps it with gold, refining chains of silver. The careful one, as a heave offering, chooses wood that shall not rot; He seeks for himself a wise craftsman to prepare a carving that shall be immovable.


Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told to you from the beginning? Have you not gained understanding from the foundations of the earth? It is He Who sits over the circle of the earth, so that its dwellers are like grasshoppers, Who is stretching out the heavens like thinnest gauze and is billowing them out like a tent to dwell in. It is He Who is bringing chancellors to nothing; Judges of the earth He makes to be like chaos. Hardly are they planted, hardly are they sown, hardly is their set slip rooted in the earth, when also He sends a breeze against them, and they dry up, and a tempest, it bears them away like stubble.


“To whom then shall you liken Me, and to whom shall I be equal?” the Holy One is saying. Lift your eyes to the height and see; Who created all these? He Who is bringing forth their host by number, He is calling to them all by name; because of the greatness of His virility and His resolute vigor not one is missing.


Why…are you saying and…are you speaking: My way is concealed from YHWH, and my judgment is passed over by my Elohim? Do you not know? Or do you not hear?


The Elohim eonian is YHWH, Creator of the ends of the earth; He does not faint nor is He wearied. There is no fathoming of His understanding. He is giving vigor to the faint, and to one who is without virility He is increasing staunchness. Youths may faint and be wearied, and choice young men may stumble, yea stumble. Yet those who are expectant in YHWH shall rejuvenate with vigor; They shall ascend on pinions like vultures; they shall run and not be wearied; they shall walk and not faint.

(Isaiah 40:12-31)

Humbled before His presence…

Thursday, April 3, 2008

At His Feet

At the feet of Jesus we find ultimate love and forgiveness. We come as we are. He is the one with the power to forgive, to heal, and to change us. He is the one able to grant us the peace to move on beyond the darkest night of our lives.

Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to dine with him, and He entered the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume. Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner."


And Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." And he replied, "Say it, Teacher."


"A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. "When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?" Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more." And He said to him, "You have judged correctly." Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. "You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. "You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. "For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little."


Then He said to her, "Your sins have been forgiven. Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

(Luke 7:36-50)

She brought You oil, the purest gift she had
You washed her soul with her tears
Though more than a thousand years have passed
I still weep at how much that woman's just like me
And how much I want to be

At Your feet
Where I feel Your Spirit cover me
And the darkest of my sins, they are forgiven
What would You ask of me, I'd give up everything
Just so I can be at Your feet

I know one day I will open up my eyes
To the wonders of Heaven foretold
And I'll see that glorious mansion on high
But, I'll be content just to see Your face
If I can just find my place…

At Your feet
Where I feel Your Spirit cover me
And the darkest of my sins, they are forgiven
What would You ask of me, I'd give up everything
Just so I can be at Your feet


(“At Your Feet” sung by Natalie Grant)
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B_xqpyUVQw)

At His feet…

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

unChristian

I just finished reading a fascinating book called unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity…and Why It Matters by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons. The book is mainly authored by the president of the Barna Group (Kinnaman) and is written based on their very thorough research of what people outside of the Christian faith really think about Christians and their faith. Although this book does give a lot of research information, it is not a “dry” book and makes very interesting reading. Reading this book has made me do a lot of re-thinking and has caused my vision to become a bit clearer in certain areas of my faith. I didn’t find anything the author said as a shock; they are things that I have already perceived occurring in our society. And nothing he said angered me either. Instead, I have been inspired to love more and more unconditionally.

The book contains nine chapters which give an overview of the main perceptions of Christians and Christianity from the outsider’s point of view:

1) The Backstory

2) Discovering unChristian Faith

3) Hypocritical

4) Get Saved!

5) Antihomosexual

6) Sheltered

7) Too Political

8) Judgmental

9) From unChristian to Christian

Here are some of the statements made by David Kinnaman in the first chapter which stood out to me:

Our research shows that many of those outside of Christianity, especially younger adults, have little trust in the Christian faith, and esteem for the lifestyle of Christ followers is quickly fading among outsiders. They admit their emotional and intellectual barriers go up when they are around Christians, and they reject Jesus because they feel rejected by Christians…It alters their willingness to commit their lives to Jesus.” (pg. 11)


…I invite you to see what Christianity looks like from the outside. In fact, the title of this book, unChristian, reflects outsiders’ most common reaction to the faith: they think Christians no longer represent what Jesus had in mind, that Christianity in our society is not what it was meant to be…for many people the Christian faith looks weary and threadbare. They admit they have a hard time actually seeing Jesus because of all the negative baggage that now surrounds him. (pg. 15)


One outsider from Mississippi made this blunt observation: ‘Christianity has become bloated with blind followers who would rather repeat slogans than actually feel true compassion and care. Christianity has become marketed and streamlined into a juggernaut of fearmongering that has lost its own heart. (pg. 15)


My purpose is not to berate Christians. You won’t find here the names of any Christian leaders who have done wrong things. From time to time, I will use an anonymous illustration to show why some of the negative perceptions exist. Yet the point is not to pick on any particular person. Every Christ follower bears some degree of responsibility for the image problem…it is not helpful to assign blame to those who have made mistakes. Still, for the things we can influence—our lives, our churches, the way we express Christianity to others—I hope that by helping you better understand people’s skepticism, your capacity to love people will increase, offering them genuine hope and real compassion through Jesus Christ. (pg. 16)

In the second chapter, he begins explaining the general view of the unChristian faith by those outside of it:

One of the surprising insights from our research is that the growing hostility toward Christians is very much a reflection of what outsiders feel they receive from believers. They say their aggression matches the oversized opinions and egos of Christians. One outsider put it this way: ‘Most people I meet assume that Christian means very conservative, entrenched in their thinking, antigay, antichoice, angry, violent, illogical, empire builders; they want to convert everyone, and they generally cannot live peacefully with anyone who doesn’t believe what they believe.’” (pg. 26)


…it is clear that Christians are primarily perceived for what they stand against. We have become famous for what we oppose, rather than who we are. (pg. 26)


We are known for having an us-versus-them mentality. Outsiders believe Christians do not like them because of what they do, how they look, or what they believe. They feel minimized—or worse, demonized—by those who love Jesus. (pg. 27)


In our national surveys we found the three most common perceptions of present-day Christianity are anithomosexual (an image held by 91 percent of young outsiders), judgmental (87 percent), and hypocritical (85 percent). (pg. 27)


Only a small percentage of outsiders strongly believe that the labels ‘respect, love, hope, and trust’ describe Christianity. A minority of outsiders perceives Christianity as genuine and real, as something that makes sense, and as relevant to their life. (pg. 27)


Jesus was called a friend of sinners, relentlessly pursuing the downtrodden. What an irony that today his followers are seen in the opposite light! How can people love God, who they can’t see, if those of us who claim to represent him don’t respond to outsiders with love? (pg. 36)


And so the book goes on to give the perceptions of “outsiders” towards Christianity/Christians. There are so many more things I could go on to quote, but it is best to just get the book and read the “whole” thing. My favorite chapters were: “Hypocritical”, “Get Saved”, “Antihomosexual”, and “Judgmental” because I see those perceptions as some of the worst ones. And the “Hypocritical” and “Judgmental” are attitudes haven’t just been reserved towards “outsiders”! Unfortunately, they are also prevalent attitudes in the body of Christ between Christian brothers and sisters.

I have to include one more quote from the book, because it was an “Amen!” moment for me when I read the words.

At the end of each chapter, Kinnaman includes some insights on the topic from different people. In the “Judgmental” chapter Mike Foster says this:

So how do we become people who are known for grace? First we must admit that we have a problem. We can’t continue to pretend that the church is a place of grace if fundamentally we kick to the curb those within our very own community who screw up. If we can’t forgive our pastors, leaders, and friends, then how could we possibly begin to forgive others…We must begin by loving each other, forgiving each other, and carrying each other’s burdens, especially when we fall. When a brother or sister is steamrolled by life, we don’t run from them, we rally around them.


Secondly, we must engage with the people whom we have been taught to stay away from for too long. We must boldly enter into the environments where grace flourishes and does its best work. Christian insulation and a safe life are not what you and I signed up for when we said we would follow Jesus. He was never insulated from people’s pain, and he sure didn’t keep to safe places. He engaged with those who were being crushed by their mistakes and bad choices. Jesus wiped away the tears of the prostitutes, held the hands of the outcasts, and touched the wounds of the sick and the crazy. He hung with the not-so-perfect people of the world and showed them what Christianity was all about. He was never concerned about a person’s title, society’s name tag, or the sign on their place of work. Porn stars or preachers, gay or straight, Republican or Democrat, it doesn’t mean a rip to God. We are all his children, and we are all in need of this stunningly beautiful thing called grace. We know what we need to do, now let’s go do it. (pg. 202-203)

Amen! As CHRISTians, we are called to love as CHRIST.

He said, “If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.” (John 12:47)

As CHRISTians we are not called to judge, criticize, and condemn. There is one Judge and we are not Him!

Jesus called us to love the Lord God with all of our heart, with all of our soul, and with all of our strength and with all of our mind and to love our neighbor as our own self. Our neighbor is whoever God places in our path so that we may show HIS grace, HIS love, and HIS care for them.

"And who is my neighbor?"

Jesus replied and said, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. "And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. "Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. "But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. "On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.'


“Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?"


And he said, "The one who showed mercy toward him."


Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same."

(Luke 10:29-37)

More about CHRIST-like love in an upcoming post…

By HIS grace…