The power of compassion II

The power of compassion II

ByPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 3 minutes

Peace to you, dear readers of «Daily Word for Spiritual Edification»!

Yesterday we talked about the importance and the power of compassion. We discussed the fact that we need to grow in mercy and compassion, because otherwise we won’t be able to serve people and please God.

Let’s look at one more passage of Scripture.

«Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue. And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, „Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” – that they might accuse him» (Mathew, 12 9-10).

Here we see a very ill man with a withered hand. Also we see some Pharisees who knew Jesus would heal this man. Nevertheless they asked Him a question in order to accuse Him. And it was because Pharisees lived according to the letter of the law, but this law of freedom had enslaved them and turned them into heartless religious workers.

This is what Jesus said to them:

«Then Jesus said to them, „What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath”» (Mathew, 12: 11-1).

Jesus answered that it is good and right to do good, heal and help people on the Sabbath if there is compassion in your heart. You can even go to the ends of the earth breaking common norms and human rules to save a life of one man.

If you have at least some compassion in your heart, you won’t think about people’s opinions and or about the lack of something; you will only think of how to save a man in danger of eternal damnation.

It was compassion that moved Jesus to heal the ill man.

«Then He said to the man, „Stretch out your hand”. And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other» (Mathew, 12:13).

After Jesus performed this miracle, Pharisees began conspiring and seeking to destroy Him. Jesus learnt about it and left the area; people followed Him and He healed them too.

We see God Who places compassion above all other things. And God tells us as a Church that we should put compassion above all other things. If we will be moved and motivated by compassion and the desire to save people, then we will have more results, more success and we will move forward no matter what we lack and how unprepared we seemingly are.

Of course, this does not mean that we should not prepare and grow in knowledge and skill. It is this same compassion that motivates us to grow so that we can be better ministers of the Gospel. But our shortcomings should not stop us! While we are thinking and contemplating of them, we are losing time, while people around us are perishing. We should get to work speedily.

Whatever is in your power, do it today.

Be blessed! We will continue tomorrow!

Pastor Rufus Ajiboye

Similar Posts

  • Value God’s Word!

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 3 minutes
    Today God wants to tell us the same thing. The Word of God is life to us. When God sends us His Word, He offers us life. Rejecting the Word of God we reject life itself. Moses says about God’s Word: «For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life…»It is extremely important for us to appreciate the Word of God and not to treat it as something futile, – it is not like a song that we have listened to and then gone to do our own will. It should be to us like the greatest treasure. We have to value God’s Word, to hide it in our hearts, to appreciate it because it is life to us. God says that through the Word and through our right attitude towards it we can extend or prolong our days. Our attitude toward the Word determines whether we will extend our life or shorten it.

  • God wants you to use everything He has given you for His Kingdom

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 2 minutes
    «So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’» (Luke, 19:13).This verse clearly states that the master told his servants to do business with the things they were given. The master expected them to get some profit from his ‘investment’.

  • The counselling

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 3 minutes
    Every one of us tries to help people by giving advice or recommendations. There are moments in life when we want to reveal certain truths to people so that they could make right choices. Every one of us needs counsel and guidance. It says in the Bible: «Without counsel, plans go awry, but in the multitude of counsellors they are established» (Proverbs, 15:22).

  • How we can determine whether something we experience is God’s discipline or the attack of the enemy

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 5 minutes
    Do you often experience different hardships? Are you facing trouble everywhere you go? It can either be a spiritual attack or you are being disciplined by God Himself. How can you distinguish what exactly is going on with you? Let’s try to answer this question.A believer must learn to see the difference between spiritual warfare and God’s discipline. In different life situations we must firmly know whether we are disciplined by God or we are dealing with a spiritual attack that requires of us to get engaged in spiritual warfare.

  • How to develop a habit of prayer in our life? IV

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
    “ … for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)Prayer unites us with our Heavenly Father, helps to know the depth of the His heart, His love and His plans for our life.Do you remember Daniel? He was a man of God, similarly to David, one, whose attitude to prayer and fellowship with God was very serious. In Daniel 6:10 we read:«When Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house (now his windows were open in his chamber toward Jerusalem) and he bowed down on his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did before».

  • How do we make sure that the Word of God abides in us? II

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 5 minutes
    When I hear the preaching of God’s Word, God speaks to me through someone else. When I read the Word, God speaks to me directly. There are things He wants to speak to me personally, without mediators. God wants me to fellowship with Him so that He can teach me. When you hear the word through the other preaching of people, you can hear things that you do not fully understand or you might even say you do not agree with some things. However, when you fellowship with God through the reading of His Word and God reveals some things to you, you cannot say it is someone else’s opinion.