" HAVING COMPASSION "

Good Day To You, this week we are looking into " Compassion. " Compassion: Pathetic Feeling; Pity; Mercy-Compassionate. " The Lord's Loving kindnesses indeed never cease, for His Compassion's Never Fail." God willingly responds with help when we ask. Perhaps there is some sin in your life that you thought God would not forgive. God's steadfast Love and Mercy are greater than any sin, and he promises forgiveness. Do you respond to the needs of others? Do you remember when Jesus heals the paralytic? The paralytic's need moved his friends to action, and they brought him to Jesus. When you recognize someone's need, do you act? Now, we all know that many people have Physical and Spiritual needs you can meet, either by yourself or with others who are also concerned, human need moved these four men; let it also move you to compassionate action. We should show compassion instead of judging others. When others are caught in sin, are you quick to pass judgment? To do so is to act as though you have never sinned. It is God's role to judge, Not Ours. Our role is to show Forgiveness and Compassion. Be as Compassionate as God is to you. We must express genuine concern for others as we carry God's message to them. Only then will we faithfully represent Our Father in heaven. LAST POINT: Many have fallen away from God for various reason(s). The Word Of God says... " Now return to the Lord your God, for He is Gracious and Compassionate, Slow to Anger, abounding in loving kindness and relenting of evil. Never forget to ask for Wisdom, we have not because we ask not. Now have the Wisdom to show COMPASSION to another. Until Next Time... Jim,

" REGARDING UNBELIEVERS "

This week we will touch on Unbelief / Unbelievers. The attitude of trust and confidence that the Bible calls belief of faith (Hebrews 11:1,6) is not something we can obtain without help. Faith is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9). No matter how much faith we have, we never reach the point of being self-sufficient. Faith is not stored away like money in the bank. Growing in the faith is a constant process of daily renewing our trust in Jesus. Almost everyone has relatives, family of some kind. Family Relationships are so important in God's eyes, now Paul says, that a person who neglects his or her family responsibilities has denied the faith. Are you doing your part to meet the needs of those included in your family circle? Don't become curious about unbelievers life-style. In this day and age we may find ourselves surrounded by unbelievers. Now, it is to easy to get drawn into the subtle temptations of seemingly harmless practices. Sometimes curiosity can cause us to stumble. Knowledge of evil is harmful if the evil becomes too tempting to resist. To resist curiosity about harmful practices shows discretion and obedience. LAST POINT: We shouldn't avoid unbelievers: Jesus didn't ask God to take believers out of the world but instead to use them in the world. Because Jesus sends us into the world, we should not try to escape from the world nor should we avoid all relationships with non-Christians. We are called to be Salt and Light, and we are to do the work that God sent us to do. Until Next Time... Jim,

" PRIDE "

PRIDE: defined in this manner; 1- Conceit; 2- justifiable self- respect; 3- elation over an act or possession; 4- haughty behavior; disdain; 5- ostentatious display - prideful. Now God will harshly judge those who are prejudiced or whose pride causes them to look down on others. No one should think too highly of themselves. In this world because of a persons status they may think to highly of themselves. Every group, even churches, will have those who think they are too wise or important to work hard. Gentle encouragement doesn't seem to help. Sometimes the best policy is to ignore them. They may think they are getting away with something, but their inactivity will be remembered by all who worked hard. Not every necessary job is a highly visible leadership role. Much of necessary labor of any effective enterprise considered by many to be dirty work. But such work is vital to getting any big task done. Engineers and Millionaires may design and finance an elegant building, but it is the bricklayers who get the work done. Pride causes us to want recognition. Are you content to be God's bricklayer, or do you resent the work God has given you? Wounded Pride makes us want to lash out. We sometimes strike out at blameless people who get in our way because we are embarrassed or our pride is hurt. Lashing out at others can be a sign that something is wrong with us. Don't allow your own hurt pride to lead you to hurt others. LAST POINT: Taking credit for accomplishments of others indicates that pride is controlling your life. When you notice pride taking a foothold, take immediate steps to put it in check by giving credit to those who deserve it. Until Next Time... Jim,

" CHOICES / DECISIONS "

We make all kinds of choices every day about every single thing. Don't make Excuses - Take Responsibility for the decisions you make. Weigh both positives and negatives when making your next choice. Often we let others' values and actions dictate our attitudes and behavior. Have you ever made a wrong choice because you wanted to be like everyone else? Be careful that the values of your friends or " heroes " don't pull you away from what God says is right. When God's people want to be like unbelievers, they are heading for spiritual disaster. We must be able to make wise decisions in difficult circumstances. Whenever we need Wisdom, we can pray to God, and he will generously supply what we need. Christians don't have to grope around in the dark, hoping to stumble upon answers. We can ask for God's Wisdom to guide our Choices. Our decisions can have lasting consequences. We have the option to choose to be close to the Father or to go our own way, but there are consequences resulting from our choice. In this world there are some who choose to reject God, and the Father allows them to do this. God does not usually stop us from making choices that are against his will. He allows us to declare our supposed independence from him, even though he knows that in time we will become slaves to our own rebellious choices - we will lose our freedom not to sin. Does life without God look like freedom to you? Look more closely. There is no worse slavery to sin. Until Next Time... Jim,