Appeal to The God of Compassion - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) June 11, 2024

The term compassion refers to having concern, pity, or sympathy for someone or something. Sadly, it is in short supply in many communities around the world. For the children of God, though, compassion is waiting to envelop them.

This is because God is compassionate. We see His compassion at work in the story of Jonah and Nineveh. That kingdom was an enemy of the Jewish people. And so when the Lord sent Jonah - a Jew - there, he initially refused. God, in His patience and wisdom, pointed out to His servant in Jonah 4:11 - And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”

Just as God was unwilling to abandon Nineveh's population to their sin, His Son refused to allow satan to have the final say over the destiny of humanity. It was compassion that caused Him to agree to die for all people. Even before He died on the cross, Christ consistently displayed God's compassion.

In Matthew 14:14, He "saw a large crowd...had compassion on them and healed their sick." He didn't stop there, of course. In compassion for the heartbreak felt by Martha and Mary, we are told He wept over the loss of their brother, Lazarus (John 16:35). Then, He went on to display the glory and power of the Lord by bringing the dead man back to life (John 16:43-44).

We serve the God of compassion. He is the God who longs to pour out His compassion and will bless all who wait on Him per Isaiah 30:18 - Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!

Notice that those who wait upon Him are blessed. Thus, patience is key to receiving the blessed compassion of the Lord. Since He saves those who call on Him we know that when we petition Him for His compassion He will grant it (Joel 2:28). Despite this promise, do not forget the word of God where He has also promised not to answer the prayers of the wicked (Proverbs 15:29). Thus, to receive the blessing of His compassion, you cannot afford to be a wicked person. The only way to achieve this is to live in accordance with scripture (1 John 1:7). If you measure yourself by worldly understanding instead of God's word, you will not be righteous and your petitions will not be answered.

Start moving in the direction of righteousness today and call on God to help you live a life that pleases Him (Ephesians 4:1). Know that God wants everyone to enjoy His compassion. He will do whatever it takes for you to experience it.

Tell Him you want this and be sure to obey His instructions in the Bible. Appeal to the God of compassion to help you with whatever challenge stands in your way. He is ready and willing to show Himself as compassionate to you.

Come back to fellowship with us at Noon EST. During that hour, we will worship, intercede for others with prayers, and cry out to God for His compassion to envelop us.

To learn more, please read the following past messages:

1. Jonah

2. The Jonah Lesson

3. God's Understanding leads to Compassion & Favor

4. Topic: Righteousness

5. Don't Be Wicked

6. Topic: Please the Lord

7. Topic: Obey/Obedience

Let God Confuse Your Enemy - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) June 7, 2024

When God freed the Israelites from Egypt, He led them on a specific path. The Bible tells us that He had them use the desert road that led toward the Red Sea (Exodus 13:18). And yet, in Exodus 14:2, we are told He had them change direction and go backward.

If He knew the way He wanted them to take, why send them in the direction they had come from? Imagine a group of close to a million people - young and old - walking with their belongings through the desert sand. Why make things complicated for them?

The Bible explains God's reasoning in Exodus 14:3 - Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ Although Pharaoh would think the Israelites were lost, the real purpose of God's plan was to confuse Pharaoh. And not only to confuse him but also to make him feel pompous, stiff-necked, and overconfident so that he would hasten his attempt to recapture the Israelites. The end result was that Pharaoh believed in his intelligence and the might of his army. This led to them drowning in the Red Sea.

God is in the business of confusing your enemies. And when He applies this war strategy, it may be confusing to you too. The key, however, is to trust Him and remember His word in 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 - But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.

The Sovereign Lord knows how to use what appears foolish to confuse and destroy those who see themselves as wise. And when He is doing this in your life, submit to Him because His ways are higher than yours and so He knows better (Isaiah 55:8-9).

People will look at your situation and be confounded but so too will be the enemy. Oh, it will think it is having its way with you but just as it is on the edge of supposed success, God's endgame will result in the enemy's destruction and your victory, just as was the case for the Israelites who made it safely through the Red Sea.

So if you're in a tight spot that doesn't make sense and the Lord is calling you to do something that makes even less sense, obey. Remember the instruction from Job 22:21 - Agree with God, and be at peace; thereby good will come to you" (ESV). Let God use the foolish things of this world to confound and destroy your enemy - satan - and its evil plans for your life.

Be sure to come back at Noon EST for fellowship. God bless you.

Are You Numb To Evil? - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) June 4, 2024

Dear Christian, stop being desensitized to the evil around you. If you are a believer in Christ then you have been called to be the salt of the world (Luke 14:3). Salt holds back degradation. This is why, till this day, it is used to preserve food and other products from going bad.

You therefore cannot afford to be numb to the wickedness that grows day by day. Sure, the Bible taught that the world will become increasingly wicked and that darkness will grow (Matthew 24:6-8). But this is why Christ called those who believe in Him the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). We are to act as an antidote of sorts. He also said in John 8:12 - When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” The purpose of light is to keep darkness at bay.

And to do this, you must not think that what the devil is doing to steal, to kill, and to destroy is normal. It is not someone else's problem. You cannot shrug your shoulders and never give it another thought.

You must become like those who were spared death in Ezekiel 9. These were individuals in Jerusalem who grieved and lamented over all the detestable things that were taking place in their city (Ezekiel 9:4). God had a mark placed on their foreheads and instructed His killing angels to leave them unharmed while they wiped out everyone else who worshiped other gods and practiced idolatry.

You also need to be like Lot. In 2 Peter 2:7-8, Apostle Peter said that Lot was "a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard).

Dear Believer, the works of satan should stir you to stand as an intercessor and pray. The fervent prayers of the righteous are effective and you should be putting that scripture into effect not just for yourself but for others as well (James 5:16). You should stand as a person who knows the word of God and the power of the Lord, wielding both against the works of satan (Mark 12:24).

You might look at your situation and think you don't have the time to pray about other people's issues. After all, you're struggling and you believe you need all your prayer time to focus on your own problems. That is a lie from the pit of hell and it is best to not agree with the devil because the Word states "Agree with God, and be at peace; thereby good will come to you." (Job 22:21 ESV)

The devil wants you to think you need to only worry about yourself. The devil doesn't want you to be eager to do good to other people. It doesn't want you to share your testimony of God's power in your life. It doesn't want you to break the status quo - the belief that nobody can stand against the tide of evil washing over the world. However, God said in Ezekiel 22:30 - I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one. This is what we have been called to be. You are to be the person God sees and because you bow before Him on behalf of others, He will show them mercy. The person who won't allow satan's desires to be fulfilled on your watch because you know that you have a responsibility to your descendants and future generations of believers to leave them a better legacy.

You should really want to be that person and you can't get there if you are not grieved by the wickedness that runs rampant in this world. You also can't be the salt or the light of this world if you are a part of spreading satan's evil through sin and failure to truly repent and start the walk toward a changed and godly life.

Make the right choice today.

Be sure to read the messages hyperlinked in today's post and learn more from the following:

1. Don't Ignore God's Knowledge

2. Obedience Is Wise

3. Topic: Intercession