Mission Minded: Have a Caring Heart…Both…And.
Daily Devotions based the Sermon from February 7, 2021
THIS WEEK: A Mission-Minded Person Has a Caring Heart!
To neglect the ministry of compassion communicates a callous heart.
To neglect the ministry of salvation communicates an empty Gospel.
Jesus has given us a mission: Preach the Gospel…Make Disciples.
An important part of that mission is caring for the physical needs of people. However, it must never become the priority of the mission.
I have seen the dangers of the Church seeing their main purpose is end world hunger, injustice and suffering in the world. No doubt this communicates a noble cause, but the only end to human suffering is entry into heaven. The only way to enter heaven is through the power of the Gospel message. If all I/we do as individuals or as a church is solve the issues of human suffering, we have done good, but we have failed the mission God has given to us.
I have seen the dangers of the Church neglecting the care and compassion of others who are physically suffering. The church comes across as cold, unloving and hypocritical. This charge is rightly given. To have the love of Jesus and not show that love IS cold, unloving and hypocritical. For if we are unwilling to show we care, the audience and reception of the Gospel is hindered.
So caring for the physical or spiritual of people is not an “either/or” proposition, but a “both/and.”
At the heart of it is a heart that cares. That’s what Jesus has been teaching us this week.
When the Spirit gives me a heart that cares, these two things happen:
- As we have ability and opportunity we will care for the physical needs of people.
1 John 3:17 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth
- As we have ability and opportunity we will care for the spiritual needs of people.
Mark 1:38 But Jesus replied, “We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.”
Jesus did both.
Matthew 9:35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
But he never lost sight of his priority: Saving souls.
Apply: Is your “care” meter out of balance? Do you tend to always care for physical needs and neglect spiritual? Or care for spiritual and neglect physical? Ask the Lord for a heart that cares and wisdom to keep a balance of both with a priority on meeting spiritual needs.
PRAYER: Lord, Jesus thank you for a perfect caring heart that cares for both our physical and spiritual needs. Help us to do both as we carry out your mission. AMEN.
Mission Minded: Have a Caring Heart…Prioritize Spiritual Needs.
Daily Devotions based the Sermon from February 7, 2021
THIS WEEK: A Mission-Minded Person Has a Caring Heart!
Jesus could have spent his whole ministry healing the sick, feeding the hungry or driving out demons.
But he didn’t.
It wasn’t that addressing these needs wasn’t important, it was. Jesus spent a good part of his ministry doing just that…healing the sick, feeding the hungry, and driving out demons. Jesus was concerned about human suffering.
But Jesus knew behind human suffering was a spiritual issue. Directly or indirectly suffering in this world is caused by sin. We are broken people living in a broken world and live in the consequence of that.
So Jesus knew what people really needed was not just PHYSICAL healing, but more importantly SPIRITUAL healing.
Early in Jesus’ ministry, he showed this priority. The setting is Capernaum, on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus and four other disciples are staying there. Peter’s mother-in-law (did you know Peter was married?) was sick with a fever. Jesus was coming off a long day, but he took time to bring healing to Peter’s mother-in-law.
The whole town found out about it and that evening this is what happened:
Mark 1:32 That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33 The whole town gathered at the door, 34 and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.
Jesus saw the opportunity to show his love in a physical tangible way. So he did.
But here’s what happened next.
35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36 Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”
38 But Jesus replied, “We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.” 39 So he traveled throughout the region of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons.
Jesus could have gone back to town and spent the day…the week…the month taking care of the physical needs of the people. But he didn’t. His priority was caring for the spiritual needs of the people. He could have spent his entire three plus years of ministry caring for physical needs and never getting the good news to others. So he did the one without neglecting the other. He solved physical problems, but had a priority to solve spiritual problems.
This priority is important for us to have as well. We could spend all our time, energy, and effort seeking to solve human suffering and challenges and miss the priority of the mission Jesus has given to us: Share the good news that our sins are forgiven.
Jesus was a great healer. He had power to drive out demons. He could feed 1000s with just a little bread and fish. But he didn’t want to be known primarily as the “Great Physician” or the “Master Exorcist” or the “Bread King.” He came to be known as Savior. That was his priority.
Apply: Do you know someone disconnected from Jesus? Maybe there is a physical need you can help fill as you pray that by caring for that need, God will open a door to fill the greater spiritual need.
Prayer: Lord, there are many ways to solve physical problems, but there is only one solution to spiritual problems, and that is you. Help me always keep that as my priority in my own heart and my interactions with others. AMEN.
Mission Minded: Have a Caring Heart…Show People You Care.
Daily Devotions based the Sermon from February 7, 2021
THIS WEEK: A Mission-Minded Person Has a Caring Heart!
“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much your care.”
This phrase is attributed to Theodore Roosevelt, but I heard it from John Maxwell, leadership guru.
The point is, people are more interested in what’s in your heart before their interested in what’s in your head.
We’ve probably all had some experience with this, right?
The coworker or boss that just wants to give you the information for the project but never notices or takes interest in what’s going on in your life.
A classmate who simply wants homework help or answers, but never says, “Hi” or “How are you?” when you pass in the hall way.
A sales person that wants you to have all the details of the car HE wants to sell you without taking time to understand what is important and matters to you.
We’ve done it as Christians too.
We have great information, truth and knowledge that we want people to know, believe and live. With good intention we desire the Holy Spirit to work through the words we share to quickly change the heart of an individual from unbelief to faith.
But instead, they are repulsed.
Why?
Because people don’t care what you know until they know how much you care.
If we are going to gain the right to be heard and have the trust of another person, we must not dump the load of theological truth on them, but rather open our heart to them.
How?
Ask a few questions. “How are you?” “Tell me about your family.” “Did you do anything fun this weekend?” “How is your friend, I know you mentioned they were not doing well?” Etc.
The irony in this?
When we take time to care, people are interested in what we know.
The Apostle Paul put it this way:
1 Corinthians 8:1 We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
So take time to care first and then be ready to share the important knowledge God has given to you.
Care first. Share second.
Apply: Take time today to ask one question of someone you don’t know well that shows genuine interest or concern. Then make sure to listen!
Prayer: Lord, too often I dump information on people that never matters to them because I have forgotten to show love and care first. Help me to see your pattern of caring for people and their physical needs so you would have an opportunity to share the answer to their spiritual needs. AMEN.
Mission Minded: Have a Caring Heart…Change Your Perspective.
Daily Devotions based the Sermon from February 7, 2021
THIS WEEK: A Mission-Minded Person Has a Caring Heart!
I think…no I know…I need to change my perspective.
I need to see things from God’s perspective and understand his purpose.
Maybe you do to.
I get busy. Life gets busy. The day has more tasks than it has hours to accomplish them.
So I ignore it, pretend I didn’t see it, or superficially express concern for it.
I feel I don’t have the time to help the person who has a need in that moment.
I need God’s help to see meeting physical need is part of the mission he has given to me…to us. In fact these needs that I often see as an interruption, are really an invitation…an invitation that God hands me from heaven to take the love he has shown to me and put it into practice in the life of another.
The Apostle John understood and taught this. He was the “disciple whom Jesus loved.” He was the recipient of Jesus’ love. He knew that the love he was shown was not just for him, but for the people God put in his life. In his first letter he wrote:
1 John 3:16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
What I see as an interruption in the use of my material resources, Jesus lays out as an invitation to use a small portion of those resources to help a brother in need.
What I see as an interruption in the tasks and events of my day, is Jesus giving me an invitation to express the love I received from him.
What I see as an interruption that can be solved with a few words or empathetic tone, Jesus invites me to love not just with words, but with actions as I have the resources to do so.
What I see as an interruption, thinking that I can’t do anything anyway, is an invitation to use the physical need to help someone take a step into the truth of God and his love.
What I see as an interruption in my day is an invitation God is giving me to see the power of his love at work in my life and through me in the life of another.
Maybe what I perceive as an interruption is God’s way of making me pause and reminding me how much he has loved me.
Maybe when I begin to see a person with a physical need as an invitation, I will welcome the interruption.
Help me Lord to see things from your perspective and understand your purpose!
Apply: Look for the interruptions in your day today that are God’s invitation to put his love into action.
Prayer: Lord, change my perspective to see the needs of people around me not as an interruption in my day, but as an invitation from you to reflect on your love and to show your love to others. AMEN.
Mission Minded: Have A Caring Heart…The Struggle.
Daily Devotions based the Sermon from February 7, 2021
THIS WEEK: A Mission-Minded Person Has a Caring Heart!
Devotions: Monday February 8, 2021
Mission Minded: Caring Heart: The Struggle
True confession. I struggle.
Every time a conversation about the homeless issue in Austin comes on the radio.
Every time I drive past an intersection with someone begging for “anything helps.”
Every time the phone at church rings and the voice shares a request for money or food help.
Why do I struggle?
Because I’ve been burned.
- Our church in North Carolina was marked in phone books (remember those) in a local hotel so transients would call our church because we had chosen to help someone. It was an “underground” network to communicate to others where you could get a free handout.
- In Minnesota I had a person hand back groceries we had given to her claiming that we weren’t showing the love of Christ because we didn’t give her enough and care for the poor like we should.
- As a kid, I watched my dad give a person money who claimed a hardship story only to follow him to the local liquor store and watch him come out with a supply of booze.
- Watching a documentary on “Moochers” years ago that shows “homeless” people at an intersection “make” a salary of $50,000 or more a year tax free.
Why do I struggle? Because my sinful nature uses these experiences to excuse a callous heart that feels justified in looking the other way to human need. My judgment leads me to believe that many take advantage of the generosity and compassion of others to feed their addictions, laziness, and attitude of entitlement. So I become content to not show compassion and care.
So I struggle when I hear Jesus say:
Matthew 25:34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
Why do I struggle with these words? Because I’ve never seen Jesus in these situations. So I ask like the righteous to whom Jesus was talking:
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
I struggle because Jesus exposes the misdirected attitude of my heart.
We can have a discussion about how best to care for people, or what the real need is, but Jesus points out he desires an attitude of the heart that sees caring for others as an opportunity to care for Jesus.
I’ve missed a lot of opportunities. I need Jesus’ forgiveness. I need his heart of caring and compassion to replace my calloused and closed heart. I need the Spirit to create in me a new heart that may struggle with how to care, but never struggles with a heart to care.
Apply: As you go through your day today, see every opportunity you have to care for others (at home, at work, at school, etc.) as serving Jesus.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for a perfect heart of compassion. Forgive me for missed opportunities and lack of compassion. Lead me to reflect your love to others more and more. AMEN.