Having Bible knowledge and understanding is great, however if the scriptures are not living and active in our lives, it is all in vain (Hebrews 4:12-13). The life application selections contain thoughts provoking, real life challenges that will prayerfully transform us to be more like Jesus in our spiritual journey. James 1:23-27 challenges us to not just merely listen or read the scriptures, it says “But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” Do not miss your blessings my friends!
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
Matthew 5:5, “blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth” (NIV). Proverbs 18:12, “Before destruction the heart of man is haughty; And before honor goeth humility” (ASV). What is humility? Jesus taught us what humility looks like in the eyes of God. Philippians 2:6-8 reminded us “Though he was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God something to be possessed by force. On the contrary, he emptied himself, in that he took the form of a slave by becoming like human beings are. And when he appeared as a human being, he humbled himself still more by becoming obedient even to death —death on a stake as a criminal! (CJB)”. If you have read previous devotionals I have written, you will hear me often say that I love how Jesus never asks us to do anything that he himself has not modeled for us as we are striving to walk in his legacy as our savior and Lord.
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
How do you clothe yourself with kindness in a world where kindness is often taken for granted or sometimes seen as weakness? Growing up I recall a few people that God had allowed to show kindness to me even though I had no blood relation to them. There is one woman in particular whom God used to teach me what it is like to be loved by a mother figure as a young child when I was desperately seeking maternal love. To my amazement, she was not doing it to gain any recognition or reward but simply had a deep genuine ‘moral excellence’ toward my wellbeing. In Hebrew-Greek the word Kindness is chrestotes which derives from the word Chrestos. They described the word as “usefulness, moral excellence (in character or demeanor)-Gentleness, goodness, kindness (Key-Word Study Bible). Webster dictionary described kindness as “the quality or state of being kind.”
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
What does it look like as a follower of Jesus Christ to clothe myself with compassion? Jesus during his ministry demonstrated the definition of compassion for us to follow as he interacted with people. Jesus learned from God, his father, how essential compassion was to his ministry (Isaiah 49:15, Exodus 33:19, etc.). Throughout the Gospel, Jesus showed the difference between empathy, feeling compassionate and showing compassion which are similar but different. According to the Webster dictionary, empathy refers to an active sharing in someone’s emotional experience, but compassion takes empathy a step further by having the desire to alleviate the person's distress. The hardest part for me is having the desire to alleviate the person's distress and feeling helpless because having a desire doesn't mean you are able to alleviate the person's struggle. In Matthew 19:16-22, Jesus’ empathy toward the young man was genuine but his desire to set him free was not successful because the young man’s wealth was his idol and security. Knowing that Jesus came to seek and save the lost, he must have felt heartache when the young man went away sad. Jesus’s compassion was evident, but he was not able to execute his desire to relieve the spiritual suffering of the young man. The young man had to have an open heart and mind to receive the compassion offered by Jesus. In my own walk with Jesus, I am learning my desire to help people through my empathy and compassion for them may not be possible. In my feeling of helplessness, I often find myself frustrated asking God the why questions and wishing he would allow me to do more. God, through Jesus Christ, reminds me that nothing happens outside of the will of God. He, Jehovah, orders every step (Ephesians 1:11). Maturity in Jesus Christ can only come through believing that God’s Words are spirit and life (John 6:63). Therefore, even the worst scenarios are in his hand. “The Lord works out everything to its proper end— even the wicked for a day of disaster (Proverbs 16:4).” Studying the word compassion has helped me realize how important it is to not merely read the scripture but “…pay attention to it, as a light shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your heart” (2 Peter 1:19).
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
If you have been receiving the ministry’s weekly reflection, you will notice a shift for the months of June and July. As guided by God’s Holy Spirit, we will be focusing on what it means to be clothed with Jesus by putting into practice the attributes listed in Colossians 3:12 as we are striving or seeking to be like Jesus in our Christian/Discipleship journey. My prayer the past few years has been about asking God to clothe me with Jesus so that I can love like he did as his daughter. You notice I did not say trying! According to Webster dictionary, trying is defined as "to make an attempt at" or "to put to test or trial." The word striving in contrast is defined as "to devote serious effort or energy." Although we know as long as we are on this earth, we will not reach our full perfection (2 Corinthians 5:1-5), nonetheless Jesus calls us to strive to live a life that mirrors the perfection of our heavenly Father. "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Mathew 5:48). In 1Peter 1:16, the apostle is reminding us that it is a command to pursue/strive for holiness like God our Father. "Be holy as I am." In our Christian journey, trying is not an option but striving to win the eternal crown is an expectation to become victorious at the end of this earth. Revelation 21:7-8, "Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children."
The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
What is our role as a helper in the life of a man? I read a commentary that was shared from the Key Bible Verses series that said, “The term does not imply that the helper is either stronger or weaker than the one helped.” They further stated that, “a wife is not her husband’s clone but complements him.” As noted by Herbert Lockyer in his book about all women in the Bible, throughout history men have used the word helper as an inferior word to mistreat women in their pride and ignorance. Our enemy used what God has created to fulfill his excellency to shame and mistreat God’s daughters.
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
Life is a race! Which race are you running in? As I meditate on the first question that Apostle Paul asked in verse 24, it brought me to Mathew chapter 7:13-14 when Jesus made it clear there are two roads that every person must choose from. The narrow gate according to Jesus leads to life and wide gate leads to destruction. Are we running with the crowd toward the wide gate? Let's be honest! The wide gate oftentimes seems much more appealing which is Satan's plan so that he draws us to him. When we choose to run toward the wide road, we create our own destiny. We have no regard for others besides our goals and accomplishments. Our success and accomplishment are driven and focused on how the system or people within your circle define you. In the eyes of the world, you might be viewed as a smart, powerful, independent thinker, role model, successful and free spirit to do what you want. We thrive to earn the praises of men even when we know it goes against truth and often our conscience.
