Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
I had heard a story many years ago, about a farmer who was ready to harvest all of his crops, but he suddenly fell ill and was bedridden. He was all by himself and had no family at all who could come to his aid. But some of his neighbors finally realized that he was the only farmer in the area who wasn’t out in his field. After finding out what he was dealing with, all of his neighbors came over with their tractors and machines, and harvested all of his fields for him, making sure that everything was put up for the coming winter.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
There are a couple different meanings of the word mercy. One is to be forgiving with others, but it is also the benevolent and compassionate treatment of those who are in pain or in need. When you are filled with this quality, the suffering of others will motivate you to come quickly to their aid, by lending them a helpful hand.
Luke 10:25-37 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
There is suffering all around us in this world. Some people will suffer because of their own rebellion against God, but the suffering that this man had to endure was caused by wicked and evil men, who beat him up. The interesting thing in this parable is that the people you would expect to find reaching out a hand to help this man, ignored him completely, and wouldn’t give him the time of day. Jesus was healing and helping people to grow in their faith, but many of the religious leaders just wanted to find fault with Him. They had become so hard-hearted, that when the Lord healed a man’s hand, they wanted to destroy him.
Mark 3:1-6 And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.
Remember that there are two different types of suffering. The people of Egypt suffered with plagues and pestilence which directly resulted as the punishments of God. But other people suffer at the hands of the wicked. Some people have the finances available to show compassion to those in need, but rather than coming to their aid, they do nothing at all.
Luke 16:19-25 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;.And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
This is one of the reasons why the love of money is the root of all evil, because rather than using their wealth to help others in need, they refuse to show any compassion to them at all.
1 John 3:17-18 But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
Although God is going to punish the impenitent, His compassion and mercy abides on those who fear Him.
Psalms 103:11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
Scriptures teach about a woman who feared God greatly, and because of this, she was mercifully healed from her plague.
Mark 5:25-34 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?.And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.
There is so much suffering in this world, and a Christian is supposed to show compassion to those who are in need. All of the kind and merciful acts that Jesus did, could never be contained in all of the books ever written, and this is a Divine quality that we must be quick to display to others around us. Do you exemplify compassion in your life? Are you the kind of person who is ready to reach out to the needs of others, by……
……..Lending a Helpful Hand
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.❤️
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