psalm 103... an Easter perspective... part ten...

A dozen verses behind us... ten to go... looking into Psalm 103... from the vantage of Easter...

As a father has compassion on his children,

so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;

for he knows how we are formed,

he remembers we are dust.

Psalm 103:13-14

God the Creator... like a Father...

has compassion... on all His creatures...

compassion... sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it...

---Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (11th Ed.) 

He not only desires to alleviate our distress...

He has the POWER to do it...!

That's why He sent His Son...

to live... die... rise...

so we might not suffer for our sins...

He longs to save...!

...God our Savior... desires all people to be saved

and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

1 Timothy 2:3-4 ESV

Yet... again... we see fear of the Lord...

as the key to receiving... experiencing... His compassion...

Those who fear... accept Jesus as Lord...

and through faith... become children of God...

For you are all children of God

through faith in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:26 NLT

Through Jesus... we receive sonship in the Kingdom of God...

As Father... Creator... 

He knows how we are formed...

dust... dirt... debris...

Not only does He know how we are made...

He came down... to be made Himself...

take the form of... dust... dirt... debris...

[Christ Jesus] made himself nothing,

taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

Philippians 2:7

It's one thing to know how something is made...

it's another altogether to become one yourself...

especially when you are the One who made all things...!

Post-cross... 

Post-resurrection...

His compassion is experiential... 

He experienced Himself... 

fatigue...

hunger...

temptation... 

doubt... 

anguish... 

rejection...

betrayal...

persecution...

death...

He who is...

eternal...

omnipotent...

pure...

holy... 

omniscient...

experienced... all His creatures experience...

He has compassion... because He knows...

He has compassion... because He knows we can't...

His compassion... seen... lived out... on the cross...

And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself and became obedient to death ---

even death on a cross!

Philippians 2:8

Father...

Creator...

Judge...

Man...

Sacrifice...

Savior...

He knows...

He remembers...

He pours out compassion...

on those who fear Him...

Your compassion... beyond words...

thank You... thank You...

praise the Lord... O... my soul...

psalm 103... an Easter perspective... part seven...

Seven day's into looking at Psalm 103 from an Easter perspective...
what more can we see of Him...?

The Lord is compassionate and gracious,

slow to anger, abounding in love.

Psalm 103:8

Jesus... the embodiment of God's compassion and grace... His patience... His love...

Father God couldn't bear to see His creatures... those He made in His image... suffer... die... under penalty of sin...

He sent His own Son...

to reveal His love...

walk out His compassion...

pour out His grace...

healing... loving... forgiving...

all the way to the cross...

His slowness of anger... seen in Jesus...

Hundreds... thousands... of years...

spent bearing agony... while retaining affection*...

waiting for the perfect time...

the fullness of time...

for Christ to come... and pay the price for our sin...

a price we could not bear...

But when the fullness of time had come,

God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,

to redeem those who were under the law,

so that we might receive adoption as sons.

Galatians 4:4-5 ESV

He stooped low... that we might be lifted up high...

His abounding love... revealed still...

in the awaiting return of His Son...

to set things right...

to fix them...

the way they were meant to be...

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise,

as some understand slowness. He is patient with you,

not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone

to come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:9

God loves the world...

not wanting any to be lost...

He sent His Son...

not to condemn... but to save...

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,

that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have

eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world

to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ..."

John 3:16-17

Compassionate...

gracious...

patient...

abounding in love...

that is God...

embodied in Jesus...

Father God... thank You for bearing with Your creation...

Teach me to appreciate... but not take for granted... Your patience...

Enable me to receive Your love and grace... with humility...

Thankful... ready... willing to share Your love with others...

*Note... This idea... these words... came from Timothy Keller... writing about our loving Father... expounding on the parable most often referred to as The Prodigal Son... in his book...  The Prodigal God...

Ordinarily when our love is rejected we get angry, retaliate, and do what we can to diminish our affection for the rejecting person, so we won't hurt so much. But this father maintains affection for his son and bears the agony.

---Timothy Keller, The Prodigal God (my emphasis)

This picture of God's loving patience... has stuck with me... grateful for His patience... I strive to live the same... maintaining affection... bearing the agony... with those who reject me...

psalm 103... an Easter perspective... part three...

Continuing the journey through Psalm 103... as seen through Easter...

Praise the Lord, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits...

...who redeems your life from the pit

and crowns you with love and compassion...

Psalm 103:2, 4

Jesus... the Lamb of God... the perfect sacrifice of atonement... redeems our lives from the pit...

Pit... in this case... when looked at in the Hebrew... is the grave...

Because He chose to bear the crown of thorns...

we are blessed with a crown of love and compassion...

Because He chose to bear the burden of our sin...

we no longer are doomed for the pit of death...

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin,

so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV

Lord Jesus... You are my Redeemer...

I praise You for Your love and compassion...

a undeserved blessing of grace...

more thoughts from the summit... love...

Those two days last week... filled me with so much... to think about... review...

I look back over Summit notes... and find... the five loves...

This speaker took a verse... one I've prayed... and known for years... but only saw as two loves... aspired to the first because I believe the second will follow when we do the first...

"'... Love the Lord your God with all your heart

and with all your soul

and with all your mind

and with all your strength.'

The second is this:

'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

There is no commandment greater than these."

Mark 12:30-31 NIV

1) Love God with all your heart. A matter of character.

2) Love God with all your soul. A matter of conviction.

3) Love God with all your mind. A matter of comprehension. Understanding God. 

4) Love God with all your strength. A matter of competence. Be excellent.

5) Love your neighbor as yourself. A matter of compassion.

Loving God four ways... and loving neighbors...

A great new way for me to approach this verse I pray... practical ways to love... and check my growth... on how I am loving...

Character...
Conviction...
Comprehension...
Competence...
Compassion...

Intentional... practical... love...

whew...

Another Summit... a day spent absorbing world-class leadership training...

The message... it pierces the heart... with...
conviction...
encouragement...
inspiration...

My heart hears...
You cannot stay quiet...
Compassion... an inviolable value...
Get over self-consciousness...
This is not about me...
Pour it out...
Do not be a poser...

All delivered... in an atmosphere of grace... and love...

The resounding reminder...

Be strong and courageous. 

Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged,

for the Lord your God

will be with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:9 NIV

All a much needed reminder...

Whew... there's another day tomorrow...

Lord... make room in my heart... mind... will... for MORE...

do not allow me... to go away... unchanged...

gracious glimpses... of His compassion...

After recent thoughts on failure to offer compassion... this morning in the quiet... when I came to Paul's words to Timothy... I completely identified... took them as my own...

The saying is sure and true and worthy of full and universal acceptance, that Christ Jesus (the Messiah) came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am foremost.

1 Timothy 1:15 Amp

(my emphasis)

Yes... that's me... the worst...

And I went about the rest of my early morning routine... and it was there... on my treadmill... that God revealed... His compassion... toward me...

A note of compassion... passed through my treadmill read...

Years earlier, when I was still a teenager, I came home to discover that my mother had been in a horrible car accident. I couldn't even drive yet and called a taxi to get to the hospital. I don't remember the first thing about the ride there. ... What I do remember is sitting and crying alone outside the waiting room, as my mother was still in intensive care.

Three women across the family waiting room whispered behind their hands to one another as they furtively continued to glace my way. My mother was in a very bad way, near death, and obviously the news had traveled the floor. Suddenly a different woman approached me. "Is that your mother in there?" she asked. I guess no other details were necessary as I nodded and wiped my sodden face. She walked away and in a short amount of time reappeared, opened a new box of tissues, and passed them to me. Then she patted me on the shoulder, leaned over, and whispered, "Don't worry now. Your mother is going to be all right." 

An angel? No, I don't think so. I think it was just a stranger who had decided the bubble of her world could be broken. That she could cross that crazy, invisible line that seems to hold us back, separate us from one another. In looking back on that moment, there is no question in my mind that the other three women, glancing and whispering behind their hands, were equally sorry for me but they chose to stay in the safety of their private worlds.

These memories remind me that sometimes a simple word, a gentle touch, is worth the trouble. That moving out of the skin of my comfort zone is worth the momentary risk.

---River Jordan, Praying for Strangers 

He tells me... I'm not the worst... and I'm not alone...

All broken people struggle...

And I remember... just yesterday... in the study with sisters... we talked about the importance of sharing our failures... fears... faults... with others...

Testimony... speaking truth in love... it eliminates loneliness... it is a form of compassion...

I hear a word... of encouragement... to step out... and a reminder that I am not alone...

The writer she goes on to say...

I am thinking that our lives will be traced back to the moments where we were selfless. Where we took time to offer a kind word or a listening ear. I'm just thinking that someday it's all going to matter very much.

I don't want to be the one held back by fear... self-consciousness... I want to do what really matters... to Him... for Him...

Lord... thank You for this word of encouragement... this glimpse of Your compassion... help me to remember Your greatest gift of mercy... Your work on the cross... remind me... that You ask me... to do no less than You did for me...

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ,

if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit,

if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete

by being like-minded, having the same love, 

being one in spirit and purpose. 

Philippians 2:1-2

self-consciousness... a stumbling block to compassion...

To be self-conscious... is to be self-centered... all thoughts revolving first around... self...

To be compassionate... is to be... self-less... thinking of others needs first...

Me... I allow self to hinder... compassion...

What will it cost me...? to step into their mess...?

What will they think of me...? to enter a mess that's not mine...?

And possibly the most perverted thought process... assuming the one in need... possesses my own self-absorbed nature... 

Will they be self-conscious if I notice their mess...? offer help...? 

Will I hurt their feelings...? make them uncomfortable...?

My self-centeredness... leads me to worry about others... self-centeredness... in a most compassionate way...!?!

Lies... Lies...

Jesus... He came sans self... no self-consciousness... only God-the-Father-consciousness... undistracted by the many voices in the world... the liars...

He only allowed the Father's voice... the compassionate gracious God... to prevail...

His greatest act of compassion... the cross... caused Him to sweat blood... in anticipation... He even prayed... for another way...

But in the end... He surrendered... trusting... knowing... there is no other way...

The believer's calling is to think and feel and will just what Jesus thought and felt and willed. He desires to be partaker, not only of the grace, but also of the holiness of his Lord; or rather, he sees that holiness is the chief beauty of grace. To live the life of Christ means to him to be delivered from the life of self; the will of Christ is to him the only path of liberty from the slavery of his own evil self-will.

---Andrew Murray on Prayer, Abide in Christ (emphasis added) 

Acts of compassion... are followed through without regard to self... no turning back...

That is why Jesus says...

"No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back 

is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

Luke 9:62

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself 

and take up his cross and follow me. ..."

Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23

"...The man who loves his life will lose it, 

while the man who hates his life in this world 

will keep it for eternal life. ..."

John 12:25

I look back... and see an uncertain row... filled with gaps... an unfit furrow... too many times... the hands... have left the plow... the cross... dropped at the crossroads... a life loved... too much...

My failures... to act... react... offer... compassion... make me hate my life... 

Lord... make me fit... for service in the Kingdom...

Deliver me from the life of self...

Teach me... to walk Your way...