Making A Difference…

Scripture

Jude 20-25 KJV

20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, 21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. 22 And of some have compassion, making a difference: 23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. 24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, 25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

Conversation

When I read this scripture, I am overwhelmed. It is apparent that we are to make a difference through compassion. However, compassion is not typically a word that we use much less live. Jesus compassion was exhibited the most when there were multitudes of people involved. He had compassion on the 5,000, 4,000 the sick, lame, and blind.

How much compassion do we have today?

When we look at the multitude of people who are lost without a Shepherd do we have compassion for them or contempt?

If we are going to make a difference in our society, we have got to have compassion. Not just any compassion but the compassion of Jesus. We must be able to stand firm in our faith, pray in the Holy Ghost, keep ourselves in the love of God, and look for the mercy of Jesus. These all make up the compassion that Jesus displayed…He made a difference in the lives of those He came in contact with. He was not afraid to touch them and mingle with the people…We, however, want to stay away from the sinner as if to say: “I do not want to get dirty”.

Nonetheless, when we adopt this attitude, we are not trusting God with His own word. When we allow the compassion of Jesus to operate in our lives, He fulfills His promise to keep us from falling. Yeah, read it again verse 24, He is able to keep us from falling to the point that we can reach into the spiritual realm and snatch them out of the fiery flames of a life consumed with indulging in the flesh.

Are we making that kind of a difference in the life of anyone?

Today’s Thought 01/16/2008

John 21:17 KJV
He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

In the midst of dealing with guilt, remorse, grief, and anguish Peter is being asked in series one very important question. Jesus is asking him do you love me? Peter had failed Jesus in that he denied Jesus in front of others when he had vehemently said he would not. The great thing about Jesus is He will ask us if we love Him right in the middle of our failure…Right in the middle of our dilemma…Right in the middle of our anguish. Our answer should be as Peters, You know I love you. Today, right in the middle of your hell Jesus wants to know if you love Him because He loves you in spite of what you are doing or going through.

The finality of this type of intimate relationship is the end result…We are changed into a person who has a message that has the capacity to feed someone else. Rest assured that when that moment was over, Peter was not the same. He had an encounter with Jesus that forever changed the way he walked. So much so, that he eventually became so in tune with the Spirit that his shadow was more powerful than our most spirited service. The question we each have to answer is this…What am I doing with the single most powerful, life altering message?

Written by: Stephen Cochran