Is There Any Hope For The Most Evil Person On Earth? Jonah 4:2

Is there any hope if you are the most wicked person on earth?  The Bible suggests there is.

"He prayed to the LORD, "Isn't this what I said, LORD, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity." Jonah 4:2.

A LITTLE BACKGROUND:
The people of ancient Nineveh were wicked and evil to a degree that rivals or surpasses the worst of today's standards.  Jonah was commissioned by God to preach a message of impending destruction and proclaim God's judgment against the people of Nineveh, but Jonah chose to reject God and go another direction.  After he was swallowed by the fish he repented, and the Lord brought him to Nineveh, and preached the warning message God gave him.  The people repented and God did not destroy the city.

Jonah experienced God's compassion and mercy, so he knew personally that God is a wonderful, loving, and forgiving God.

A GRACIOUS AND COMPASSIONATE GOD
Jonah puts two beautiful words together to describe God; first that the Lord is gracious, and to be gracious is to give favor to those who do not deserve it or to show kindness when it is in your power and right to withhold it.

The second was that the Lord is compassionate.  Compassion is to give aid, comfort, and empathetic understanding to those who are suffering.

Both grace and compassion are acts of the one who is in authority or has power over another one who is unworthy to receive grace or compassion.

SLOW TO ANGER
God must be slow to anger; we are each of us living evidence to His patience because if He was quick to execute judgment each of us would have come to our end long ago.

Jonah should have been grateful that the Lord is slow to anger because he himself had disobeyed and was the object of God's judgment.  Even then God was holding back since God's wrath could have been far worse than a stormy sea and ingestion by a fish.

ABOUNDING IN LOVE
God is not only loving but He is abounding in love, His love is beyond boundaries, and past all measures.  He shows compassion and mercy countless of times to each of the earth's billions of souls every day- that is love which cannot be measured.

A GOD WHO RELENTS FROM SENDING CALAMITY
God may is swayed by our repentance.  It is like He favors forgiveness as if all else were equal He would go with the forgiveness.

The people of Nineveh heard God's message, they repented of their sin and turned to God, so they were spared.  The Gospel promises the same for each of us

To learn more about how you can find complete forgiveness for all your sins see my other post.

(c) Adron 6/3/15

How Should Christians Behave Toward Those Who Oppose The Gospel?

Our world is in such a mess and the morals of our society are getting worse all the time. How should we act toward those who are against God's message of love and even want to do away with the things Christians cherish? The Bible gives direction in Titus 6:2

"To slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always be gentle toward everyone." Titus 3:2.  

These words were written by the apostle Paul during in the days of Roman persecution.

SLANDER
In ancient times and in places today people of faith were and are persecuted. There is a temptation to decry those who persecute others for their beliefs. It would have been easy for the faithful under Roman oppression to speak against the rulers who oppressed them. It is just as easy to look at our leaders today and say bad things about the people who are shaping our society.

Paul the apostle said do not slander or speak evil of those leaders even if they are oppressors. We should not speak ill of our leaders even if they are enacting laws that we feel are wrong.

PEACEABLE
Our Lord Jesus came with a gospel of peace between God and Man and a message of brotherly love: it is redundant to say we should be peaceable, but unfortunately, we need the reminder. The believers under Rome were victims of grievous wrongs but they were not to seek revenge and were to leave justice to the Almighty One.

Jesus said as much when on the sermon on the mount taught that if someone were to strike you on one cheek to turn the other for them to strike it too, (Matthew 5:39).

CONSIDERATE
To be considerate is to put another's interest ahead of your own; it is to see someone else's point of view and to understand their need or pain. It is brother to compassion. We are to walk in the way of Jesus who was compassionate. He was aware of people's pain and weaknesses and was thoughtful of them. He did not condemn but understood and acted for them

GENTLE
"Gentle toward everyone" is a broad statement that leaves no one out. We are to be gentle to our friends and brothers in faith but we also should be gentle to those who hate Jesus and do not believe in God. We are to be gentle to the people who oppose the message of God's love.

HOW
Where does one get the power to live in such a gracious manner in this wicked world? It comes from having Jesus living his life in you.  To learn more about how to have Jesus in your life see my other blog.

(c)Adron Dozat 10/30/13

Is God All About Controlling People?

The way people talk, you think God was just looking for someone having fun and yelling, "Cut that out, obey my commandments, and just behave nicely." Is that our Heavenly Father?

The Bible actually says:
"The Lord is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to everyone, he shows compassion on his creation." Psalm 145:8-9.

MERCY
Mercy is an action. It is the act of showing kindness when it is in your power to do harm. We are all in The Lord's power. He is our creator, and he sustains our existence. He has the power to command storms, earthquakes, nations, and the movement of stars.

We are at His mercy since we have done things that offend him. We are in His power since he is the Holy Sinless One, and He has the right to demand that standard on his creation.

COMPASSION
God is full of compassion; compassion is to act out of mercy but with affection and sympathy. It understands the suffering of the one who is receiving mercy. His understanding of our struggles and hurts leads Him to compassion.

SLOW TO ANGER
Many have the hardest time with this. Those who think God does not get angry are wrong- He does get angry, just very slowly. Our Heavenly Father is slow to anger because He is merciful, compassionate, and loving.

Because He is slow to anger does not mean it won't come someday. Do not gamble on the patience of the Lord.

RICH IN LOVE
To be rich is to have a lot of something by comparison. God has a love that is so abundant over what we have for one another that it is beyond measure. His love is rich because...

     * He loves all people who ever lived or will live.
     * He loves those who do not return His love.
     * He loves those who hate him.
     * He loves the ugliest and evil person.
     * He loves no matter who we are or what we have done.
     * He loves the people who have done nothing to deserve love.

He loves so much that he "gave his only son so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16.

GOOD TO EVERYONE
He does good for all people. He gives us air to breathe and food to eat. He gives us shelter and family, and love. He gives the blessings we enjoy every day. The sunshine, spring flowers, and winter snows are his ways of being good to us and more blessings than we could ever list.

He is worth knowing and obeying. If you want to know more about coming to Him who is merciful, compassionate, patient, and love, then click on this link.

Thank you for visiting and reading my blog. I sincerely hope this post is helpful and encouraging.  For more like this, see the most popular post in the sidebar, or use the search box above.

(c) Adron 7/31/13

What Do We Need From God? Psalm 103:8

We need God to be righteous, all-powerful, all-wise, and those other lofty theological truths, but is there one thing above all else we need from God?

"The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love." Psalm 103:8. NIV.

COMPASSION

Compassion is merciful, tender, understanding, and sympathetic. Compassion takes the other person's situation to heart, and with consideration, purposefully cares and intentionally acts on the other's behalf.

GRACIOUS

Grace brings compassion into action. To say that the Lord is "gracious" is to say God acts out His love in kindness and good to someone who does not deserve it.

SLOW TO ANGER

We would be in trouble if God had a short temper. Our sins all add up to a dreadful stench before His Holy nature. If God was only righteousness, He would have condemned us long ago, but thankfully He is "slow to anger."

Being slow to anger does not mean he never gets angry- He does. We should not presume on the slowness of God's anger, for His wrath is great indeed.  His slowness is to allow us to turn to him.

ABOUNDING IN LOVE

The Lord's love is beyond measure and too vast to comprehend. His love is like an ocean that would flood over the highest mountains. His love is bigger than any problem you may have, and his love is bigger than any sin we may have done.

FAR FROM LOVE

We sometimes feel far from that God of compassion.  He has never left us, but we may have distanced ourselves from him by rebellion, sin, apathy, or we let other things crowd out our relationship with Him.  We must remember God, pray, repent, and return to God who has abounding Love.

We need the God of Love.  If you do not have a relationship with God through His Son, Jesus, who died for our sins and rose again in triumph, then you can't appreciate or possess this God; but only a fearful prospect that you might have worn out his patience and may receive his anger.  Only those who have received salvation by faith in Jesus and what he did for us can truly appreciate God's, wonderful love.

(c) Adron 7/7/13

Does Jesus See My Needs?

We have needs that go on unfilled, needs like love, forgiveness, freedom from guilt and a need for hope.  Does Jesus know- does he care?

"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." Matthew 9:36, NIV.

CROWDS
The first words tell it all. "When He saw the crowds..." He sees. He is looking in a way that is thoughtful of us. When Jesus saw the crowds he saw the individuals in an intimate, understanding and knowing way.

We may not have been there that day but we are all alike; we are hungry for something in our lives and want to find meaning, purpose, God, hope, and comfort for our souls. No matter how many we are he cares for each of us.

COMPASSION
Jesus lived a life that was full of emotion. He felt compassion for the crowds. The religious leaders of his day had no feeling for the crowds, they sought their own benefit. Jesus cares for each one in the crowd. He sees our need and sets it ahead of his own.

HARASSED
We are harassed today by guilt and sin. We are victims of people who should love us or who are malicious. Our world promises peace and prosperity and we chase the dream of happiness but are disappointed. We look for hope and chase after one promise of happiness to the next.  We are harassed by our own longings and desires. We cannot escape our sins or purge our guilt.

SHEPHERD
Jesus is the shepherd who has compassion on us. He knows our need and he acts. Compassion is not just feeling it is a feeling that leads to action. Jesus is the shepherd who gave his life for the sheep* and he arose from the tomb to be the one who gives victory and assurance of the permanence and power of his love for us.

Jesus came to meet our greatest need- the need for forgiveness from our sins and to be brought back to God. When we come to him we begin a new life in him; some of our needs are resolved and some others we must wait until he finishes working in us.

Feelings may lead us astray and though we may not feel it the facts are that Jesus meets all of our deepest needs.

To learn more about having a new life in Jesus follow this link: Click Here.

*John 10:11

(c)Adron Dozat

How To Handle Hard Times, James 5:11

Sometimes things are too hard and we just want to give up. We wonder if there is any good in our going on.

"As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance, and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy." James 5:11, NIV.

PERSEVERE
To persevere is to endure a time of trial or test without compromising or giving up. It means to not turn away from the course but to keep moving ahead, and it is to remain constant no matter how big the obstacle or daunting the test.

JOB
The story of Job tells how he was tested and experienced one disaster after another. First, he lost his possessions, next he lost his family, and then his health.  His friends came and misunderstood his righteous stand of being faithful to God. After his time of testing, he was rewarded with greater blessing than he had before.

THE LORD
He is not just God the creator of everything he is the Lord, the one who rules and commands all. His word is obeyed by angels and even demons. The test Job went through did as much to show the nature of God as it showed Job's character, and in it, we see God is full of compassion and mercy, not just a little but all of God contains these qualities of his loving goodness.

COMPASSION
God sees our struggles through and he cares, he is understanding and has sympathy for all we are going through. He not only cares but he acts, his compassion is not just a good feeling of love and well-wishing it takes action for our benefit.

MERCY
The Lord has mercy. He gives good to those who cannot obtain it, or even do not deserve it. He is forgiving and kind. He gives aid. We are in his power since he is supreme and he exercises his power for our good.

DON'T GIVE UP
Don't give up on the Lord. If you give up it is not just that the bad situation wins but that we are making a statement that we do not believe the Lord will come through. Do not forget the Lord brought about blessings and good in the life of Job. When we are tempted to give up and turn away from doing right we must remember that our God, the Lord Almighty, is compassionate and merciful toward us.

To Learn more about finding God's mercy in your life read my other blog at this link: Click Here.

(c) Adron Dozat

Does God Care When You Feel Alone?

Sometimes we feel alone in our struggles as if no one sees and no one cares. We wish someone will come alongside to give support.

"Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him." Isaiah 30:18, NIV.

This verse is taken from the Bible where The Lord describes future judgment, and then in the middle of doom and woe he says, 'yet...' it is a turning point where the heart of God shines through to give comfort and hope. Though his people have sinned and rebelled, "Yet the Lord longs to be gracious."  We cannot excuse sin and wrongs but in life's mess, but we can know that God longs to be gracious to us.

LONGS
To long for something is deeper than just a desire. It fills up your thoughts until everything else is pushed out; it is "a heart-deep preoccupation," or even an obsession. It is wonderful that God longs this way to be gracious to each of us.

GRACIOUS
One may see gracious as the forgiving kindness of God to those who are far from him. When God is gracious he is giving mercy to those who do not deserve it and love to those who are lost from love.

RISES
The Almighty is never complacent. From his heavenly throne he "rises" to show us compassion. Ancient kings always sat, you did not want to be in the room if the situation called for the king to stand up- it meant war or death. God doesn't just sit in heaven wallowing in mushy feelings- he acts.

COMPASSION
Compassion here seems to be love-inspired acts of kindness to those who are helpless. Who isn't helpless in some way? We all have hurt, or guilt, or have experienced injustice, but God longs to be gracious and compassionate to us.

WAIT
Many find it hard to apply faith in some situations; we may hurt too much, or face high mountains of difficulty. This verse ends with an encouragement, "Blessed are all who wait for him." The ancient passage quoted above may have referred to a coming Messiah, but we wait daily for victories small and great. We wait for the Lord to reveal himself in a situation, we wait for the Lord to answer prayer, and we wait for him to deliver us from a situation. We must not give up on God we must continue to hold on in faith; and according to the above promise, we will be blessed.

To learn more about finding God see my other post follow this link: Click Here.

(c)Adron Dozat 3/6/13

Who is Too Dirty For Jesus? Matthew 8:3

We might feel like we have done the unforgivable and we will never be acceptable again. We may ask, "Will we ever feel the loving touch again?"

"Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. 'I am willing.' he said. 'Be clean!' Immediately he was cured of his leprosy." Matthew 8:3, NIV.

LEPROSY
In this passage, a man with leprosy kneels before Jesus and says, "Lord, if you are willing you can make me clean." Everyone knows what horrible disease leprosy is; it is highly contagious, and the afflicted were outcasts who were pelted with stones if they approached another person. Leprosy was often used to typify sin and sin's punishment, this symbolism was an additional stigma carried by the afflicted persons.

THE LEPER
He was a lonely, outcast, and estranged from society, but he comes and kneels before Jesus and expresses his faith in the Lord to have the ability to heal him. One wonders, did he intend to question Jesus' willingness to heal him? His words, "If you are willing." almost sounds sarcastic- or was he referring to the teaching that leprosy implied sin's punishment, which meant he was a sinner.

It was more, it was an act of faith; he believed in Jesus' power to heal, so he says, "If you are willing."

JESUS
Jesus is willing. "Jesus reached out his hand," and touched him on purpose; he did not accidentally brush him, but really reached out and touched the man. This man had not been touched by another person in who knows how long, and now he is touched by Jesus.

You can almost hear the crowd gasp today. A rabbi would never touch a person who was unclean, and a sensible person would never touch a leper. Yet in love, Jesus tosses that aside.

WE NEED HIS TOUCH
How much did that touch communicate to the leprous man? Love, acceptance, validation, worth, and emotional healing were all in that gentle touch. We all have pain and affliction, we have sorrow and hurt, many of us face dreadful situations that have scarred us, but Jesus is willing to heal, comfort, and love. We do not fully understand why we suffer but we know he is as grieved by our sorrows as we are. In the darkest depths of our woes, we find how high are the heights of His Love. We need to come to Jesus, kneel, and say, "Lord, I know you can perform a miracle in this situation." Jesus is willing.

(c)Adron Dozat

We Should Not Fear God Psalm 86:15

Some people think of God as a big mean grouch on a throne commanding all kinds of "you shall not do this or that," and then threatening us with fire, lightning, and thunder.

"But Thou, O, Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth." Psalms 86:15, KJV.

KILLJOY

It is wrong to think God is a Killjoy

The idea that God is a killjoy is as wrong as it can get.  The Bible teaches we should fear God but it should be for the right reasons- that we truly know and understand him.  God loves us and sent his Son to open the way to know his love.  Jesus said, "I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full." John 10:10, NIV.

COMPASSION
God doesn't just have a little compassion, grace, and mercy; he is full of compassion, grace, and mercy.  All his actions and thoughts toward us are abounding with long-suffering and truth. His thoughts toward us are guided by grace and mercy.  There is no place in him for caprice, falsehood, cruelty, evil, or any such thing.

     * Compassion: He understands with empathy all we suffer and go through.
     * Grace: He is always giving us air to breathe and forbears our daily sins against him.
     * Long-suffering: He endures our rebellion against him and the injuries we do to others.
     * Mercy: He offers salvation that is free since he did the work for us by dying on the cross to pay for our sins.  Then gives us a new life in a relationship with Him. He gives us daily cleansing of our sins, (we are responsible to repent and to turn from our sins).
     * Truth. He knows the truth about each one of us. He knows our disappointments, hurts, sorrows, losses, our bereavements, our wickedness, evil, and our sin; yet being so full of compassion and mercy he offers salvation in Jesus.

GOD'S LOVE REVEALED
He fully expresses himself in sending Jesus, who was full of compassion for the suffering, gracious to the sorrowful sinners, patient with the foolish disciples, and was truly in the flesh for he said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life no one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6, NIV.

LOVE
God is love and he wants us to know Him through His love for us.  He gives us a free will and it entails the freedom to reject him and choose to believe a falsehood about ourselves, the world, and him. To receive his love is to receive Him and his heaven. Everything outside God's love is darkness and loneliness. Choose his love, choose Jesus.

If you want to know more about choosing God's love for your life follow this link: click here for my other blog.

(c) Adron 4/26/12

Finding Acceptance : Romans 15:7

One of mankind’s deepest desires is to be accepted. Christians should champion this, but we often fail. The church should be a place of ultimate acceptance, yet the church struggled with acceptance even in ancient times.

"Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you to bring praise to God." Romans 15:7. NIV

AN HONEST NEED
We know acceptance is essential, and we all want approval. We grow up longing for it, and our adult lives still need it. To be accepted is to be free of criticism and judgment, to be embraced as you are without any requirement.

JESUS' EXAMPLE
We think of acceptance as tolerance glorified. Biblical acceptance not just tolerating someone without criticism, but it is to be the same way Christ ultimately accepted us. God takes us even with all the trashy stuff we bring along. We don’t need to become saints to be accepted by God; instead, we assume that we are saints and sons. We don’t need to give up eating meat, pray for an hour a day, do penance, change our hair, or perform miracles, but when we come to God through Jesus, we are accepted based on Jesus' righteousness, not our own. Biblical acceptance is an adoption where we are welcomed with all rights and privileges to a family.

GOD'S VIEW
When God sees those who have received Jesus, He does not know the garbage of our lives; when God sees us, He sees the credited righteousness of Jesus put over us. So our reaction to another who is different should not be to see them as problems or lowlifes, but ones for whom Jesus died. God accepts us only based on receiving the gospel; as debtors to Him, we should look with the same attitude of grace to others.

OUR PRACTICE
When we see someone different in our community, we should not make that mental inventory of the differences between them and us; we should only see one thing- Jesus in that person. Forget accent, custom, tradition or clothing, taste, or lifestyle- if God accepts that person the way they are, how can we not? Are we better than God? Is it possible our standards are higher than His? If God sees that person as beautiful and worthy of the death of his Son, so should we. And if God accepts that person as His child, I insult His choice when I fail to treat that person as my own brother.

God accepts you only because of Jesus, and you can give this liberty to others who call on the Name of the same Lord. It is one of the most Christ-like things you can do.

To learn more about how to be accepted by God, follow THIS LINK.

(c) Adron 8/29/10

The Compassion of God. Psalm 103:13 – 14.

Does your life seem like no one is on your side and understands your difficulty?

“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 that we are dust.” Psalm 103:13 – 14. NIV.

Compassion is to have sympathy for someone’s suffering but not just feelings- it involves doing; it is when sympathy moves us to tender actions of kindness. God the Father has such compassion for us. The most compassionate thing God did was to send His own Son to die on the cross for us to pay for our sins and free us from sin’s power and judgment. Through this supreme act of compassion, we can become His children.

A father’s compassion is powerful. A judge can have compassion toward a lawbreaker but that is calculated compassion without affection. Mothers have tender compassion but it is not the same mix as a father’s compassion. A father’s compassion has to balance authority, love, insight, and muscle, so it is a very powerful force.

To the faithful, the Fear of God is not like the terror of the child in the dark stormy night. It is respect and reverence; it is a realistic assessment of who The Almighty is. The fear of God is a call for personal humility. It requires us to live a life of keeping God in each decision and action.

This fear is in a compassionate God and Father who knows firsthand how we are formed. He has intimate knowledge of how we are fashioned and how our personalities, our needs, and psyches are made. He understands us all the way to the smallest synapses of neuron cell, He knows us the way God would, yet He remembers we are dust. We are made out of the ordinary and the mundane. How often we forget that we are created out of the common dust of the earth!

We forget many things, sometimes only for a moment or for good; but He remembers without the slightest lapse. God remembers your weakness so He takes it all into account in his dealings with you. He does not ever, ever forget how you are formed and so He will never test or try you beyond your ability. He knows your limits and measures them with His compassion.

P.S. Don’t let the compassion of God slip by. If you have not received Jesus as Savior then tell Him now you grieve for your sins that put him on the cross and receive His gift of salvation.

For digital downloads follow this link CLICK HERE, 

(c) Adron 6/3/10

Where To Find A second Chance In Life. Lamentations 3: 22, 23.

Do you ever wish you could have a second chance?

"Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, For his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22, 23. NIV.

CONTEXT
This verse comes from Lamentations where the prophet is grieving over the sins of God's people and their judgment.

GREAT LOVE
God’s love is not just to love but “great love.” It is beyond measure, it is not small or temporary and it is bigger broader, more powerful, than our deepest need. His love holds back the judgment we deserve.

COMPASSION
Friends, family, and society may not understand our pain but God's “compassions never fail.” He fully comprehends the hurt we feel. We never need to say “Look you don’t get it, I feel this way.” Not only does He understand our pain and loss but God is active in His love. He provides mercies and blessings in our dark hours. We can come to Him every time and still find Him compassionate.

INFINITE COMPASSION
The word “compassion” is plural. God is infinite therefore His compassions must be infinite. These compassions are “new every morning.” They are never used up or worn out. You can wear down human love but not God’s. His compassions are fresh and every day is a new beginning.

FAITHFULNESS
God’s faithfulness means He keeps His promises to his people. He has promised His love to those who come to him. The faithfulness of God is measureless; it is deeper, wider, stronger, and brighter than any calculation. His faithfulness can’t be broken by anything we can do and it can’t be worn down by this life. Never will we say it has ended because it is beyond time. We may feel that we have squandered God’s love and lost it, but those feelings are wrong, the truth is- Great is God's faithfulness.

This day, even this moment is an opportunity for a second chance, it is a chance to turn and do right. Knowing that every day is a fresh start with God gives us hope and courage to put yesterday behind and make a fresh beginning.

To learn more about having a new life in Jesus see my other blog.

(c) Adron 11/29/9

What is the Point Of The Good Samaritan Parable? Luke 10: 25 – 37

We have heard it since childhood and tell it to our kids, yet after a lifetime of exposure to this parable, do we still miss the point?

BACKGROUND
It is in response to a question that Jesus tells a parable of how a man fell among robbers who beat him and left him half dead.  A priest ignored him as he walked by, as did a religious leader.  Then, a socially low-caste Samaritan stops and helps the man by treating his wounds, taking him to an inn, and paying for his care, including a promise to return and make good at any other cost.  Jesus then asks, “Who was the neighbor to the man?” It begs the answer- the Samaritan. (See Luke 10:25 -37.)

WHAT WE DON'T HEAR
Often we are so focused on the illustration that we miss the point, or we know the story so well it has no effect on us.  Instead of being moved by God’s Spirit, we are inoculated against the action.

THE END IS THE BEGINNING
Jesus concluded the parable by saying, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"  The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise.”

WHAT WE SHOULD HEAR
How many sermons have we ever heard on the last four words of that verse? “Go and do likewise.”  That is the point of it all.  It is not just a story about a guy who did a good deed- but it is a mandate.  When we read this passage and all others in God’s Word, it should affect us as if we are hearing His voice directed to us, as if we hear Jesus commanding us to personally “Go and do likewise.”  He is telling us to be the Good Samaritan.  If only we did! It would make such a change in our lives and the lives of those around us.

Jesus' words call us to a lifestyle that responds to the needs of others. The Christian life is a relationship with God; as such, we must be aware of opportunities He has set in our paths to be " Good Samaritans.”

May you find great blessings as you “go and do likewise.”

© Adron 10/11/09