Time to start posting again!

"The more I seek You
The more I find You
The more I find You
The more I love You
I wanna sit at Your feet
Drink for the cup in Your hand
Lay back against You and breathe
And feel Your heartbeat
This love is so deep
It's more than I can stand
I melt in Your peace
It's overwhelming "

The song of my heart today!

COMPASSION (vs. Indifference) Responding to a deep need with a longing to do whatever is necessary to meet it. ( 1 John 3:17)
Investing whatever is necessary to heal the hurts of others. Learning to use words and actions which will be comforting and healing.

1. Compassion is stirred by an urgent need to help.
- The Pharoah’s daughter had compassion on Moses as a bay
- Jesus had compassion on a grieving widow
- The Good Samaritan had compassion on a wounded traveler

2. Compassion results from discerning a deep need
3. Compassion is Activated by humble pleas for help.
4. Compassion is a normal response to an urgent need.

How to Develop a compassionate Heart
1. Focus on our great debt to God.
2. Enlarge our heart with a prayer list
3. Turn personal suffering into compassion for others.
4. Look for ways to do good to all people.

Personal Evlauation:
Who was the last person who asked you fro help and how did you help them?

“Some great people make others feel small but he greatest people of all make others feel tall!”

Sympathy – Feeling sorry for people who are hurting.
Empathy – Feeling the pain with people who are hurting.
Compassion – Doing something about that pain.

“We will never know by experience, God’s richest blessings of comfort and compassion towards others until we ourselves have had trials.” T.J. Bach

CAUTIOUSNESS (vs. Rashness) Knowing how important right timing is in accomplishing right actions.

– Recognizing that we have natural inclinations that are opposite of God’s ways. These tendencies may seem right but really can be destructive to our lives. (The verses for this character quality are Proverbs 9:2 Is. 55:8-9 and Proverbs 3:5,6)

Acting apart from the life and power of God is foolish. Christ exemplified one who did nothing of His own will but only what His Father directed Him to do. John 5:30 A cautious person will also seek God’s will for each situation.

How do we develop cautiousness?

1. Acknowledge that our natural inclinations are often wrong, and cry out to God for His wisdom. Jer. 33:3 Psalm 50:15 James 1:5

2. Learn from the experiences of others.

The biographies that God wrote in the Bible are filled with rich counsel on how to do things God’s way. Psalm 19:7

3. Consider the opposite action of natural inclination.

4. Seek out wise counsel.

A caution sign on the highway usually means that others have not exercised sufficient cautiousness in that spot and have paid a high price. In life we would be wise to listen to others and gain from their experiences.

Allow time to test the credibility of your course and the stability of your steps

Waiting on the Lord for guidance forces us to reevaluate priorities and identify the “needful” things of life.

“Preparation is not something suddenly accomplished, but a process steadily maintained.” – Oswald Chambers.

Cautious people are those who have conquered the urge to speak before they get all the facts.

James 1:19 Proverbs 1:5

Personal Evaluation:

- Do you seek God’s will for every situation?

- Do you ask for counsel from wise and experienced people?

- Do you learn from the mistakes of others and yourself?

- Do you think before you speak?

- Do you think of the right timing for doing things?

- Do you realize how your actions will affect others?

- Do you plan ahead and count the cost, especially on big endeavors?

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Celebrating with Leslie and Lee proud parents of Kaiden Alexander! We all know what a blessing and answer to prayer this is!

BOLDNESS (vs. Fearfulness) – Confidence that what I have to say or do will result in lasting benefit.

(The verse for this character quality is Acts 4:29)

There are 3 translations for the Greek word for boldness in the Bible.

-Tharrheo – Boldness in the face of death

-Parrhesiazomai – Boldness to speak the truth

-Tolmao – Boldness to accomplish great things for God

Boldness is the fearless and daring courage to carry out the work God calls us to do. Being willing to stand alone on the side of right even when it requires personal sacrifice!

Boldness if Face of Death

Boldness to conquer the fear of death comes thought the recognition of what awaits us 2 Cor. 5:6-8

The most powerful people on earth are those who have no fear of death and are reminded of God’s promise in Heb. 13:5-6

Boldness to speak the Truth

This kind of boldness comes through the prayer. Paul prayed this “ for me, that utterance may be give, that I may open my mouth boldly , to make known the mystery of the gospel and speak boldly as I ought to speak.” Eph. 6:19-20

Boldness to Accomplish Great Things

When we have conquered the fear of death and become bold in speaking the truth we are then able to accomplish mighty things. II Chr. 16:9 Daniel 11:32 John 15:7-8

Gideon and David both demonstrated boldness. The heroes of faith in Hebrews 11 demonstrated boldness. Heb. 11:32-24

Personal Evaluation:

When we reach the end of our life what do we want to look back on, of which one can say,” This is what God accomplished through me?”

I decided to take a break from the character qualities this week and share what Character Qualities of God have been so important to me this past week. Maybe one of them will strike a chord with you.

Abba Father - when we need fathering
Adequacy - for our inadequacy
All-sufficient - in our hardest situations
Amen - we need Him to be the last word
Answer - for our uncertainty and questions
Bread of life - for our spiritual hunger
Bridegroom - when we need companionship and cherishing
Broken and spilled out for us - when we’ve been used
Burden Bearer - when we are heavy laden
Before all things - when we’re surprised
Closer than a brother - when we are lonely
Comforter who wipes away tears - in our grief and sorrow
Door - when it looks like there’s no way out
Fullness - when we’re empty
God of details - when we’re frustrated
Hope - when we are discouraged and want to quit
Prince of peace - when we are stressed, worried, and confused
Provider - for every financial need
Quieter of the storm - for our struggles without and within
Rest - when we’re tired and can’t go on
Reviver, living water - when we are depleted, barren and thirsty
Satisfaction - when we’ve tried everything
Way-maker - when a solution seems impossible
Wisdom - for our hard choices

What an amazing God we have!

AVAILABILITY (vs. Self-centeredness) – Learning to make my schedules and priorities secondary to the wishes of those I serve.
– Learning to not be distracted from fulfilling my responsibilities. Rejecting ambitions that would hinder me from delighting in God-given priorities. Standing by a task until it is fully completed. (The verses for this character quality are Matthew 16:24 - 25)

When Christ called his disciples he used a Greek word that meant “to accompany”. He then taught them to not be hindered by personal cares and distractions. To deny and pick up their cross and follow. The Greek word for deny simply means to “forget oneself, lose sight of one’s own interests.”

Availability is basic to discipleship. Jesus called his disciples to a life of AVAILABILITY.

Available for training and serving. Availability that was and is motivated by being a “giver” rather than a “taker”.

Availability is giving our hearts not just our hands to a task. We are motivated to be available if we recognize how our tasks are accomplishing a greater objective. The Joy of making other’s successful. The Joy of giving that which benefits the lives of others.
Jesus was and is the ultimate example of availability. He lived among people who had needs and served them. He laid down his life so we might have life.

How can we develop Availability?
1. By not seeking our own pleasures and wants, our own amusements.
2. By not seeking great achievements that bring ourselves glory. Not being distracted from achieving the goals to serve and meet the needs of those around us.
3. By developing efficiency in meeting our personal needs not wants, so we have the time and energy and resources to meet the needs of others.
4. Discovering the needs of those around us and being alert to those.

Personal Evaluation:
- Do you choose to serve God or money?
- Do you purpose to be a giver and not a taker?
- Do you work to make others successful?
- Do you deny yourself from distracting pleasures?
- Do you set aside personal ambitions in order to advance God’s purpose and Kingdom?