Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Rhapsody Daily Post

God, The Father of Compassion: Do Your Part!

And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and shew thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers;
When thou shalt hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do [that which is] right in the eyes of the LORD thy God. Deuteronomy 13:17-18


The word compassion in this particular text comes from the Hebrew word, rä·kham'. It simply means:

to love, love deeply, have mercy, be compassionate, have tender affection, have compassion
It also means to have a soft spot for, the love of parents towards their children, to behold with tender affections and to hold close or near the heart. It also means to obtain mercy.

Basically what God is saying in this scripture is that if the Israelites choose to turn away from distractions, ungodly desires, false gods and turn back to Him and become obedient to His words then He will stop being angry with them and show them compassion.

The Israelites kept turning back to their sin and every time they looked at them they saw Satan, sin, dirt and this separated them from their father. It was God’s desire to rectify this situation. He hated being separated from His people so He had a plan to exchange this ugly fact for a beautiful picture; so that every time that He looked at His people when they repented He would see the Best picture and that is His Son Jesus, His Image looking back at Him!

God chose to create Adam. He is the sole progenitor and Father of Life. He is the spring from which every river of water flows from. He is the greatest tributary from which all bodies of water flow. He is the source and seed of all productivity. He is father who teaches us by example.

John 3:16 says that For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever shall believe on Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.

Knowing that Adam and Eve would sin even before He had created them, a father of compassion provided a way of escape through His only begotten Son. A son not produced of the earth who sits at His right hand on His heavenly throne. A son who in obedience to his father shared in the compassion of His father to be made to dwell in human flesh and to die for the sins of a people who were inferior to Him in power.

As a son who operates in oneness of His father, He is sent as the only example of what it truly means to be a Son of God. He exemplifies in every action and in every thought on earth compassion.

God’s love is so deep for His earthly children that He gave up and was separated from the truest example of what it means to be a Son, a son of obedience, love, purity, compassion, kindness, gentleness, meekness, and self-control, Jesus! Priceless!

God’s compassion for man is exemplified in Psalms 103

1-2 O my soul, bless God.
    From head to toe, I’ll bless his holy name!
O my soul, bless God,
    don’t forget a single blessing!
3-5 He forgives your sins—every one.

    He heals your diseases—every one.
    He redeems you from hell—saves your life!
    He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown.
    He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.
    He renews your youth—you’re always young in his presence.

Through Jesus Christ God has created for us the greatest form of compassion!  Through Jesus God forgives our sins, redeems us from hell, crowns us with love and mercy, wraps us in goodness through His Holy Spirit, and renews our strength in the inner man through the Power of the Holy Ghost by way of salvation through faith in His Son Jesus Christ!
Isaiah 53: He was looked down on and passed over,
    a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away.
    We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
    our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself,
    that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him,
    that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
    Through his bruises we get healed.
We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost.
    We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong,
    on him, on him.
7-9 He was beaten, he was tortured,
    but he didn’t say a word.
Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered
    and like a sheep being sheared,
    he took it all in silence.
Justice miscarried, and he was led off—
    and did anyone really know what was happening?
He died without a thought for his own welfare,
    beaten bloody for the sins of my people.
They buried him with the wicked,
    threw him in a grave with a rich man,
Even though he’d never hurt a soul
    or said one word that wasn’t true.
10 Still, it’s what God had in mind all along,
    to crush him with pain.
The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin
    so that he’d see life come from it—life, life, and more life.
    And God’s plan will deeply prosper through him.
God is a God who shows us compassion and can only show us compassion as long as we are willing to turn to Him and give Him ALL!  He gave us ALL! Jesus Gave us ALL! God gave us the best part of Himself, Himself! Then He turned around and gave us His Holy Spirit to lead guide and teach us!
God is sheer mercy and grace;
    not easily angered, he’s rich in love.
He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold,
    nor hold grudges forever.
He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve,
    nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.
As high as heaven is over the earth,
    so strong is his love to those who fear him.
And as far as sunrise is from sunset,
    he has separated us from our sins.
As parents feel for their children,
    God feels for those who fear him.
He knows us inside and out,

    keeps in mind that we’re made of mud.
Men and women don’t live very long;
    like wildflowers they spring up and blossom,
But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly,
    leaving nothing to show they were here.
God’s love, though, is ever and always,
    eternally present to all who fear him,

Making everything right for them and their children
    as they follow his Covenant ways
    and remember to do whatever he said.
From Psalms 103 Message Bible

The Message
Gather the plunder in the middle of the town square and burn it all—town and plunder together up in smoke, a holy sacrifice to God, your God. Leave it there, ashes and ruins. Don’t build on that site again. And don’t let any of the plunder devoted to holy destruction stick to your fingers. Get rid of it so that God may turn from anger to compassion, generously making you prosper, just as he promised your ancestors.
18 Yes. Obediently listen to God, your God. Keep all his commands that I am giving you today. Do the right thing in the eyes of God, your God.

Turn back to your Father! The God of Compassion has made the way of escape through His Son Jesus! If you confess your sins He is Just to forgive you of your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness!

Focus! Stay away from distractions. Stay hidden in God and His purposes and plans for you! Examine your day to day activities and make sure you make sufficient time to hear from God! Examine your friendships and relationships. Make sure that they don’t take you away from fulfilling God’s plans for you! God never leaves us! His compassion is always available through His son, Jesus! It is never too late to return, to get in right standing, reprioritize your time and make new plans that are constructed around God’s instructions to you about what He wants you to do in your life.
Homework: Do a time log of your day and see how much time you truly spend in the arms of Compassion, God. Make changes to your schedule that includes God. His Compassion cannot be shown if you are not looking at Him.
So be Encouraged, God has provided His best for you through His compassion to give us JESUS!

May your day be filled with the love of Christ!

Be Blessed!
Rhapsody Daily Post

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