Kansas City, Missouri, United States - Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - “Compassion In Jesus' Name" – Friday, 24 October 2014 - Scripture: Acts 3:1-10

Kansas City, Missouri, United States - Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - “Compassion In Jesus' Name" – Friday, 24 October 2014 - Scripture: Acts 3: 1-5 One day at three o’clock in the afternoon, Peter and John were on their way into the Temple for prayer meeting. At the same time there was a man crippled from birth being carried up. Every day he was set down at the Temple gate, the one named Beautiful, to beg from those going into the Temple. When he saw Peter and John about to enter the Temple, he asked for a handout. Peter, with John at his side, looked him straight in the eye and said, “Look here.” He looked up, expecting to get something from them.
6-8 Peter said, “I don’t have a nickel to my name, but what I do have, I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!” He grabbed him by the right hand and pulled him up. In an instant his feet and ankles became firm. He jumped to his feet and walked.
8-10 The man went into the Temple with them, walking back and forth, dancing and praising God. Everybody there saw him walking around and praising God. They recognized him as the one who sat begging at the Temple’s Gate Beautiful and rubbed their eyes, astonished, scarcely believing what they were seeing.
"Compassion In Jesus' Name" by Jerry D. Porter
True compassion is a lifestyle of seeing people and their needs and responding in the name of Jesus. The Holy Spirit helped Peter and John see the “invisible” crippled beggar: “Those who give to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses” (Prov. 28:27).
As a missionary, I sometimes caught myself trying to avoid eye contact with the poor. We have all switched the television channel so we do not have to see hungry children who need a loving sponsor. The first step in compassion is to see a person made in the image of God. My teenage daughter did this when she stopped us on a busy Guatemala City sidewalk. She rushed into a restaurant, bought a sandwich, and gave it to a beggar child on the street. Then we continued our day!

Peter and James gave a gift far greater than silver or gold. In the name of Jesus, they gave the crippled man the miraculous gift of mobility. It was true holistic compassion. We are called to do the same: to look at the person with respect, see their need, respond with generosity, and point them to Christ!

Hymn for Today:

"Lord, Lay Some Soul Upon My Heart" by Leon Tucker
1. Lord, lay some soul upon my heart,
And love that soul through me;
And may I humbly do my part
To win that soul for thee.
Refrain:
Some soul for Thee, some soul for Thee,
  This is my earnest plea;
Help me each day, on life’s highway,
    To win some soul for Thee.
2. Lord, lead me to some soul in sin,
  And grant that I may be
Endued with power and love to win
  That soul, dear Lord, for Thee.
Refrain:
Some soul for Thee, some soul for Thee,
  This is my earnest plea;
Help me each day, on life’s highway,
    To win some soul for Thee.
3. To win that soul for Thee, my Lord,
  Will be my constant prayer;
That when I’ve won Thy full reward
  I’ll with that dear one share.
Refrain:
Some soul for Thee, some soul for Thee,
  This is my earnest plea;
Help me each day, on life’s highway,
    To win some soul for Thee.
Thought for Today:

“8-11 God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you’re ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done. As one psalmist puts it,
He throws caution to the winds,
    giving to the needy in reckless abandon.
His right-living, right-giving ways
    never run out, never wear out.
This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. He gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God."(2 Corinthians 9:8-11).
Prayer Needs:
That many people in Saint Kitts and Neis will come to know Jesus the Christ, Yeshua the Messiah, and receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
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