“I came so that my sheep will have life and so that they will have everything they need. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.”
John 10:10-11 (GW) What’s in our hearts often determines what we feel when we look at people. When we see a crowd, we can easily get irritated or impatient. But when Jesus saw a crowd, “he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36 ESV). That’s the same way God looks at you: with compassion. He doesn’t put you down. He lifts you up! No matter how angry, hurt, or betrayed you feel, Jesus will always respond with compassion. He knows how helpless we are without him, “like sheep without a shepherd.” Without a shepherd, sheep are defenseless. They don’t have any claws, they don’t run fast, and their teeth are not very sharp. They need the protection of a shepherd. Throughout the Bible, sheep are a symbol of God’s people. John 10:10-11 says, “I came so that my sheep will have life and so that they will have everything they need. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep” (GW). That kind of compassion comes only from Jesus, our Good Shepherd. And it’s different from sympathy and empathy. Sympathy says, “I’m sorry you’re hurt,” and it stops there. Empathy is a deeper commitment that says, “I hurt with you.” But compassion says, “I will do anything it takes to stop your hurt.” And that is, in essence, what Jesus did through his life, death, and resurrection. He did anything it took to stop your hurt, even if it meant dying on the cross, even if it meant having nails pounded through his hands and feet. Compassion does whatever it takes. Jesus said the reason he came was “not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45 NLT). Notice the two words “serve” and “give.” They define what it means to follow Jesus. Do you look at people who are hurting and helpless the way Jesus does? Are you full of love and compassion, willing to do whatever you can to stop their pain? The Bible repeatedly tells us that when Jesus looked at people in pain, he was moved with compassion. God wants you to be like him, which means looking at others the same way.
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“But He was pierced for our offenses, He was crushed for our wrongdoings . . . All of us, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the wrongdoing of us all to fall on Him.”
Isaiah 53:5-6 (NASB) Every one of us has a good reason to feel guilt. Not one does everything right! We hurt other people. We act selfishly. Often the unkindest things we say and do are to the people we love the most. Just like you can’t hide your sins from God, you can’t hide your guilt from him either. Not only that, but when you try to cover up your guilty feelings, they start to eat at you on the inside. Only one thing works to get rid of guilt: Confess your sins, and trust in God’s forgiveness. The word “confession” in the Bible in Greek is homologeo. Homo means “same.” Logeo means “to speak.” So confession simply means to agree with God: “You’re right, God. I was wrong.” Everything you’re going to do wrong—including the stuff you’re going to do tomorrow, next week, and 10 years from now—has already been paid for. That is the goodness of God. Jesus takes all your guilt on himself. He gives you his goodness—his righteousness. This is the most basic, fundamental truth of the Bible: Your broken soul becomes whole again in him. The Bible says in Isaiah 53:5-6, “But He was pierced for our offenses, He was crushed for our wrongdoings . . . All of us, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the wrongdoing of us all to fall on Him” (NASB). If you don’t feel forgiven, it means you don’t fully understand God’s goodness. When Jesus died, he covered all your sins, threw them into the deepest part of the sea, and put up a “No Fishing” sign. Confess your sin to God. And because he forgives and forgets your sin, you’ll have no need to drag it out again. “In the past you were full of darkness, but now you are full of light in the Lord. So live like children who belong to the light. Light brings every kind of goodness, right living, and truth.”
Ephesians 5:8-9 (NCV) Several years ago, New York City officials built a water disinfection facility using ultraviolet light to destroy germs and disinfect the city’s drinking water, which is funneled in from about 100 miles away. Instead of using chlorine, the system uses the sun’s power to disinfect and sanitize water using light rays. They disinfect over 1 billion gallons of water every day. Light is a great disinfectant. It cleanses, sanitizes, and purifies. The light of God works in a similar way in your life. Harmful words, thoughts, and actions make you spiritually, emotionally, and sometimes physically sick. When you confess your sins to God, his forgiveness sanitizes, purifies, and cleanses you. The Bible says it like this: “If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:6-7 NIV). So many people today are going through dark days because they’re carrying a load of guilt, shame, and regret. They may look successful on the outside, but inside they’re tormented by their secrets. Is there a way to wipe the slate clean? Is there a way to get a fresh start? Yes, it’s called being born again. That doesn’t mean you turn over a new leaf and try harder. It means you get a brand-new life, where everything is forgiven. Everything is cleansed by the light of Christ, and the darkness of regret and shame is lifted. Ephesians 5:8-9 describes what it means to be completely cleansed and forgiven of your sin and born again: “In the past you were full of darkness, but now you are full of light in the Lord. So live like children who belong to the light. Light brings every kind of goodness, right living, and truth” (NCV). What secret regret, guilt, or shame in your life needs to be cleansed and disinfected? Just expose it to the light of Christ. Then you can move forward, full of hope in Jesus, the Light of the World. “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work."
2 Timothy 2:21 (ESV) If you want to be used by God, you don’t have to be a perfect person—but you do need to purify your heart. The Bible says in 2 Timothy 2:21, “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work” (ESV). God uses all kinds of people. He uses shy people and outgoing people. He uses people of different races, ages, stages of life, and backgrounds. He uses men and women. God will use plain vessels, and he’ll use ornate vessels. He’ll use big vessels and small vessels. But there is one thing that God will not use: He will not use a dirty vessel. You have to be clean on the inside. But here’s the good news: No matter who you are or what you’ve done, you can be made clean. How do you do that? How do you become pure? You do it through a simple word: confession. Augustine, a Christian leader who lived a few hundred years after Jesus, said, “The confession of bad works is the beginning of good works.” The Bible says in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins to God, he will keep his promise and do what is right: he will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoing” (GNT). The word “confess” in Greek is the word homologeo. Homo means “same,” and logeo means “to speak.” So homologeo literally means “to speak the same” as God does about my sin. It means you agree with him: “God, you’re right. It wasn’t a mistake. It was a sin. It was wrong.” It doesn’t mean you bargain with God (“I’ll never do it again”). It doesn’t mean you bribe God (“I promise to read my Bible every day if you’ll forgive me”). You just admit your sin. That may seem too simple to you. You may say, “All I’ve got to do is admit it, and God will forgive me?” Yes! It’s called grace. Here’s what you can do if you really want to be used by God: Take time this week to sit down with a notebook or journal and ask God, “What’s wrong in my life? Show me. I’m going to write it down, and I’m going to admit it. I’m going to confess it to you.” Then, when God gives you an idea, write it down. Make a list, and then write 1 John 1:9 over the list and say, “God, I admit these sins to you. These are wrong. I don’t want them in my life.” Ask God to cleanse your life. God will forgive you! This is the starting point to being used by God. You must purify your heart. |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
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