Category: Deeply Moved

Let’s read aloud the following verses and prayer:

Luke 15 Abridged, 19:10 (NIV)
¹ Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. ² But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
³ Then Jesus told them this parable:

¹¹ …“There was a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’…
¹⁷ When he came to his senses, he said…¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son’…²⁰ So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. ²²…the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him… Let’s have a feast and celebrate… ²⁴ For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’
…
¹⁰ “For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”

Prayer: Father, thank you that you welcome the tax collector and sinner, even more you sent Jesus to seek out and save the lost. May our hearts beat with your compassion and be deeply moved towards the lost in each of the places you have led us to minister. And let us celebrate with you in even greater measure when they return home to you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s sing “There’s Nothing That Our God Can’t Do” by Passion (click here).

-KW

John 11:4, 32-35, 38-39 (NIV)
⁴ Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”
…
³² When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
³³ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. ³⁴ “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
³⁵ Jesus wept.
³⁸ Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ³⁹ “Take away the stone,” he said.

“The main storyline is about the glory of God and the Son of God…When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead it wasn’t just a miracle to be marveled at. The compassionate and angry heart of Jesus was unveiled, giving a glimpse of the coming glory of Christ which was revealed in his death on the cross, where he destroyed the power of sin and death, winning our salvation. And today, at the right hand of God, Jesus is still deeply moved but he is no longer subject to death. He has conquered sin. He has conquered death and hell.” (Carol’s message)

Prayer: Father, we worship you and glorify you for you have done great things for us! As we confess to you where we are in our sorrow, sin, and death, let us also hear you leading us to “take away the stone,” so that your glory may be seen even there. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship and glorify Jesus as we sing “He Has Done Great Things” by Bethel (click here).

-KW

 

 

Mark 10:13-14 (NIV)
¹³ People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

John 11:33 (NLT)
³³ When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled.

“Christ got angry and still gets angry, for he is the perfect human, who loves too much to remain indifferent…As you consider those who have wronged you, let Jesus be angry on your behalf. His anger can be trusted. For it is an anger that springs from his compassion for you…In that knowledge, release your debtor and breathe again. Let Christ’s heart for you not only wash you in his compassion but also assure you of his solidarity in rage against all that distresses you, most centrally death and hell.” (Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly)

Let’s come to the one who loves us too much to remain indifferent to our pain.  His compassion moves him toward you and his love for you rises up in fierce anger against all that tries to rob you of being alive or coming near to him.

Prayer: Father, I trust you. I trust your perfect love and I trust your anger on my behalf. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s rest in Jesus’ love for us as we sing “Your Love Is Strong” by Jon Foreman (click here).

-KW

 

 

Mark 1:40-41 (NLT)
⁴⁰ A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. “If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,” he said.

⁴¹ Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!”

“Jesus did not simply operate in deeds of compassion but actually felt the inner turmoils and roiling emotions of pity toward the unfortunate. When the blind and the lame and the afflicted appealed to Jesus, ‘his heart responded with a profound feeling of pity for them.’  His compassion fulfilled itself in the outward act…In your grief, he is grieved. In your distress, he is distressed.” (Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly)

Jesus still responds this way – when we come to him in distress, he is moved with compassion and reaches out to touch us and restore us. Today, let’s bring to him those places of pain and brokenness, where we are blind and lame and afflicted. He will meet us there in perfect compassion and with his restoring touch.

Prayer: Jesus, I trust you and your heart for me. I bring to you my grief and distress. Thank you for washing me in your compassion. Thank you that you always reach out in response to my need. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s continue to receive how fully willing our Lord is to touch and restore us as we sing “King of Calvary” by Matt Redman (click here).

-KW

 

John 1:14 (NIV)
¹⁴ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

Isaiah 53:3a,4a (NIV)
³ He was…a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
⁴ Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,

“And that flesh that the Son took on was true, full, complete humanity…Whatever it means to be human (and to be human without sin), Jesus was and is. And emotions are an essential part of being human…One implication of this truth of Christ’s permanent humanity is that when we see the feelings and passions and affections of the incarnate Christ toward sinners and sufferers as given to us in the four Gospels, we are seeing who Jesus is for us today.” (Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly)

Today as we consider the full and true and permanent humanity of Jesus, we can be deeply thankful. He is not our Savior from a distance, staying clear of all the difficulties we go through, external and internal, but he entered fully into our very experience. And as we look at how he interacted with people in the Gospels, he’s the same today. His heart, his compassion, his willingness to enter into our suffering—it’s not a past event. It’s how he loves us now, in the middle of our mess and our brokenness.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for becoming flesh, for knowing what I feel and go through, for bearing my pain and suffering. Help me to receive and experience the feelings and passions and affections that you have for me today. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship our Savior who is still reaching out to us today in love to “Son of Suffering” by Matt Redman (click here).

-KW