Skip to main content

Reflection #5: Who Cares? Part One (Friday, March 23)

In our busyness we can often fail to see people as people who need the Lord.  In this scripture we can see how Jesus had a heart of compassion for the lost and learn how we too must cultivate a spirit of compassion and feed the hungry.


Mark 6:30–34 (NIV) — 30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” 32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.


1. Read Mark 6:30-34.  Verses 30-31 connect back to vv. 7-12 and show how busy Jesus and the apostles were with people.  What does Jesus say the apostles needed (v. 31)?  Were they able to get this (vv. 32 ff.)?

2. How would you feel if a much-needed vacation was interrupted by the overwhelming needs of many people (v. 34)?  How did Jesus feel?  What is compassion?

3. What does it mean for people to be like “sheep without a shepherd” (v. 34)? How are people today like sheep without a shepherd? 

4. What action did Jesus’ compassion lead to (v. 34)?  What does this tell you about what he believed people most need?  What does this tell you about his motivation for telling people the good news?

5. Why do you want to be more involved in sharing the good news with others?  Is your motive more “self-centered” or “other-centered”? Do you have compassion for people?  How can you tell?  Where does compassion come from?

6. PRACTICAL APPLICATION:  Begin praying today that God will increase your compassion for those who do not know him.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reflection #1: Getting Started (Monday, March 19)

Evangelism can be a scary!   How do I do it? Do I know enough? Do people really want to hear?   There are so many reasons to let fear and anxiety keep us from doing anything.   Today we want to be reminded that we can’t allow all these questions to keep us from doing what we can do and what we do know.   Read today’s scriptures and then consider the questions provided . Luke 16:10 (NIV) — “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." Mark 4:24 (NIV) — “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more." 1.   What are some principles that are clear to you right now about the evangelistic mission that has been entrusted to us? 2.   What are some specific actions you already know to do as far as being involved in this mission? 3.   Read Luke 16:10 and Mark 4:24. Wha...
Post a Comment
Read more

Reflection #2: The Father’s Desire (Tuesday, March 20)

A Heart for the Harvest starts with understanding how much God loves everyone and how he so desperately wants a relationship with his children.   Read this beloved parable and   consider the questions provided. Luke 15:11–24 (NIV) — 11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. 13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Reflection #10: Our Commission, Part Two (Friday, March 30)

As we carry out the work we need to know that the presence of Jesus is with us. Matthew 28:16–20 (NIV) — 16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” 1.   Read Matthew 28:16-20.   What is the main commandment or goal Jesus gives his disciples in this text (v. 19)?   What two things does this consist of (vv. 19-20)?   Which of these two do you think we tend to neglect the most?   Is it possible to baptize people and yet not make disciples? 2.   How does this statement of our commission compar...
Post a Comment
Read more