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com·pas·sion| kəmˈpaSHən |

May 21, 2011 by hayleyneal 0 Comments

Repeatedly the gospels tell us (Matt. 14:14 Matt. 15:32  Matt. 20:34) that Jesus was motivated by compassion to love the crowds. This sort of compassion is costly and we see this in the character of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) who when walking past the ‘neighbour’ lying in the ditch, “he saw him, he took pity on him”. Jesus, at the end of his story, tells the reader “Go and do likewise.” Today, that call for both compassion and action at a time of need remains the same.

It should be the hope of our churches to continually grow in our ability and capacity to creatively meet the real needs of locals and honouring God by loving our neighbourhoods as God has so lavishly and compassionately loves us.

  • Who is your neighbour?
  • What are their needs?
  • Where are the gaps that people are falling through?
  • How can you be of assistance where your weaker neighbours are falling through?
  • How can you offer mercy and lavish compassion?
Church, Community, Compassion, Living for Jesus, Love Thy Neighbourhood, Loving Like Jesus

‘Cause God says so…

May 17, 2011 by hayleyneal 0 Comments

Compassion, Evangelism, Loving Like Jesus, Quotes

Upon injustice we will tell of our God

May 6, 2011 by hayleyneal 0 Comments

I am loving this new song by Planetshakers. Especially as I have been working on how our church will continue to be loving “thy neighbourhood” like Jesus in the coming days, months and years.

May this lyric be our prayer as we strive to bring hope in word and deed to our hope-less world:

“Upon injustice we will tell of our God – the hope of all hearts”


Community, Compassion, Evangelism, Mission, Music

Thought of the week… What the world needs now is love!

March 29, 2011 by hayleyneal 0 Comments

A true love and esteem of God will dispose the heart to acknowledge God’s right to govern and that he is worthy of it; and so will dispose it to submit.

Love to God will dispose to walk humbly with God.

For he that love God will be disposed to acknowledge the distance there is between God and him.

It will be agreeable to him who loves God to exalt him and set him on high above all, and to lie low before him.

A true Christian delights to have God exalted in his abasement, because he loves God.

He is willing to own that God is worthy of this; and it is with delight that he casts himself in the dust before God, because he loves God.

So a due consideration of the nature of love will show that it will dispose men to all duties towards their neighbours If men have a hearty love to their neighbours it will dispose them to all acts of justice towards them.

Men are not disposed to wrong those whom they truly love. Real love and friendship will dispose persons to give others their due. romans 13:10 “Love worketh no ill to his neighbour.”

- Jonathan Edwards ‘Sermon One: Love the Sum of All Virtue”

Edwards goes on to say that love will dispose us to many more things that will be for good of our neighbours.
Love will dispose us to:

  • truth towards neighbours (not lies or deceit)
  • walk humbly among men to honor one another (not pride or arrogance)
  • contentment in the station in which God hat set him. (not coveting)
  • meekness and gentleness in their carriage towards neighbours (not violence or hatred)
  • a sweet disposition and affection of the soul (not bitterness)
  • peaceableness (not broils and quarrels)
  • forgive injuries received from their neighbours (not harbouring grudges)
  • acts of mercy toward neighbours who are under any affliction or calamity (not laughing at their misfortunes)
  • give to the poor and bear with one another’s burdens, to weep with those that weep and rejoice with those that rejoice.

I want to love more.

Not only because Jesus is worthy of being exalted in my love towards him, but also in my love towards others.

Sounds like heaven.

Community, Compassion, Jesus, Living for Jesus, Loving Like Jesus, People

A Conversation about God & Japan – part 2

March 18, 2011 by hayleyneal 0 Comments

Friend B
Love comes from within… no matter the situation, you don’t have to detach from love, you can be in a relationship or not and still develop the same compassion. The love and joy you talk of has a catch….namely grief and pain when the joy and love is ‘taken away’. That is relying on the externals. When you grieve, what are you grieving for?

The love that is described in the bible can be a bit hit and miss, “Serve the Lord with fear and trembling, kiss his feet or else he will get angry and you will perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled (Ps 2:11)”. God wanted people to fear him? Is this what you expect from someone full of love? If I had a partner like that I would call that domestic abuse. “For the Lord your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God (Deut 4:24).” Ok so God is a jealous guy too… poor guy…. might need to work on that one…. I’ve been told it’s hard to maintain relationships when you are jealous.

And as for God not changing, name me one thing in this entire universe that doesn’t change? Saying God doesn’t change has no base for reality in our experience in this cosmos. Everything is changing all the time every moment of every day. Why wouldn’t God change as well? Is he immune from the forces of nature? Isn’t he nature? Nature changes right? :)

As much as I love this conversation, we’ve probably both learnt that such discussions don’t really get anywhere as we both have egos to maintain. Sorry for initiating the debate…. I like what you have to say and you come across as a person with the right intention…. and that’s the most important thing….:) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L50xVM7wwss&feature=feedu
3 hours ago · Like

Hayley Neal
yeah i enjoy these chats. hard to share thoughts on a FB thread though.

I think the big difference in our thinking is the way we approach and understand God and the things around us.

I believe God is God. If God wasn’t immune from the forces of nature he would not be. He would just be you and me and I agree with you unable offer no hope.

Thanks for the link… found it interesting, especially having just read this the other day: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/jesus-the-buddha-on-happiness

 

Read Part 1 of the conversation here

Apologetics, Compassion, Environment, Evangelism, Jesus

A Conversation about God and Japan…

March 16, 2011 by hayleyneal 0 Comments

Status Update by Friend A:
Just following my post regarding the wonders of god in the tragic Japan Quake… I guess this answers it??????
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/81374648/

7 hours ago · Like · Share

Hayley Neal
While I want to and do affirm God is in control, I’m know there is a need to be filled with greater humble compassion. Because, I know if God were to shake, who could stand? Not the girl in the video, not any of us. We would all be stuffed.

These calamities make me look up & think why? Why didn’t that happen to me? I feel so fortunate to not have been in that place at that time. In many ways I could have easily been caught up in that?

I don’t want to be cliche Christian – but it makes me see my need for God even more. Left to ourselves, what hope is there? It’s why we need a God who wasn’t thankful for human suffering (unlike this young girl whom i think is misguided) but was willing to endure human suffering, taste death, (i.e. the cross) so that we wouldn’t have to.
6 hours ago · Like

Friend B
Left to ourselves, what hope is there? Answer – Ourselves.
5 hours ago · Like

Hayley Neal
What hope is there for us in ourselves?
5 hours ago · Like

Friend B
You have no hope for yourself?
4 hours ago · Like

Hayley Neal
do u really think we can prevent ourselves from disappointments, hurts or ultimately death? what kind of hope in ourselves r u talking of?
3 hours ago · Like

Friend B
I’m talking of the hope that let’s you decide which path you take. You can’t prevent death, but you can prevent disappointments and hurt (mental). What is a disappointment? It’s when you expect an outcome and it doesn’t happen right? The reason people get disappointed is because we don’t see reality as it is. Mental hurt (as opposed to physical hurt) is merely an effect to how we deal with a situation. You can learn to react to situations in different ways so mental suffering loosens its grip.
3 hours ago · Like

Friend C
What ever is going to happen, will happen, the biggest illusion is that we get to decide on what happens to us. We are all here to progress and that also means facing sorrow head on.
about an hour ago · Like

Hayley Neal
The grief &/or disappointment of knowing your partner will not be coming home from work because they were killed in the earthquake, is responding to reality as it is. To say they just need time to deal mentally with the physical situation and wait for it to loosen its grip, is mere poetry.

We are holistic beings whereby our emotions are, more often than not, rooted in a very real and physical or relational reality.
We need a hope that does not come from within but from outside. Otherwise when I or my situation change so too would my hope. But if hope comes from outside then it will sustain me even when I or my situation (whether physical or emotional) may change.

….

Apologetics, Compassion, Environment, Jesus, People

The harvest in your suburb

February 12, 2011 by hayleyneal 0 Comments

Do you see the potential in your suburb?

Where there is a lost son or daughter, there is an abundance of the Father’s mercy. No matter how good or how bad your neighbours and locals are – there is an opportunity for change, an opportunity for an encounter with the goodness and grace of God. There is potential and there is hope for salvation and eternal life.

Jesus when he looks out on the crowds he doesn’t see them as a burden. Rather He is burdened for them. He looks on them with hope. Hope of changed lives as they encounter Him and his word.

Do you look on your suburb with expectancy, hope, compassion and anticipation – knowing they are the LORD’s harvest?

 

 

Community, Compassion, Jesus

18 Confessions of a new believer…

February 7, 2011 by hayleyneal 3 Comments

The quotes have been taken directly from my journal and emails during the early days of becoming a Christian. I’ve tried to keep them as true as possible to the stream of conscience that wrote it - so sorry in advance for the grammar! Some things are just funny and some are insightful.

My hope is that this series of posts “18 Confessions” would deepen the believers empathy for those seeking out the faith and bring insight into the internal wrestles of a new Christian or perhaps if you relate to the thoughts or struggles in these posts that you would consider the lasting satisfaction and joy that is found only in Jesus.

1. Mockery of God

2. Straddling both worlds

3. Running the race

4. Pursuit of fruit

5. Choosing Church

6. Who would have thought

7. Need Friends

8. Powerful stuff

9. Satisfied in Christ

10. Hand of the Lord

11. Singleness as a disability

12. Heavenly Wonder

13. Talking about God

14. Lavish Love

15. Distracted by city lights

16. I am a Christian

17. I am a Christian geek

18. Power of God

Compassion, Conversion, Evangelism, Jesus
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