April 18, 2024

The Compassion Hymn

March 19, 2015 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

There is an everlasting kindness
You lavished on us
When the Radiance of heaven Came to rescue the lost;
You called the sheep without a shepherd
To leave their distress
For your streams of forgiveness
And the shade of Your rest.

And with compassion for the hurting,
You reached out Your hand
As the lame ran to meet You
And the dead breathed again
You saw behind the eyes of sorrow
And shared in our tears
Heard the sigh of the weary
Let the children draw near

What boundless love, what fathomless grace
You have shown us, O God of compassion
Each day we live an offering of praise
As we show to the world Your compassion

We stood beneath the cross of Calvary
And gazed on Your face
At the thorns of oppression
And the wounds of disgrace
For surely You have borne our suffering
And carried our grief
As You pardoned the scoffer
And showed grace to the thief

How beautiful the feet that carry
This gospel of peace
To the fields of injustice
And the valleys of need
To be a voice of hope and healing
To answer the cries
Of the hungry and helpless
With the mercy of Christ.

Keith and Kristyn Getty
written along with Stuart Townend

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

The meaning of compassion is to recognize the suffering of others,
then take action to help.
-from the mission statement of Compassion International

“If you would sum up the whole character of Christ in reference to ourselves,
it might be gathered into this one sentence:
He was moved with compassion.”
– Charles Haddon Spurgeon

The Strong’s Concordance defines compassion in this way:

  • to have compassion
  • to have the bowels yearn, i.e., (figuratively) feel sympathy, to pity
  • have (be moved with) compassion

How about you…when you hear the word, compassion, what does it make you think of?  Surely amongst the first things that spring to mind would be how very compassionate is our loving Heavenly Father.  The Scriptures tell us in many places about His compassion toward mankind.  In fact, as part of a word study in the Bible on this attribute of God’s nature—compassion—I found (literally) over 125 individual Scriptures that talk about God’s compassion…His being compassionate and His having compassion.

Compassion is a defining characteristic of Who Almighty God is!  For example, in this record (Nehemiah 9), God’s compassion is spoken of seven separate times.

But You are a God of forgiveness, gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness;
And You did not forsake them.
Nehemiah 9:17

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; Yes, our God is compassionate.
Psalm 116:5

The Lord is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made.
Psalm 145:9

Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you,
And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
How blessed are all those who long for Him.
Isaiah 30:18

But this I recall and therefore have I hope and expectation:
It is because of the Lord’s mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed
because His [tender] compassions fail not.
They are new every morning;
great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness.
The Lord is my portion or share, says my living being (my inner self);
therefore will I hope in Him and wait expectantly for Him.
The Lord is good to those who wait hopefully and expectantly for Him,
to those who seek Him. It is good that one should hope in and wait
quietly for the salvation (the safety and ease) of the Lord.
Lamentations 3:21-26

 ~  ♥   ~

And, to be assured, there is record after record after record in the Gospel accounts of Jesus and the loving compassion He had for those around Him.

Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him,
and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”
Mark 1:41

When he went ashore He saw a great crowd,
and He had compassion on them,
because they were like sheep without a shepherd.
And He began to teach them many things.
Mark 6:34

And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”
Luke 7:13

 ~  ♥   ~

We, too, are to live the same.  As the words of this beautiful hymn express, “Each day we live an offering of praise as we show to the world Your compassion.”

Be kind and compassionate to one another,
forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,
compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience….
Colossians 3:12

Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic,
love one another, be compassionate and humble.
1 Peter 3:8

But if anyone has this world’s goods
and sees his brother and fellow believer in need,
yet closes his heart of compassion against him,
how can the love of God live and remain in him?
1 John 3:17

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

May we each today reach out to those around us…our loved ones, strangers, the untouchable, the harsh and critical, those who persecute us, those who do not understand us, the hurting, and the hurters…with this compassion that is ours to freely give by God’s grace.  May we be Christ’s love to them…and show them the love, grace, mercy, compassion, forgiveness given at the Cross.

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed

April 20, 2014 by

How can it be, the One who died
Has born our sin through sacrifice
To conquer every sting of death
Sing, sing Hallelujah

For joy awakes as dawning light
When Christ’s disciples lift their eyes
Alive He stands, their Friend and King
Christ, Christ He is risen

Christ is risen, He is risen indeed
Oh, sing Hallelujah
Join the chorus, sing with the redeemed
Christ is risen, He is risen indeed

Where doubt and darkness once had been
They saw Him and their hearts believed
But blessed are those who have not seen
Yet, sing Hallelujah

Once bound by fear now bold in faith
They preached the truth and power of grace
And pouring out their lives they gained
Life, life everlasting

The power that raised Him from the grave
Now works in us to powerfully save
He frees our hearts to live His grace
Go tell of His goodness

He’s alive, He’s alive
Heaven’s gates are open wide
He’s alive, He’s alive
Now in Heaven glorified

~  Sing this song with me as our prayer and worship today.  ~

Songwriters: Keith&Kristyn Getty, Ed Cash / Performed by Keith&Kristyn Getty

 *  ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~  *

It’s a traditional Easter greeting as old as the first-century Church.  One says, “He is risen!” the other answers, “He is risen indeed!”  What a joyous way to greet each other!

Easter has become quite a joyful time for me over the last few years.  Growing up, I was raised in a church tradition/denomination that celebrated Easter, but not with as much focus as I do currently.  Do you know what really made a difference for me?  One year I read my Bible from cover to cover.  (If you haven’t, you should – it’s amazing!)  Far from being outdated and irrelevant, the Old Testament showed me how much God truly loves His people.  Before Jesus, there were a pretty strict set of rules in relation to how you would be considered righteous before God.  When the Israelites fell short of the rules, blood was required in the form of sacrifice to cleanse sin.  In addition, only priests could come into the Presence of God in the temple/tabernacle. If you messed up, you brought your perfect sacrifice to the priest who would offer up prayers, petitions, and make atonement on your behalf.  As you can imagine, the priests were probably pretty busy, continually offering up sacrifices to cleanse the people of their sins.  This continued for hundreds of years!

Now enter Jesus.  When John the Baptist sees Jesus and says “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29), my heart always starts beating faster. Jesus was IT, the final and perfect Sacrifice.  The blood requirement for all time that would cover every sin for everyone.  Jesus was (and still is) the Son of God, a revolutionary person that loved you and I so much that he willingly gave His life so that you and I could live with God forever!

Understand me here, friends.  JESUS LOVES YOU!!  Jesus wasn’t tricked into dying for us.  He wasn’t forced into it.  He’s not sitting in Heaven angry with you for having to be crucified.  He willingly took our punishment so that we could be free!  LOVE died for you.  And guess what?  LOVE lives for you, in Heaven!  The grave couldn’t hold him!  Death couldn’t keep him!  Jesus kicked death in the face and told him – “you’ve got NOTHING on me!!” (My modern day translation…)  And the power, the beautiful power that raised Christ from the dead – you know, the Holy Spirit!– It LIVES in you and me when we give our lives to Jesus.  Hallelujah!!!  Just like our Lord, you aren’t a victim – you’re a victor!  Our bodies may decay, but our spirits are not bound by death – Jesus triumphed over death and evil so that we, too, could be triumphant!  If you can work through what that means in your life—if you can truly get your head wrapped around it and live like you believe it—you will be amazed at the change it brings in your life!  It did to me.

When I realized that Jesus LOVED me so much that He died for me…that He wasn’t mad at me…that He wanted me to live a full and abundant life…my life changed dramatically.  I went from being delivered from sin, to living a life of freedom in Christ!  You can too!  Jesus’ triumph over the grave means total freedom!  So, do I love Easter??  You bet!  It’s the ultimate celebration and glimpse of the glorious time we will be having in Heaven!

So I praise God and His glorious Son, Jesus with every ounce of my being!!  CHRIST IS RISEN!!  What say you, friends??

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Compassion Hymn

March 18, 2014 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

There is an everlasting kindness
You lavished on us
When the Radiance of heaven Came to rescue the lost;
You called the sheep without a shepherd
To leave their distress
For your streams of forgiveness
And the shade of Your rest.

And with compassion for the hurting,
You reached out Your hand
As the lame ran to meet You
And the dead breathed again;
You saw behind the eyes of sorrow
And shared in our tears,
Heard the sigh of the weary,
Let the children draw near.

What boundless love, what fathomless grace
You have shown us, O God of compassion
Each day we live an offering of praise
As we show to the world Your compassion.

We stood beneath the cross of Calvary
And gazed on Your face
At the thorns of oppression
And the wounds of disgrace,
For surely You have borne our suffering
And carried our grief
As You pardoned the scoffer
And showed grace to the thief.

How beautiful the feet that carry
This gospel of peace
To the fields of injustice
And the valleys of need—
To be a voice of hope and healing,
To answer the cries
Of the hungry and helpless
With the mercy of Christ. 

~  Sing this song with me as our prayer and worship today.  ~

Written and Performed by Keith and Kristyn Getty, and Stuart Townend

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

When you hear the word, compassion, what does it make you think of?  Surely amongst the first things that spring to mind would be how very compassionate is our loving Heavenly Father.  The Scriptures tell us in many places about His compassion toward mankind.  In fact, as part of a word study in the Bible on this attribute of God’s nature—compassion—I found (literally) over 125 individual Scriptures that talk about God’s compassion…His being compassionate…His having compassion.

  • Compassion is a defining characteristic of Who Almighty God is!  For example, in this record (Nehemiah 9), God’s compassion is spoken of seven separate times.

But You are a God of forgiveness, gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness;
And You did not forsake them.
Nehemiah 9:17

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; Yes, our God is compassionate.
Psalm 116:5

The Lord is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made.
Psalm 145:9

Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you,
And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
How blessed are all those who long for Him.
Isaiah 30:18

But this I recall and therefore have I hope and expectation: It is because of the Lord’s mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness. The Lord is my portion or share, says my living being (my inner self); therefore will I hope in Him and wait expectantly for Him. The Lord is good to those who wait hopefully and expectantly for Him, to those who seek Him. It is good that one should hope in and wait quietly for the salvation (the safety and ease) of the Lord.

Lamentations 3:21-26

  • And, to be assured, there is record after record after record in the Gospel accounts of Jesus and the loving compassion He had for those around Him.

Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him,
and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”
Mark 1:41

And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”
Luke 7:13

  • We, too, are to live the same.  As the words of this beautiful hymn express, “Each day we live an offering of praise as we show to the world Your compassion.”

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other,
just as in Christ God forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,
compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience….
Colossians 3:12

Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic,
love one another, be compassionate and humble.
1 Peter 3:8

But if anyone has this world’s goods and sees his brother and fellow believer in need,
yet closes his heart of compassion against him,
how can the love of God live and remain in him?
1 John 3:17

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

May we each today reach out to those around us…loved ones, strangers, the untouchable, the harsh and critical, those who persecute us, who do not understand us, the hurting and the hurters…with this compassion that is ours to freely give by God’s grace.  May we be Christ’s love to them…and show them the love, grace, mercy, compassion, forgiveness given at the Cross.

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

How Suddenly a Baby Cried

December 1, 2013 by

gchcarolsbloggraphic

“How suddenly a baby cried and all forever changed.
Through history soul by soul have come to find His healing grace.
He filled my troubled heart with peace, with hope of endless worth.
My voice will join the song of praise that tells Messiah’s birth.”

How Suddenly a Baby Cried ~ Keith and Kristyn Getty

A baby’s first cry gets the attention of everyone around, yes? At the very moment of birth, all in attendance pause to hear a baby’s first cry—expectant parents, other relatives and loved ones, the nurses, doctors, and other caregivers—and then sigh with joy, with relief and with thankfulness at that wonderful sound! When the baby Jesus was born, His cry, too, brought great joy to his parents, Joseph and Mary. Think of the setting:

And while they were there, the time came for her delivery,
And she gave birth to her Son, her Firstborn;
and she wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger,
because there was no room or place for them in the inn.
Luke 2:6 and 7

Joseph and Mary had traveled many, many miles to come to Bethlehem to register in the census. Upon their arrival, there was nowhere for them to stay but in a stable…and this is where Mary birthed her firstborn, Jesus, God’s Son. Not the best surroundings! So I would think baby Jesus’ first cry meant oh-so-very much to them!

But, remember, both Joseph and Mary were fully aware of just Who this tiny Baby was! Both had been told of the significance of this Baby’s life by angels. (Read the records here: Luke 1:26-38;  Matthew 1:18-25). They each had contemplated, wouldn’t you think, for the entire duration of Mary’s pregnancy the magnitude and the awesome, eternal implications of just Who their Son would be! Think for a moment…place yourself in their sandals…when the baby was birthed and took His first breath and released a cry, can you only imagine the praises that must have welled up out of their hearts? Can you imagine the look they must have exchanged as they realized that the promises that the angel had made to each of them came forth into fruition? That initial cry of baby Jesus truly changed the world! Perhaps Mary remembered the words she spoke when she was visiting her cousin Elizabeth:

Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.
How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
…because the Mighty One has done great things for me, and His name is holy.
His mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear Him.
Luke 1: 46-47 and 49-50

And so we do also exclaim and praise! Even now, don’t we love to sing these beautiful carols and anthems and songs that tell of Jesus’ coming and His birth. We are reminded of all that first little cry meant as it sounded out that the Savior was born! He had come…just as promised throughout the ages!

As the words of this beautiful song say,
“How suddenly a baby cried and all forever changed.
Through history soul by soul have come to find His healing grace.
He filled my troubled heart with peace, with hope of endless worth.
My voice will join the song of praise that tells Messiah’s birth.”

♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

May your voice rise up in praise and thankfulness to your heavenly Father!  Because of His great love for you, He sent His Son to redeem and save you; to rescue you and make available to you a relationship with Him for all eternity.  Never—don’t ever—doubt His love!

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38 and 39

God bless you!    ♥    Merry Christmas!

Filed Under: Women's Ministry Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,