There is so much going on here at Westlake Baptist that is exciting and I praise God for that.\u00a0 But so many times through our joys (personal and as a church) we forget that there is a group within the community and maybe even within the church that is not happy.\u00a0 They are not upset with the church or the direction of the church.\u00a0 Rather they are suffering in silence with various things going on in their life.\u00a0 For some it is a struggle in their marriage, others it is an addiction to something, and for others it could be financial problems or other things.\u00a0 The bottom line is there are people all around us who are suffering and we need to make sure that we are taking time to not only notice them, but to reach out to them with the love of Jesus.<\/p>\n
In Romans 12 the apostle Paul was writing about Christian conduct.\u00a0 In that chapter we see that we are to live in the world, but not be like the world (vv. 1-2).\u00a0 We see that we are to be humble (v. 3).\u00a0 Paul also reminds us that we as the body of Christ all need each other (vv. 4-5).\u00a0 He also reminds us that God has given each of His children a spiritual gift that we are to use for His glory (vv. 6-8).\u00a0 But the verse that stands out to me concerning our subject at hand is verse 15 which says, “Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.”\u00a0 The first part of that verse is generally pretty simple.\u00a0 It is easy to be happy when others are happy.\u00a0 But so many times we avoid or simply pass by those who are struggling with life.\u00a0 So many times in the Gospels we read that Jesus “had compassion on them.”\u00a0 That is what Paul is calling us to here in verse 15.\u00a0 He is telling us that we must be compassionate.\u00a0 The truth of the matter is we may not be able to help solve their problem, but many times taking the time to come over and show that you care does more for that person than we even realize.\u00a0 In a world that is constantly beating us up and putting us down, what better way could we as Christians stand out as different from the crowd than by coming over and lending a shoulder or an ear to someone?\u00a0 Take time today to look around you and see who could use some encouragement.\u00a0 I promise they are there, we just have to take the time to look.<\/p>\n
By His grace and through His strength may we live for Him!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There is so much going on here at Westlake Baptist that is exciting and I praise God for that.\u00a0 But so many times through our joys (personal and as a church) we forget that there is a group within the … Read More