Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Strength and Compassion”
Our Bible verse for today: “The one who walks with the wise will become wise.” Proverbs 13:20 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “We can learn to be strong and compassionate by being with those who are strong and compassionate.”
I’m so grateful for the people God has put into my life over the years whom He has used to model Christian character for me and to point me in the right direction. While I am personally responsible for my own character flaws and weaknesses, if there is any good in me I have to give the credit to those whom God used to influence me in good ways.
In Proverbs 13:20 Solomon says that if we want to become wise we should spend time with those who are wise. When he writes of wisdom he’s not referring to an accumulation of knowledge, but rather the ability to see things for what they really are and then to make good decisions based upon common sense, sound reasoning, and most importantly, Biblical values. We learn to be wise like that by spending lots of time with other people who already are.
The same lesson holds true for strength and compassion. We learn to be strong and compassionate by spending time with those who already are. We listen to them, observe their lives, and join them in ministry activities. In most churches there is usually a small group of people who fit this description. I encourage you to seek them out and make them your companions.
Another way to spend time with the strong and compassionate is to read about them on the pages of the Bible. I’m speaking of important Biblical figures like Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Jesus and Paul. The great thing about reading the Bible is that it enables us to enter into the lives of the people we read about. We may not be able to spend time with the physical Jesus, but we can thoughtfully and prayerfully spend time with Him on the pages of the Bible, imagining ourselves right there with Him, learning from Him and then striving to conduct ourselves like Him.
If you want to be Biblically wise then spend time with others who already are. And likewise, if you want to learn how to be strong and compassionate in the way the Bible portrays strength and compassion, spend time with people who have already learned to live that way.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 