Conviction & Compassion

 Happy Friday, Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day on this glorious Saturday afternoon! I went on a business trip to Chicago this week with a remarkable group of people from work and I did not get back until last night, thus this Happy Friday is being written on a Saturday!

Last Sunday our Pastor, Steve Huskey, preached a phenomenal sermon! It was quite clear that he had sought and received Godly wisdom, discernment, strength, and courage. I want to start off this Happy Friday by sharing a couple of points from the message.

Sin is a sanctification issue, not a salvation issue.

We are called to live lives of truth and grace.

Truth – We are accountable for our sins.

Grace – We are forgiven.

Love doesn’t have a line.

If you are a                                         I cannot and will not love you.

Pastor Steve didn’t use this example, but it comes to me as I type this:

If you                                      I cannot and will not love you.

We are called to love. (That is a period, it is a definitive statement)

We can live with both conviction and compassion.

We are so quick to criticize, judge, and condemn. None of us wants to be criticized, judged, or condemned and yet, though every single one of us sins and falls short, as a culture we do this often. Why? How about we simply live out John 8: 3 – 11:

3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. 

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. 

9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

11 “No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Please note a couple of things:

First, she was caught in adultery…it wasn’t a question of whether or not she was guilty, she was caught in the act of adultery.

Second, let’s simply follow Jesus’ advice - “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone…”

What if we lived this way?

I have to share with you all a few excerpts from my Bible study this morning. It is titled, “Gaining Godly Wisdom” and it was written by the YouVersion team.

“In James 3:13 – 18 NLT, Godly wisdom is explained in detail:

13 If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. 15 For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. 16 For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.

17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. 18 And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.[a]

This passage is full of rich truths for us, so let’s really digest this passage. Exhibiting godly wisdom means we are:

Honorable – We show honor to everyone.

Humble – We don’t draw attention to ourselves.

Selfless – We think of others more than we think of ourselves.

Pure – We strive to have untarnished motives.

Peace-loving – We agree to respectfully disagree.

Gentle – We consider the feeling of others before acting.

Merciful – We give second chances because they’ve been given to us.

Impartial – We show fairness to all we encounter.

Sincere – We are authentic, honest, and full of integrity.”

Two powerful messages, Friends! Let’s live lives of conviction and compassion, and let’s choose to pursue Godly wisdom!

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.

Have a great afternoon, a wonderful weekend, please cherish your precious families, and please stay well!

Kev