Compassion

Blog #90 July 11,2024

Christianity in the world today for the believer is at best confusing and at worst is an ideology that places on their shoulders a burden of shame and uncertainty. For those yet to be introduced to God, they have been taught and are exposed to overwhelming evidence that any who seek to believe in the God of Abraham and the Gospel of the Kingdom face either unknowable mystery or a complete lie. Mostly they choose not to be involved. The trouble is that I understand. They are faced with a belief system that offers an assortment of differing doctrines surrounded by a accumulation of rituals based on traditions that some say should be respected just because they are thousands of years old. Are they right? Are they wrong? I won't even try to convince you that I have all the answers for all those in the world seeking and hoping for something universal and absolute to believe, but there are those that are certain they do. As I see it, they are either convinced that God has conferred on them the fullness of knowledge that is peace and prosperity, or they are lying. Either way it seems the word hypocrite applies to leaders that seek to convince the people that they are the only way to peace and happiness. That blessed person who truly is the way to God suffered death on a cross for us over two thousand years ago was raised up from death, ascended to heaven, and one day will return. Until then many suffer at the hands of hypocrites that will seek to rule in the hearts of people if for no other reason that the glory of being celebrated as right. This is not God's way and it should not be ours. He has a better way that can bring all humanity the light of truth and the hope they seek.

Ephesians 3:14-19
3:14 For this caused I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
3:15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
3:16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
3:17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
3:18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.

Read this passage from Ephesians again and understand the wisdom within. Love begins in trust, and through the Spirit matures to become faith. The hypocrite lives without this wisdom. In fact, he refuses to believe that it really exists. The hypocrite invites the full weight of judgment upon his shoulders alone not knowing nor caring that in this, he willingly separates himself from God. In that willingness, he refuses the repentance that will turn God's justice into mercy. The gospel of the hypocrite is a doctrine of ego. None are as necessary as he is to the fullness of the belief he offers, and he teaches this to all who will follow his ways.
The ways of God are much different. In God compassion is the order of the day.

Psalms 145:8 The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.

Mark 6:35 And Jesus when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion towards them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

Lamentations 3:22 It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because
his compassions fail not.

Micah 7:19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our
iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
 
Yes in truth the ways of God are a heart filled with compassion. It is the foundation of our beliefs, our message to the world, and the very center of all we seek to achieve. It is a state of mind that describes the hearts of all who will inhabit Zion.

1Peter 3:8-9
3:8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another; love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous;
3:9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing; but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

Even our prayers to God whether they are praise to the Father or a request for help only the Spirit can give, centers around this concept of compassion. The High Priest Alma ministered to the people on the matter of prayer. We are told that our prayers should be a cry unto the Lord.

Alma 16:218-219
16:218 Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you; yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save;
16:219 Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him; cry unto him when ye are in your fields; yea, over all your flocks; cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening; yea, cry unto him against the power of your enemies; yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an enemy to all righteousness.

It is compassion that opens God's ears to the cry of His children, but Alma opens our eyes to the true nature of the oneness with God we seek. If we seek to find a compassionate God, we must be a people filled with that same compassion.

Alma 16:223-224
16:223 And now behold, my brethren, I say unto you, Do not suppose that this is all; for after ye have done all these things, if ye turn away the needy, and the naked, and visit not the sick and afflicted, and impart of your substance if ye have, to those who stand in need;
16:224 I say unto you, If ye do not any of these things, behold, your prayer is vain, and availeth you nothing, and ye are as hypocrites who do deny the faith;

It is the compassion within us that will render us unable to participate in the hypocrite's church of ego that assures us one special man can fairly and faithfully fulfill all the needs of all the people. We need something more. We need God, the Son of God, the Spirit of God, and the people of God. We need others that are driven and lifted up with the same compassion that 
sustains of our faith and nourishes our efforts.

Proberbs11:14 Where no counsel is, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.

The hypocrite denies the necessity of fellowship. He believes that no man other than himself is able to recognize his righteousness, let alone teach others how to pursue it. The hypocrite is an army of one before the Lord that wants no one to hinder him in his quest for the glory that is rightfully his. Even if all his actions are righteous, he will fall short of the Kingdom. Even if his heart is pure, the most he will accomplish is his personal salvation in eternity. But, for the hypocrite, that is enough.

This one almost unrecognizable form of hypocrisy is rampant in the world today. It not only denies the need for Christ’s Church, it portrays any form of organized worship as a eternal danger to its members and declares the church’s most prominent attribute to be hypocrisy. He forgets the lessons history has taught us. God has sent to this earth many righteous men, but he seeks a righteous people. He seeks a Kingdom of people that will love one another despite our all too human tendency to fail. He seeks a people who will learn righteousness, gather to that righteousness, and counsel each other in the glory of God and the love of the Father. Solomon in his writings as "The Preacher" warns us of the weakness of this vain self-edifying hypocrisy of "the army of one".

Ecclesiastes 4:8-12
4:8 There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother; yet is there no end of all his labor; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labor, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.
4:9 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor.
4:10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.
4:11 Again, if two lie together, then they have heat; but how can one be warm alone? 4:12 And if one prevail against him two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Solomon shows us that the hypocrite and his army of one are no match for the righteous fellowship of God. Jeremiah warns us of the corruption plagues the hypocrite's Church Of Ego and how that in God, too can be turned around.

Jeremiah 9:23-24
9:23 Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches;
9:24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth; for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.

This is counsel from our heavenly Father. In His wisdom, we receive His counsel and with His counsel we receive the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This is just the beginning of a multitude of counselors that await our call to repentance. Included in this multitude are the Gospel of the Kingdom, the scriptures, the Ordinances, God's Priesthood, and the fellowship of believers. God supports and endorses fellowship especially when we invite Him to join us.

Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

DC 6:15b Where two or three are gathered together in my name, as touching one thing, behold, there will I be in the midst of them; even so am I in the midst of you.

There is one more thing about the act of compassion we call fellowship. Our covenant with God is all about change, but it is not something we can do ourselves. We must reach out to God and seek His Spirit that we might change. If we refuse to allow our hearts to be changed, we lose the very foundation on which a righteous fellowship is built. Without the Son, there is no Father. Without the Father, there is no Spirit. The Gospel becomes a lie. The scriptures have little or no meaning. Our actions become temporal and have no spiritual significance. Priesthood becomes taskmasters or entertainers, and our fellowships become hollow and meaningless. There is no counsel. There are no counselors. The Kingdom is beyond our reach and we are lost.

Colossians 1:25-28
1:25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God;
1:26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints
1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory;
1:28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus;

DC 22:23b and there is no end to my works, neither to my words; for this is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality, and eternal life of man.

Brethren, we seek God that we might have eternity and a purpose that will fill that eternity. Labor brings joy and it is our joy to labor with the God of creation. 

Psalms 107:8-10
107:8 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
107:9 For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. 
107:10 Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;

Understand that which we seek to overcome is the darkness and fear within the heart of man. God seeks for a man to change who he is in his heart. He seeks a people that will give humble acceptance to counsel and direction by His Holy Spirit. He seeks hearts that will be sustained by the compassion within nourished by the charity it offers another. He desires a people that will recognize and accept the ability of fellowship to lift them up in their darkest hours of need and see them through the changes that growth incurs. God seeks that such a people gathered together will create a testimony that will influence others to join them in this labor.

If this is in your heart;
It is in mine, too.
Let's do this........together.
FRED