Mind of Christ: Ep.3: Compassion in Action: Seeing People, Not Problems

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Welcome to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast with your host,

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Connie Morris, where healing has a voice and truth is no longer silent.

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Father God, like Jabez, we cry out that thou would bless us indeed.

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Bless every woman listening beyond trauma, beyond limits, beyond what she thought

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was possible. Enlarge her territory.

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Expand her purpose. Let your hand be upon this moment.

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Saturate every word with oil and truth. break cycles, cancel every curse sent

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to silence her. This isn't just a podcast.

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This is holy ground. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Hello, and welcome back to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast.

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I'm your host, Connie Morris, and we're continuing our series on faith on the go.

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We know that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

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That's why this space was created for your quiet moments, your work days,

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your commutes, and those in-between

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places where your spirit just needs to be refilled or recharged.

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Faith on a Go is for those times when you're fighting battles not yet won,

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but already finished in Christ.

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It's for the ones who keep believing, keep pressing, keep walking,

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even when the road seems long.

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So wherever you are today, settle in and let the word of God strengthen your

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faith while you are on the go.

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Today we're going to go to day three, a mind of compassion moved by others' pain.

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The key scripture is found in Matthew 9, verse 36, and it reads,

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When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were harassed

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and helpless like sheep without a shepherd.

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Everywhere Jesus went, he carried the presence of love. He didn't look at people

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and see problems. He saw possibilities.

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He didn't see the crowd demands. He saw their needs.

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The gospel tells us when he saw the crowds, he had compassion. Matthew 9.

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Verse 36, the word compassion in the Greek means to feel deeply from the inner

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parts. It's not a passing emotion.

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It's a movement of mercy that comes from the soul of God himself.

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When Jesus was hungry, he fed them, Matthew 8, 2. When he was sick,

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he healed them, Matthew 14, 14.

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When he saw the grieving, he wept with them, John 11, 35. and when he saw sinners,

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he forgave them, John 8, 10 through 11.

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Every act of compassion was a mirror of heaven's heart, love made visible through human hands.

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The commentary reads, The mind of Christ feels what the Father feels.

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Compassion was not weakness, it was power clothed in empathy.

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When Jesus touched a leopard in Mark 1, 41, he didn't fear infection,

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he offered restoration.

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When others avoided the woman at the well, he sat beside her,

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John 4, 7, proving that love crosses barriers of shame and culture.

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This is the kind of thinking God calls us to, seeing pain not as an inconvenience but as an invitation.

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Compassion moves us from judgment to mercy, from distance to closeness,

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from talking about love to living it.

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Ephesians 4.32 tells us, be kind and compassionate to one another,

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forgiving each other just as Christ has forgiven you.

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Compassion is the language of heaven. It's how Jesus looked at the world through

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eyes that saw brokenness, but never stop believing in healing.

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The mind of Christ allows us to feel without being overwhelmed.

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To care without collapsing, and to act without hesitation.

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Sometimes it's a gentle word. Sometimes it's a silent prayer.

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Sometimes it's simply being present with someone in pain.

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Reflection, I want you to ask yourself, how do I truly see the people around

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me? Or have I grown numb to their needs?

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When I encounter someone hurting, do I respond with avoidance or with grace?

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Can I allow God to use my own scars to bring comfort to others?

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Let's walk it out like Jesus.

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Number one, see people, not problems. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes

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to someone who needs encouragement today. Matthew 9, 36.

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And you know, when you ask him for this, it can happen in the grocery store, at the mall.

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It can happen at your workplace, when you get gas. something can happen in your

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everyday walk around, right?

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That you can ask the Holy Spirit to give him eyes like Jesus,

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the compassion that Jesus has so that we don't see people as problems.

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There's one thing that's going on in the world today, and I think it's fed through

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the media, and it mentions this a lot, and it really bugs me.

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It says illegal aliens, or we have these Hispanic people working everywhere.

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And it's like, okay, they always worked everywhere.

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And the illegal part is the press. Everybody here is not illegal.

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So when you start to see people through that illegal eyes, then you start to

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have some kind of feelings, feeling some kind of way, when that's not even a

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proper way to feel towards God's people.

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Matter of fact, I can say this, honestly, probably none of your business because

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they don't wear illegal around their neck. So you would never know.

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But when you start grouping people in boxes and in shapes and in sizes,

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then you are not having the compassion.

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Of Christ. So ask God to see people not as problems, but for someone who needs encouragement today.

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Number two, move toward the hurting. Jesus touched a leopard before healing him.

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Mark 1 41, compassion takes the first step.

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And so many people avoid the one that's hurting.

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Check this out. There's someone homeless probably near you. I mean,

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it's happening everywhere.

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Why don't you pull up to them? You have more than enough.

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You have a house to stay in, have more than one pair of shoes to wear,

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more than one shirt, one pair of underwear.

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You are doing pretty good in society, right? And so why don't you move up and

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ask, how can I help you today?

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And they can say what they want. And if you can't help, you can.

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If you can't, you can say, all I have is this today.

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All I have is prayer for you today. Can I pray for you today? Don't you have a voice?

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Right? So we move towards the hurting. And as you sit and talk with them,

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you can probably find them every day at that same spot.

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Don't mean you have to give to them all the time, follow what the Lord has for

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you, but then you can move towards the hurting. Maybe they just want to be seen.

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Listen listen before you fix.

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Like Jesus, you know, Jesus met the women at the well. He is a prophet.

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He probably knew all about her before he even came there. He probably there

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because of his prophetic gifting or his obedience to God.

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But how many times do we listen to people? We assume they need this when actually

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they might not even need that.

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You assume they need money. They might just need a job so they can make money.

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Remember, teach them how to fish so they can fish for themselves,

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right? Right. And so learning how to listen before you fix.

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How about learning how to listen before you judge?

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And number four, let compassion interrupt you. It's never convenient when someone needs help, is it?

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I mean, we have our set schedule and we love to follow it, but yet it's never convenient. But let

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your time be interrupted by God.

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Let compassion interrupt you.

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Jesus has a way to heal one when another touches garment. Matthew 5.30.

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Ministry often happens in divine interruptions.

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And number five, pray for the eyes of Christ.

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Ask daily, Lord, help me to see what you see. 2 Corinthians 5.16.

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Remember this devotion was about getting more and more like Jesus.

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We just finished maybe a double series of the Bride of Christ.

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And so if you didn't learn nothing from that one, this is going to pretty much

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help you on this phase, but not be a negative, but like, hey,

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if you love that series, you're going to love this series.

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If you didn't love that series, hey, you're going to love this series anyway.

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All right, so let's pray. Father, thank you for showing me your heart through Jesus.

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Teach me to see people the way you see them through eyes of mercy and truth.

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Break down every wall of indifference in me.

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Let my heart be moved, my hands be willing, and my words bring life.

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Use me to be the light to the weary, the comfort to the broken,

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and the hope to the hopeless.

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In Jesus' name, amen. I have the mind of Christ.

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My heart beats with compassion. I see others through God's eyes and respond with his love.

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I am moved by mercy, not judgment.

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And I bring healing wherever I go. Wherever we go, we...

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Carry that healing with us. So remember that. You carry that encouragement with you. Remember that.

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You carry humility with you. Remember that.

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And most important, you carry his compassion with you.

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Remember that. When you think about this, where can you allow compassion to

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move you from observation into action today, right now?

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And what steps of love can you make?

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What steps can you take to mirror the heart of Jesus?

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Compassion. Just a quick reminder. See people not as problem,

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right? Move towards the hurting.

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Listen before you fix. Let compassion interrupt you and pray with the eyes of Christ.

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You have been listening to Faith on the Go with your host, Connie Morris,

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from the Diary of a Black Woman podcast.

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I hope you're enjoying this. I hope you are putting your faith to work,

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especially with this compassion series. You know, there's people hurting all

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around us that we don't even know.

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But remember, as you help others, you'll find out that your needs will be met.

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I don't know how God does that, right? So I pray that this word energizes your

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faith and reminds you of God's promise.

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It says His word will not return void in Isaiah 55, 11.

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It mentions in other translations that His hand, it won't return empty.

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I mean, God is expecting you to do something, to not just have the mind of Jesus,

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right, but to also have the compassion of Jesus.

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But know this from Philippians 1.6, that he who began a work in you will carry

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it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ.

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He's going to finish the work in you. So don't stop believing,

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keep walking by faith, and keep trusting.

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And I'll see you on the next episode. Thank you for listening to this episode.

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And before we close out, I want to speak a word of promise over you from Jeremiah 29, 11 through 14.

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Father God, you declared, I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper

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you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

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So today we receive that truth.

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You said when we call on you, you will listen. So we pray.

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You said that when we seek you with our hearts, you will be found. So we pursue.

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You said you will restore us from captivity. So we declare freedom over every

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place where our listeners feel stuck, silenced, or small.

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Thank you for always drawing near when we show up in faith. In Jesus' name, amen.