Gentle Touch (1 Thessalonians 2:1-12)

A pastor was on his way to visit a woman in the hospital. As he rode the elevator he mulled over how he should approach her. She had made some wrong choices, which had landed her in the intensive care unit (ICU). Because of her sinful lifestyle, she was now in need of medical attention. She had violated the moral laws of God and was paying the price. The pastor knew he would have been theologically right to remind her that she was reaping what she had sown. But was this the best approach? As he got off the elevator, he saw a sign that read: HIGH TECH, GENTLY TOUCH. The words “gentle touch" suggested to him that patients are suffering people who need to be handled with loving care.

When we must confront people with their sin, we need to be careful that we combine the truth with the gentleness. Gentleness helps us to make a point without making an enemy (OUR DAILY BREAD, October 21, 1991).

ARE YOU PLEASING GOD OR MEN?
According to an old fable, a father and his son were walking along a road one day with their donkey. Soon they met a man who told them how foolish they were to walk when they had a donkey that could be ridden. So, the father and son hopped on. They hadn’t gone very far when another man criticized them for both riding on the donkey. They were too heavy for it, he contended and were being inhumane. So, the boy got off. It wasn’t long before a third traveler accused the father of being inconsiderate because he made his son walk while he rode. So, the two switched places. Soon they met another person who charged that the son was not being thoughtful of his father, who was so much older than he. When last seen, the two were trudging the road carrying the donkey.

If we are overly sensitive to others’ opinions, we may end up carrying a needless weight of guilt and frustration. Although we appreciate the approval of others, and we try to avoid offending people, our ultimate accountability is not to them but to the Lord. It matters not what others say in ridicule or fun; I want to live that I may hear Him say to me, “Well done.” When we live for the approval of men, we may receive the disapproval of God.

YOU GET WHAT YOU LOOK FOR
A man who went to church grumbled about the hypocrites he saw, the mistake the soloist made, the way the offertory was played, and the content of the pastor’s sermon. A friend in the same service said he left with a joyful heart. Each experienced the truth of the words: “What you look is what you get.”

Help me, Father, to close my eyes to the faults that I would criticize in others and teach me well the art of looking for good in every heart. Go to church to worship, not to whisper—to commune, not to criticize (Psalm 122).

THE CHRISTIAN PRAYER
The spectacle of a nation praying is more awe-inspiring than the explosion of an atomic bomb. The force of prayer is greater than any possible combination of man-controlled powers because prayer is man’s greatest means of tapping the infinite resources of God (J. Edgar Hoover, Learning to Walk with God)

HUMILITY (1 PETER 2:18-25)
Blessed Savior, make me humble, take away all sinful pride; when I suffer from injustice, help me stay close by Your side. Christ emptied Himself. Behold our pattern! (St. Ambrose, quoted in Our Daily Bread, August 10, 1991).

FRIENDSHIP
Today a man discovers gold and fame; another flew the stormy seas; one found the germ of a disease. But what high fates my path attend: For I—today I found a friend (Helen Parker).

“Your best friend is the one who helps you bring out of yourself the best that is in you” (Henry Ford, 100 Portraits of Christ).

SUFFERING
Our suffering is not worthy of the name of suffering. When I consider my crosses, tribulations, and temptations, I shame myself almost to death, thinking what they in comparison to the sufferings of my blessed Savior Jesus Christ are (Martin Luther).

We tend to blame God when things go wrong and take credit for ourselves when things seem to be going right (Billy Graham).

Death is said in the Bible to be a coronation for the Christian. The picture is that of a prince who after his struggles and conquests in alien land comes to his native country and court to be crowned and honored for his deed

To the Christian the tomb is not a blind alley—it is a thoroughfare. It closes with the twilight to open with the dawn (Till Armageddon).

HOW TO LIVE LONG (EXODUS 20:1-17)
He liveth long who liveth well. All other life is short and vain; he liveth long who can tell of living most for heavenly gain (Bonar). To add years to your life, subtract bad habits and multiply good deeds.

THE WORLD IN A DISASTER
D. L. Moody once said I look upon this world as a wrecked vessel. Its ruin is getting nearer and nearer. God said to me here is a lifeboat. Get out and rescue as many as you can before the ship sinks. If the end seems to come in Moody’s day how closer must we be to the climax of history.

HOLY PEOPLE IN A FOREIGN WORLD
The Holy Spirit creates a holy people in a fallen world, whereby we are not transported back to paradise or promoted to heaven but granted grace to live in this present evil world—with confidence that the indwelling Spirit will bring the pilgrim journey to a successful conclusion.