Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video and lyrics from Elvis Presley singing a Joe South song … Walk A Mile In My Shoes … powerfully singing about the power of true empathy to overcome our selfishness and to reach out to feel the pain of others.
Highlight Verse[s]: Hebrews 13:3 [NLT] … 3 Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.
… He gave his own body so that we could identify with His sacrifice and give ours for others as He did.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Hebrews 2:14-18, 13:1-3 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God becoming flesh so that he could die in perfect empathy to save mankind from our own flesh.
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Reference Passage [NLT] : … 1st Corinthians 12:25-26 [NLT] … 25 This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. 26 If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
… Christ’s Body - the Church - has been created in His image that we can fully empathize with all the members of the body to serve each other for His glory.
Reference Passage [NLT] : … Philippians 2:3-7 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… His divine empathy so that we can empathize as He did with us and reach out help others.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, David C McCasland, uses a scientific invention, the “R70i Aging Suit” [see photo] to show how younger people can fully empathize with the conditions of the aged. The ODB author wrote: Put on the R70i Age Suit and you immediately feel forty years older as you experience impaired vision, hearing loss, and reduced mobility. The Age Suit was designed to help caregivers better understand their patients. Wall Street Journal correspondent Geoffrey Fowler wore one and wrote, “The unforgettable, and at times distressing, experience shed light not just on aging, but also how virtual reality equipment can teach empathy and shape our perceptions of the world around us.” Empathy is the power to understand and share the feelings of another.
This is a fascinating scientific word picture of what Jesus did in becoming fully human and walking among His created humans like a slave to show His Body (the Church) how to empathize with one another in order to live for each other.
That’s why, as we read in the NT (see Scriptures above), when one member of Christ’s body hurts, the other members should hurt as well. And that’s why we can - and should - be able to serve other Christians - with Spirit-empowered empathy - instead of holding on to our own selfish desires.
The questions arise from this study … “Are we?” … AND … “Will we?”
My Prayer Today: Abba Father, … King Jesus, … Precious Spirit … Help me to discern the needs of others and to be able to walk a mile in their shoes, reaching out to help them when I see them in need. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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