In Matthew 11, John the Baptist is in prison, about to be beheaded. He sends messengers to ask Jesus a very important question: “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Matthew 11:3).

In a very compelling answer, Jesus points to the miracles He performed: “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.”

In a sense, Jesus was saying, “Yes, I am He. I am the One. The scriptures said I would do these things. Go tell John that you’ve seen me fulfill these prophecies.”

What amazes me about this list is the last miracle. It stands out to me more than any other. You see, today mankind cannot do the first five miracles. Even with our latest medical advances, technology and breakthroughs, we cannot restore sight to the blind.

There are millions who are confined to wheelchairs without our ability to help them walk again. Leprosy still exists today, but perhaps more importantly, we have yet to cure the leprosy of our age, AIDS. While some advances have helped those with poor hearing differentiate some sounds, for millions, the world is a silent place. And despite our best efforts, we cannot raise the dead.

But then there’s the last miracle: “And the good news is preached to the poor.” Wait a minute; we can do that! In fact, we are doing that! I think this is one way we can all be Christlike.

At Compassion, we have one thing in common: We are all miracle workers because we are all part of this ministry that, around the globe, is preaching the good news to the poor.

You. A miracle worker. Who would’ve known, huh?

“Jesus replied, ‘Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.’” –Matthew 11:4–5, NIV

Prayer: Lord, thank You for giving us this one miracle we can perform — to preach the gospel to the poor! May we always cherish this opportunity to be Christlike. Thank You for allowing us to be part of a ministry that is one — on purpose, with a unified heart for children trapped in poverty.

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Ahaziah, king of Israel, had just died. His mother, Athaliah, rose up to usurp the throne. Their story is similar to those we hear today, complete with abuse of power, deception and family violence. Athaliah ordered that all of her grandchildren and descendants be killed. She destroyed her own family.

However, a child of the king had been hidden when he was just a toddler. Where was he hidden? The temple, the house of the Jehovah.

And who was there to protect him for six years? A bold priest and some helpers who took care of this little one until he was ready to face the reality of his enemy.

But most important of all was the presence of God, giving strategies to the priest to prepare, teach and assist this little one and mobilize an army to care for him until he was ready. That time came when he was only 7 years old. He bravely stood up to Athaliah, and the Bible says that afterward, “The city was quiet.”

What a great responsibility we have as people of God!

In our positions as priests, servants or soldiers in the army of God, we can protect our children from the reality of violence, poverty and abuse — if we have the presence of God with us. Only then will the children see what is good and right in God’s eyes.

“When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family. But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes, who were about to be murdered.

“She put him and his nurse in a bedroom to hide him from Athaliah; so he was not killed. He remained hidden with his nurse at the temple of the LORD for six years.” — 2 Kings 11:1–3, NIV

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for the opportunity to care for Your children. Your sweet presence is always with us. In moments of weakness, help us remember that we are part of the army of God. Amen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Martha Morales is a Complementary Interventions Administrator in our
Colombia office.

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The first chapter of the Gospel of Mark highlights some of the disciples and describes some of Jesus’ miracles of healing and driving out of demons.

We all know it is essential to make our best efforts to have knowledge and education and to obtain more skills. It is also essential that we have plans and attitudes of perseverance in reaching them. Achieving these goals sometimes puts us in “positions of authority.”

However, the Bible teaches us that “to humans belong the plans of the heart, but from the LORD comes the proper answer of the tongue” (Proverbs 16:1).

There is something that strengthens all our skills and gives direction to all our plans: to conform them to the Lord’s will, the authority that comes from above. The word “authority” is mentioned twice in this chapter, referring to the way Jesus taught and performed miracles.

It is not enough for us to acquire knowledge and skills or to make plans that look good in our eyes. It is not even sufficient for us to know the Bible, to go to church and Sunday school, or to work in ministry, whether with a church or through organizations such as Compassion. We must have the authority that comes from above, obtained only through a life dedicated to God, a life willing to surrender self to the Lord’s will.

Without authority from God, we live and work as people who chase after the wind.

“The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law…They asked each other, ‘What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.’” –Mark 1:22, 27, NIV

Prayer: Lord, help us to live our days so that we achieve the authority that comes from above, because only then will the Lord’s deeds be accomplished through our lives.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Eduardo Idalgo works as a Ministry Services Manager in our office in
Brazil.

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As with every Shabat, friends were enjoying the shade under a lemon tree, talking about the latest news from their village, Capernaum. A fourth friend arrived with news of the arrival of a “prophet” who healed the sick.

The informer explained that the crowd was moving toward a wealthy merchant’s home. The youngest in the team, quiet until then, had an idea: “Shall we bring him our lame friend?” They met regularly at his home to read the Torah and wondered, “Could he be healed, too?” But there were a few questions to discuss first.

They had to know where to find Jesus and have the consent of their friend. They also had to be:

• In agreement to do it together
• Coordinated
• Determined
• Creative to find a way to bring him there and imagine alternate plans
• Ready to ask for help
• Courageous to uncover the roof
• Responsible for their friend
• Loving to do so much to help their friend

They had often read Isaiah 58 and knew that God asks His people to care for the poor, the needy, and the oppressed. If this was the Messiah, they had to jump into action now! We know the story. Jesus saw the four friends’ faith.

Many of the acts of Jesus were never recorded, but this event is found in three of the four Gospels. The friends were praised for not just sitting in the comfort of their homes but for getting up, reaching out, and daring to challenge the impossible situation.

The end of the story? The lame friend goes home praising God, and all were amazed, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

Our determination to join forces with one mind and one resolve to care for the poor and the oppressed will create around us a loud concert of praise to God. Many will marvel at the incredible things He will do through us as determined friends of the poor!

“Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’” — Mark 2:4–5, NIV

Prayer: Lord, please help us understand the precious calling You have given to Your church to worship in words and in deeds. Help us reach out to the poor and the needy so that the world may see that You are truly a loving and gracious God. Amen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Daniel Bretscher is the Executive Director of Compassion Italy.

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While the Bible doesn’t use the word partnership, we see examples in the Bible of churches partnering together from the earliest history of the Church. And the principles we learn from the Bible about humility, equality and mutuality should guide how we work in partnership.

At Compassion, we highly value our relationships with local churches in the countries where we work. They minister on the front lines to the children we serve. They also minister to us.

As Compassion Latin America and Caribbean regional vice president Edouard Lassegue writes,

“Though these congregations may be under-resourced financially, often they are spiritually rich and vibrant and able to contribute in an authentic two-way relationship.”

Much of the Christian Church today has been blessed with significant resources, financial and otherwise. Other parts of the global body of believers struggle with tremendous limitations of resources yet have incredible opportunities for ministry.

Partnering between the resource-rich part of the Church and the resource-poor part of the Church is not something particularly new or noble. It is just what we should do. It is simply what Paul asked the early Church to do.

It is only right and practical for churches in various parts of the world to partner together to care for each other and to advance the gospel and the kingdom of God.

When the Body of Christ comes together in partnership, we honor and obey Jesus’ mandate that His followers act as one. But it takes time to develop a partnership — especially the relational aspects of partnership.

Relationship is central to partnership. In the countries where we work, partnerships are perceived as being primarily relational. But often in North America and many of our sponsoring countries, partnerships tend to be contractual in nature.

True partnership requires the ability to set aside tasks and agendas long enough for the partners to listen to each other, identify their common mission and understand what each partner can contribute.

Edouard Lassegue says:

“Many times we rush through the process of partnership without taking the time to recognize and put in place the necessary building blocks of partnership. We jump into action without developing the foundation of true partnership — solid relationship.

“On one hand, lack of relationship causes a church in [a developing country] to see its relationship with a parachurch organization or congregation [in a developed nation] as a funding mechanism and not as true partnership that demonstrates equality in Christ, mutual benefits, and sharing resources and lessons together.

“On the other hand, lack of relationship causes the church or parachurch organization from [the developed nation] to want to solve problems for the local church in a paternalistic way, treating that church as a child needing direction, provision and supervision. … True partnership is based on solid relationship.”

At Compassion, we seek healthy relationships in spite of these potential obstacles. We intentionally hire national staff in every country in which we serve. Our front-line relationship manager with every church partner (the partnership facilitator) is selected as one who is as close to the partner’s culture as possible to encourage relationship and communication.

We must walk together, talk together, and have tea together before we will be effective in working together. Real partnership is an ongoing journey, and it takes time.

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Dear servants, I have learned about God’s grace just like you but in different ways. In 2008, I had just finished my degree in human resources management, though my marks were not very good. It was during that time when God continued teaching me how His grace works.

He didn’t give me the chance because I was strong, had wisdom of the world, or because I came from a good and wealthy family. No way. He didn’t look at my background.

But for His glory He made me number one out of all other applicants. His grace paved the way for me. His grace marked the initial stages in my career, and now, three years later, I can still tell of His grace as my doorway to join Compassion.

So am I proud to be in this ministry? Compassion is my name, my pride, my rope, and my hope for many. Joyous? Yes. Blessed? Indeed, just because of His grace.

So, never qualify or disqualify yourself by the world’s standards. Just know one thing: You are seasoned and purposed to display His splendor to many generations. His grace covers up all other qualifications.

JESUS UP!

“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” — 1 Corinthians 1:27, NIV

Prayer: Our Lord and Father God, may You teach all of us on how to live, knowing that Your grace covers our weakness in Jesus’ name. May You increase the amount of grace to whoever needs Your presence to overcome. Amen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Raphael Joachim Lyela works as a Field Based Partnership Facilitator in the Dodoma region of Tanzania.

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I will never forget my first visit to one of our centers. That day I was very sad because a friend had passed away, and I was going through a very difficult period in my life. When I got to the child development center, I pulled out my best smile and gave a very warm greeting to all the children.

Before the children left, one of them, only 9 years old, came into the office where I was and gave me a folded sheet. “I did it for you,” he said with a big smile on his face.

I opened it and saw a beautiful picture of a colorful bird trying to drink nectar from a flower. The following words were printed: “Never sad, always happy, peace is here, smile. With love, Randy.”

Since that day almost four years ago, every time I see this picture I thank God for the life of Randy. His words have been of great encouragement to me in moments when grief has touched my life.

He not only saw my sadness behind a seeming smile, but he did something to try to change it. He didn’t care that I was a stranger. He felt no fear that I might reject it. He did not even care about paying attention to class so that he could do my drawing. He just knew he wanted to brighten my life, and nothing prevented him from doing so.

It was not for nothing that Jesus used the example of children to show the spiritual receptivity needed to enter His kingdom. Children are docile, sensitive, simple. They believe in everybody. These are qualities that are often swamped by selfishness, indifference, and comfort in us adults. We need to be kids again.

But Jesus called the children to him and said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ — Luke 18:16–17, NIV

Prayer: Lord, give us a sensitive heart to see beyond the apparent smile from those around us. Amen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Lucy Vasquez is Partnership Facilitator and Team Lead in our Dominican Republic office.

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He might have forgotten, but I still remember. It was an act of love from one child to another. The memories of this wave of love in a remote village school will always stay with me.

It was early in the morning, and I was wheezing from running the three kilometers on a dusty road. After observing the mounted dust on my bare feet, the headmaster instructed me to join the other children in primary two.

It was my first day in school; the teaching was already in progress.

The others were seated, every child on his own banana-fiber mat laid on a brown dusty floor. Children were expected to come with a mat from home every morning. I did not have a mat, and I didn’t want to go back home.

Standing at the door, I was nervous and stranded. I heard a low voice from inside the class inviting me to come and sit. One of the children had offered to sit with me on his mat. We sat cross-legged, part of our legs hanging off on the dusty floor.

The next day, he brought me a new banana-fiber mat that he had made for me — an act of love I will never forget.

In his letter to the Hebrews, Paul calls on us to “keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters” (13:1). Love transcends how we act. It is a lifestyle.

Amid the needs of others lies an opportunity to love. Through Compassion, God has provided us with myriad opportunities to show His love to the needy.

“Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him” (Psalm 91:14–15).

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. — 1 John 4:7

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for the opportunity You give us through Compassion to show Your love to children. May our lives be a true reflection of Your love for the poor, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Richard Muliisa is a Complementary Interventions administrator for our Rwanda office.

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She had her eyes glued on me. I wondered for weeks why she would not let her eyes off me, until I discovered recently that she could not hear.

She is a young, energetic girl from our care group, eager to know the Lord is fighting against her disability. But it was a revelation to me the extra effort her whole body had to make to compensate for her hearing.

A body may not realize the significance of its individual parts until one of those parts stops working, and then the whole body suffers. Aligning to one purpose and making extra effort, with sacrifice, can make the weaker parts stronger.

If our body parts work in solitude, we will not experience perfect health. All parts need to work in unison to make it happen.

Changing lives of little ones who God has entrusted into our hands requires the same eagerness from each one of us to align to one purpose.

“One” means solitary, yet in contrast, “being one” means united in purpose. Individuality gives us an identity, but identifying to a common purpose takes extra effort, sacrificing individual identity to work toward common good.

If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. — 1 Corinthians 12:26, NIV

Prayer: Lord, help us to give up our personal desires and pride to stand in the gap for the weak, giving them a reason to rejoice. Help us sacrifice self-identity for the sake of the body of Christ.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jancy Mathew works as Ministry Services Manager in our office in Kolkata, East India.

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At Compassion, we stress being kind to the poor, because “whoever is kind to the needy honors God” (Proverbs 14:31). But sometimes, we leave the virtue of kindness under-examined. Kindness, a fruit of the Spirit, can be considered weak or un-macho — a virtue for the nice, older women in our midst.

Kindness and gentleness should mark all of our words, attitudes and actions as Christians. Nice old ladies didn’t create the virtue of kindness, God did. Jesus is the epitome of kindness. We are called to be kind to one another.

“There is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:11–12).

This verse could perhaps be paraphrased for our context like this: “There is no American or Burkinabe, GMC or field, GPA or Strategy Integration, but Christ is all, and is in all. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, write your e-mails and conduct your conversations with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

It’s easy to let our kindness fade in favor of busyness and brusqueness. But if we are unkind, are we prey to doing good works for God, and not through Him?

I am certainly guilty of this: getting wrapped up in the busyness of the day, rather than pausing to thank God for allowing me to serve Him. I forget to ask Him to fill me so that I can go about His business with humility, kindness and gentleness.

Many of us are busy and stressed out. But consider the change you could make in your co-worker’s day by just a small gesture of kindness. After all, “Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up” (Proverbs 12:25).

Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. — Colossians 3:12, NIV

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You that we have the honor of not just working for You, but of working through the power of Your Holy Spirit. Please fill us today with Your Holy Spirit, enabling us to be like Jesus: humble, kind and gentle.

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