The Compassionate Shepherd
By John Ashley
– As we serve, worship, and love the Lord, we will go through trying times. The good that God is working, many times, is not immediately known. Truth is, we may never know what God is or was doing. Situations that arise in our life could be what God is using to work for good in someone else’s life. — Page 23
– I read a quote sometime ago that said, “Someone had to go through the fire, in order for Nebuchadnezzar to see the Lord.” — Page 24
– We need to be careful when it comes to preaching to a broken heart. Most times people don’t need preaching, they need a compassionate ear. — Page 24
– God may be using our testimony through our trial to work good in someone else’s life along with ours. — Page 28
– It is important to realize that the trials we go through are influencing more than just ourselves. None of us live in a vacuum. People around us can be impacted, either positively or negatively, by our reaction to our trials. — Page 28
– The trials we experience are to teach us to be content. — Page 36
– Many times we discount the effect of our trials on others around us. People need to know God is real, and we can show them God’s power by staying faithful to Him through our trials. Our testimony isn’t so much how we act, rather how we react to situations that arise in our life. — Page 38
– I have heard many Christians say, “God will never give us more than we can handle.” I have even said those words myself. I heard one man even relate a quote of a friend that said, “I wish God didn’t think I was so tough.” The truth is, the Lord will regularly give us more than we can handle!! The life of a child of God is to be a life of
dependence upon Him. — Page 40
– We, as shepherds, need the power of God on our lives! People don’t need to see an example of our intestinal fortitude, they need to see a living example of the power of God!! — Page 41
– When we as shepherds can come to the place of realizing that our trials are an amazing source of God‘s power, it will change how we lead, teach, and preach the word of God. — Page 41
– I cannot emphasize enough the importance of being a listener. People that are hurting need a listening ear. They don’t need anyone to “fix” the situation, they just need someone they can talk to. They need to talk through their situation, how they feel about things. — Page 54-55
– We are all called to bear one another’s burdens, but you, shepherd, will be called on to be the chief burden bearer in many situations. Your presence will do more to comfort someone in need than you will realize. — Page 59
– One of the best ways of dealing with our own personal hurt is to help others that are hurting. Getting involved in groups that help people that have gone through similar circumstances can help to ease the pain we are feeling. It is therapeutic to help bear someone else’s burdens. — Page 67-68
– Correct to counsel, like grief itself, is a process. We can help, little by little. It’s not a “one and done” kind of a work. It also doesn’t need to be formal type of counsel. You don’t need to sit in an office and have a set agenda. A lot of good counsel can be
done by just being a friend; someone who is willing to show an interest in another’s pain and be patient with them. By doing this, you show others the action of compassion. — Page 85-86
– Be of good cheer Christian! Every attack of the Devil is filtered through the hand of our Loving Heavenly Father. He can’t touch us without the Lord allowing it. — Page 96
– Many people look to the Lord to bring them a physical healing, and God is able. However, as we seek after the physical, we miss out on the emotional and spiritual healing that we need during our times of pain and grief. As we look for an outward miracle to take place, we miss out on the internal miracle He is working in our lives. — Page 108
– The Christian life is to be a life of faith in God. We are saved by grace, through faith, but saving faith is elementary faith; it is the beginning of a life that should be lived by sustaining faith. The sad truth is that most Christians go no further in their relationship with the Lord than saving faith. They are thankful that God has saved them by faith, but they choose to live by sight and self-control. — Page 112
– Our trials and sufferings are a sure thing. How we react to those trials will make us better or make us bitter. — Page 113
– Trials are needed in our life because we are too self-sufficient most of the time. However, when trials come into our lives, we look to the Lord in a more dependent way. We find more of His grace and strength in times of trial, and He always proves Himself faithful. — Page 115
– “God will take us where we do not want to go, in order to produce in us what we could not achieve on our own.” — Paul Tripp — Page 118
– I enjoy hard preaching, but if the preaching is all passion, and no compassion, it comes across as dictatorial. That type of preaching may feed the intellect, but it never enters into the heart. — Page 140
– So many today look for someone to care. Our compassion needs to move us to do something substantive. We need to be motivated to move. The Bible teaches that people will know we are Christ’s disciples by our love one to another, but love is more than words or emotions. That must be demonstrated. — Page 141-142