Today during staff devotion, Regina led the timeless song below. This was the first time I actually slowed down to read and reflect on the lyrics. I urge you to do the same today.

What a friend we have in Jesus,
all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
all because we do not carry
everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful
who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden,
cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In his arms he’ll take and shield thee;
thou wilt find a solace there.

Indeed, what a privilege to have Jesus to carry our burdens. All I need is to do is to trust in Jesus and he will give me peace, rest, and ultimately, a true smile on my face. This is how our faith in Jesus actually gives us joy.

Matt. 9:36 – Jesus had compassion on the multitude when they were “like sheep having no shepherd.”

Matt. 15:32 – Jesus had compassion on the people when he fed the 4,000.

Matt. 20:34 – Jesus had compassion on two blind men when he healed gave them their sight.

Mark 1:41 – Jesus had compassion on a leper and healed him.

Mark 5:19 – When Jesus removed the demons from the man, Jesus told him to go and tell his friends about the compassion (or mercy) that the Lord had for him.

Luke 7:13 – Jesus had compassion on the widow of Nain when He raised her son from the dead.

Whenever Jesus did some big miracle, it was out of compassion. At Mark 1:41, the translators even went on to say that Jesus was “indignant” — which means a feeling of being angered by unfair treatment.

Sally, one of my esteemed colleague, used to be based in Hong Kong with OMF International. During her time there, she was the personal secretary of James Taylor III. James Taylor III was the great-grandson of J. Hudson Taylor, one of the legendary missionaries to China in the 1800′s. James Taylor passed away some three years ago at the age of 79. I recall that just this Tuesday, Sally told me some things about the Taylor family that little people knew about.

1.   James refuses to speak to her in English, always in Mandarin.

2.   There was once James’ children came home and told him and his wife to hide because their school friends were coming over. The children thought that their parents looked too different from the rest of the people, and are ashamed to introduce them to their friends. They forgot that they themselves are also Caucasians! The children thought that they were the same as the Chinese locals.

3.   When James’ son got married, they are so proud of their daughter-in-law. This is because their daughter-in-law is a Taiwanese, and they say “finally we have Chinese in our blood!”

This is the extent of their dedication to the Chinese people. When I first heard all these from Sally, tears filled my eyes. I cannot help but think “wow, God can really bury the love for a certain people so deep in the family that it runs for generations!”

Now, my point.

I am not trying to say that since Jesus had compassion, so must we. If that was my point, many of you must be thinking, “but that was him, God gave him that love for the Chinese, not me.” Or, “thats Jesus! Jesus is God, but I am not God!” Now this is precisely my point — compassion is God-given. Compassion cannot be mustered up within ourselves. Compassion is a state of being, we either have compassion or do not have compassion. You cannot have more compassion or less compassion. We cannot minister without compassion; but God gives compassion.

“How much do I love the men and women in their culture? How much do I believe that God loves the children? How much confidence do I have in the potential that God has put in the youths?” When I was driving back home today, I found the Holy Spirit asking me these questions before hitting me with the key word “Compassion”.

Ask the Lord for that love for the people you minister to. Ask God to flood your heart with love for the His people. We cannot minister without God touching our hearts. God needs to meet with us today.

“Lord, send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. Sever me from any tie but the tie that binds me to your service and to your heart.” - David Livingstone, a legendary missionary to Africa.

It is interesting to note that there was actually a time when Jesus said that it would be impossible for a certain group of religious people to be saved. To that, his disciples were greatly astonished and asked “who then can be saved?” [Jesus looked at them and said “with man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”] (Matthew 19:26)

As I dive deeper into Missions I come to realize that religious sensitivity is a very real issue. You may think that I am talking about Singapore, but no, I am primarily referring to the situation abroad. Our situation here in Singapore is very mild compared to certain regions abroad. Hence the task of Missions Awareness (Publicity for Missions) is to know what can be said and what cannot be said. Usually, it is the things that cannot be said that are the most inspiring. The challenge is to say what cannot be said, in the wisest way possible, so that you as the Church, can rally behind the people involved and support them in prayer. This massive task would require much wisdom from the Lord.

At the beginning of this year, I had an encouraging chat with one of our Chinese brothers. Speaking of missionaries, he said that back home, being a missionary is one of the most respected in terms of ministry vocations. The reason is “because they really serve God using their life.” Reading this in English does not justify the effect it meant in Mandarin. What he meant was that many people are willing to serve God using their gift and talents, but not many people are willing to do the same with their life. This is what our missionaries and mission workers are doing right now. Many of them are risking their very lives in the land of their ministry. They are forced to go under cover. Much of their work cannot be made known to you as the surveillance over there is a very real issue. This resulted in them doing ministry very detached from the Church in Singapore. Little of us know of their work and who they are, and much less to pray for them.

The media has proven to be really powerful. In some countries the Christians are portrayed to be anti-authority, rioters who want their rights. The thing was that I actually believed those official press releases. It was only when I heard it from our people on the ground that I found out that the real situation there was not like what it was portrayed by the media. The reality is that God is moving powerfully. When the world seeks to suppress and shame the people of God, God is the one who vindicates them. Our reputation is in the hands of the Lord.

Let these individuals, who cannot be named, be an inspiration to you. As much as the presence of the enemy is real, the protection of our God is even more real. Pray for an undying passion for the Lord. Keep that fire burning! It is this fire that will spur us to live life missionally.