LED BY COMPASSION - Matthew 15:32-38
What Does it Say?  Then Jesus called his disciples and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way.”

 The disciples replied, “Where would we get enough food here in the wilderness for such a huge crowd?”

 Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?”

They replied, “Seven loaves, and a few small fish.”

 So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to the disciples, who distributed the food to the crowd.

 They all ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food. There were 4,000 men who were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children. Then Jesus sent the people home, and he got into a boat and crossed over to the region of Magadan

What Does it Mean?  Jesus had compassion on the people, which is why he wanted to feed them before sending them home.  Do we look at people and have compassion on them?  Do we see the pain they are feeling and pray for them?  Do we see them as lost and going to hell and care about their fate?  Or are we so caught up in our own lives that we don't even think about what might be going on in someone else's life?  Do we look at the world and think we can do nothing to help them or do we help in whatever way we can?  Father, give us a heart to care about the women around us.  Jesus told the disciples to go out to serve the people; there was no buffet table.  Do we expect women to come into the church or are we willing to go out to where the women are?  The disciples were to offer the same opportunity to everyone, any that were not hungry didn't have to eat.  Twenty-four hours a day does not give us time to be friends with everyone we meet.  Ask God to lead us to the person He wants us to reach out to.  That could be a waitress with a bad cold, a young mom trying to juggle her children while she is grocery shopping, a co-worker that seems discouraged or invite someone out for lunch.  When we ask God to lead us, we can be confident that He will.  Reach out in compassion to someone today.