Strength in Meekness

Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth (KJV). 

Is it weakness to be gentle? Is it cowardly to turn the other cheek? In truth, strength is found in walking humbly in meekness. Without meekness, one will never inherit the territory God has for him. We could never influence society for His Kingdom without it. Meekness is strength that is restrained. Other words for it are “mild,” “forbearance” or “gentleness.” It means having a calm demeanor, which makes one approachable. True meekness is strength under the control of the Holy Spirit. That means if a person is going to correctly walk in it, he will have to humble himself before the Lord. That means denying himself, picking up his cross and following Jesus (see Matthew 16:24). Speaking of Jesus, if He was not meek we would never know the Father. When reading Revelation, we find that in the Second Coming He will return with power and He will not be holding back judgment when He does. Meekness kept us from being judged before the appointed time, as well as facing the second death (see Revelation 20:1-15). Jesus could have displayed His power in vengeance. He could have had angels fight for Him before the Crucifixion (see Matthew 21:1-5; 26:47-57; John 18:1-12). In fact, if He did not willingly lay His life down in meekness, there never would have been the Cross of Christ and we would still be lost in our sins. There would have been no acceptable Sacrifice given to God in our stead. In essence, His meekness gave us strength. 

If we are going to be approachable, we will have to maintain a spirit of meekness. Being self-righteous is not exactly meekness and humility in action. It would be difficult at best to share the Gospel if one were to take such a posture. How many of us like discussions with arrogant people? Self-righteousness is religious arrogance and it teaches a different gospel (see Galatians 1:6-9). Think about this, we are able to approach God because He is meek. The Father is very gentle with us even when He disciplines us. In fact, discipline is meekness in action. Without it, it would be punishment. God never corrects His children out of anger. Anger does not control Him, nor does it speak for Him. The Father restrains His anger for our benefit. If we are going to represent God well, we need to keep this in mind when dealing with others, especially if you are a parent or have a place of influence in a child’s life. 

Gentleness enables us to minister to and restore one another. It does not harshly criticize people for failure. Galatians 6:1-2 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ (KJV). Meekness does not condone sin; it combats sin. In fact, it is ruthless when it comes to sin. It seeks to destroy sin without destroying the person who has erred from the Truth. It makes room for repentance, which is also an act of vengeance (see 2 Corinthians 7:1-16). While our goal is pleasing God and our motivation behind it is love, repentance infuriates the enemy of our souls. He wants nothing more than to hurt the Father by destroying our lives. When it gets down to it, meekness is a weapon in spiritual combat. 

This virtue is difficult to maintain in our own strength. Fortunately, it is part of the fruit of the Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-24), which means the Holy Spirit enables us to do what we could not do otherwise. This explains those moments when we “kept our cool” when we would have normally exploded on someone. With the help of the Holy Spirit, it is possible to keep our composure under the most difficult circumstances. By yielding to Him, we can maintain a posture of peace. Through meekness, we are able to reconcile differences and maintain relationships. It keeps doors open that would otherwise be shut in our faces. All it takes is a willingness to humble ourselves before the Lord and allow His gentleness to flow through us. If we do not insist on having our way, we will allow Him to have His.

Does God Really Love Me?

lt used to be enough that God loves you. You remember those days, right after you internalized, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whosoever believes in might not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

And it felt so good, so freeing. All of a sudden, you felt humility and self-worth bleeding together, overlapping. But it didn't take long. A few sermons, a few calls to start serving, to do your part, to use your gifts, to fulfill your "calling"; a few failures, a few skipped Bible studies, angry outbursts or nasty thoughts and suddenly you aren't so sure God likes you. 

Sure, sure, He loves you. He promised to never leave you and you know all the verses about His lovingkindness that endures forever, but yeah, not so sure He's really all that proud of you. His love is obligatory, kind of like a parent's. But He's not calling you His friend. You're pretty nervous to imply that you and God are all that close. So you cringe a bit when it's your turn to pray out loud. You pick up dime-a-dozen devos instead of the real Word of God. God loves you, He has to, right? 

You're not the first Christian to feel this way. That's why most of us spout off, "We are saved by grace through faith and not by works", but then try ever so hard to do just the right things. The pulpit preaches that Jesus paid the price and we cannot earn salvation, but then, once we're saved we discover the checklist of all the things we ought to do to insure our salvation. Sound familiar?

But if it's true that God's gift of salvation is free, then how is it possible that the maintenance of the same is so expensive? And if security does not come at a cost, then how can we convince our hearts to rest in the truth that God not only loved us enough to save us, but that He likes us enough to stay present with us in all our failures, to endure our screw ups, to fellowship with us in our weaknesses, to invest His Holy Spirit in us, to speak to us, to comfort us, to assure us of our salvation?

The secret is much simpler than you might fear. It is gratitude. In the KJV, Hebrews 12:28says, "Wherefore we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:". 

In the English Standard Version, it reads, "Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,".

The word translated as "grateful" in the second version is the same as is translated "grace" in the the King James. A succinct definition of the Greek word is this: The spiritual condition of one governed by the power of divine grace, the merciful influence of kindness by which God, exerting His holy influence upon our souls, turns them to Christ.*

In both translations, it is easy to see that the kingdom has already been received, therefore the readers (you and I) are assumed to have accepted Christ as our personal Savior. The next step is to worship the King of this kingdom with gratitude.
When we gather around the thanksgiving table each November, it's common to pass our plates with the query, "What are you thankful for?". This is the same principle we must apply to our worship: What do we worship for? What are we grateful for?

The difference between "love" and "like" is gratitude. The concept of love has the potential to remain nebulous, but when that love is expressed in terms of gratitude it takes on a gritty tangibleness. Thankfulness requires knowing someone, recognizing their contribution. Thanksgiving requires that we internalize God's love and recognize Him as good. 

The next time you are fearful that you've let God down and imagine Him standing over you saying, "I will always love you, but I'm so disappointed, I don't like you very much right now," pause to thank Him. Thank Him for the factual evidence of His love. In this thankfulness it will become apparent that He does indeed like you. His affection for you overflows the boundaries of unconditional love into the confidence that He treasures you, has secured you and that you have no need to impress Him. 


* Lexicon and dictionary notes taken from Blueletterbible.org

Competition: The Heart of a Man

It doesn't take too long on my Facebook newsfeed before I can see posts about either hockey, football, baseball or basketball and hear about how "OUR TEAM IS THE BEST".  It seems like competition is woven into the heart of man and some would say that is a bad thing.  I think competition gets a bad rap these days, which is a bummer because I think competition speaks to the heart of what it means to be a man.

Believe it or not, the Bible addresses this topic. Mark 9 tells the story of the disciples arguing amongst themselves about who was greatest. This is classic masculinity in action. Let's keep score and compete to see who wins. When people teach this story, they often teach it like the disciples were doing something wrong, like this desire to be first was a bad thing.

But it wasn't. Jesus doesn't scold them for wanting to be first. Instead, he sits them down and tells them how to actually do it! He says, "Whoever wants to be first among you must be the servant of all." He affirmed their desire to be first, their desire to compete for honors; he just told them they had been keeping score the wrong way. And that's it.

Like I said, competition does get a bad rap, because the gap from healthy competition to unhealthy is very narrow. When we call a person "competitive," what we usually mean is that they like to win and they get very bitter if they don't. The desire to be first place in some sport often goes hand in hand with the desire to cheat or to use performance-enhancing drugs to get there. Things like that cause people - usually women - to look at competition on the whole and say that it's a bad thing, that we should all just get along and be nice to each other so nobody has to lose.

Yet I would observe that those things are not actually the fault of competition at all. When a person cheats, his focus is not on the competition, but on the results. A "competitive" person does not like competing, most of the time; he likes winning - he is obsessed with the result. There might be great competition, but if he loses, he is still unhappy. That's the really interesting thing about the way Jesus addressed competition. According to his way of keeping score, you never really know where you are on the leaderboard. All you know is how you're doing at the competition itself - at being a servant to everyone. We'll find out the final score someday, but until then we can't know it, which keeps us from being obsessed with the results.

Believe it or not, Paul actually commands us to compete with one another. In Romans 12:10, he says, "Love with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor." Find out how your neighbor is doing at showing honor, and one-up him. Love more; love harder. Something tells me men get more excited about the possibility of outdoing each other than they would about simply showing honor without the idea of a competition. See, we tend to think that comparing ourselves to other people is inherently a bad thing, because many times it is, but many does not equal always. It can be a very good thing when comparing myself to my neighbor leads me to conclude that I'm not loving people as well as he is. As a man, that competition might just be what I need to spur me to the next level. Proverbs says that friends are supposed to have this effect on each other, just like iron sharpens iron.

Furthermore, the idea of a reward for one's work is very common throughout the Bible. Hebrews 11 observes, "Anyone who comes to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." In Revelation 22, Jesus promises, "Behold, I am coming soon, and my reward is with me." Rewards are a form of competition: some people will get the prize, and other people won't, and it all depends on how you live during your life. But the thing about God's prizes, which distinguishes them from earthly prizes, is that one person winning does not prevent the rest of us from winning. There are plenty of prizes to go around. If I compete with my friend to see who can outdo the other in showing honor, we both win. It's the healthiest kind of competition. It's all the intensity of competing, which men like, coupled with all the gentleness of "nobody loses," except for the people who don't try at all to win the prizes.

Polling company Rasmussen Reports has found that 56% of churchgoers are women. In other words, for every 2 men in church, there are 3 women. Why the disparity? What is it about the way the gospel is preached that appeals to women more than men, and why are all those other men choosing football and golf over church on Sunday mornings? I don't mean to suggest that churches are failing to reach men, because there are still a lot of Christian men in this country; nor do I even mean to suggest that all men enjoy and are motivated by a dynamic of competition. But Jesus himself affirmed his disciples when they expressed a desire to be first. He told them exactly how to do it. Shouldn't we conclude that even Jesus understood that some people simply get more excited when they have the ability to compete against other people? If we can introduce that dynamic back into faith somehow, won't we reach a lot of men who feel that Christianity is a good story but is lacking something?

Of course, the man in me wishes there was some way to actually watch my score go up, because that's what I like about sports and video games: I always know exactly how I'm doing at all times. Showing love is tougher. Do I have a 36%, or is it more like a 58.2%? Because I don't know the score, I just have to focus on the process: loving more, showing honor more, serving everyone. And I have to know that God is watching me, keeping my score, preparing my rewards for the day I take hold of them.

Comfort Comes When Repentance Comes

Matthew 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted (KJV). 

Mourning connects with repentance as it works in concert with conviction. While often identified with grief as the result of a loss, it also can be known as godly sorrow as the result of an awakening. That awakening is the product of the Holy Spirit convicting people of sin, righteousness, and judgment (see John 16:7-11). With conviction comes an awareness of the separation between God and the individual. Consequently, sorrow grips the heart and soul of those who receive that conviction, which in turn leads to a change in the way they think about sin, the righteousness of God and the Judgment to come. With their eyes thus opened, they are able to turn form darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they are able to receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among those sanctified by faith that is in Christ Jesus (see Act 26:12-18). 

Comfort comes when repentance comes. While tears often accompany godly sorrow, they in of themselves are not necessary a sign of repentance. Any hypocrite can produce tears in order to appear sorrowful. There may be some legitimate grieving, but that does not mean there has been a change of heart or change in the way a person thinks. We find an example of sorrow leading to repentance with the Church at Corinth. They had allowed sin to enter into the camp, and as a result, Paul wrote concerning this issue in 1Corinthians 5-6. In his second letter to the Corinthians, we find that repentance took place as a result. 

2Corinthians 7:8-11 For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season. Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter (KJV). 

Without repentance, none will ever experience the complete comfort of the Holy Spirit while on the earth. Nor will they experience the Ultimate Comfort when God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away (Revelation 21:4, KJV [see also Revelation 7:17]). Mourning is also attached to humility. As we find in James 4:6-10,“God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up” (KJV). 

There comes a time when we need to put away merriment, so we can properly grieve. Some seek constant pleasure to avoid the suffering attached to sorrow. They use laughter to inoculate themselves from weeping; but without weeping, there can be no real healing. Weeping is a spiritual and emotional cleaning process that also flows into the physical realm. Tears literally remove poisons from the body caused by heaviness. That is why when people have a “good cry,” they feel better mentally and physically. When we allow the healing process to take place, we find that mourning turns to dancing. This is especially true when repentance is involved. There comes a time when we have to face the reality of where we are in life. At times, we may need to properly mourn for a loss, instead of stuffing the pain. To move on in such instances, one must mourn first. We may find we have sin in our life and need repentance. Often, tears accompany the restoration process the Lord takes us through as we genuinely sorrow. However, He also turns them into tears of joy and laughter. Psalm 30:10-12 “Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me: Lord, be thou my helper. Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: Thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever (KJV). 

Peace In The Midst of the Storm

In this world you will have trouble. John 16:33 

I wonder if the disciples were shocked when Jesus said this? After all, by this time they had seen Jesus perform many miracles—water into wine, multiplying bread and fish, people healed, and raised from the dead. Why would the disciples expect trouble when God could work miracles? Furthermore Jesus had told them to ask “for anything in my name, and I will do it” (John 14:14). 

The real key is in the first half of the verse, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.” In Jesus we have peace. We don’t necessarily have peace in our circumstances but we can always have peace in Jesus. God could prevent difficulties but rather he often chooses to let us experience his peace in the midst of them. Being at peace in a difficult situation is a miracle in itself because it shows the world we are trusting in God; it also adds to the devil’s demise. 

When we trust God in difficult circumstances we demonstrate our belief in something greater and more enduring than temporary relief from our problems. We believe God is doing a work that has eternal consequence. We are relying on Paul's words which tells us, “What is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18). 

Nevertheless it is important for us to believe God not only has the ability to perform miracles but does perform miracles from time to time. This gives us the faith to know God is indeed powerful and compassionate. However, whether God intervenes directly in our circumstances or not we know, “His works are perfect, and all his ways are just” (Deuteronomy 32:4). 

Let’s choose to trust him and avail ourselves of his peace. 

A New Heart

And I brought him to Thy disciples, and they could not cure him. Matthew 17:16

On December 3, 1967, in the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, a team of doctors, led by Dr. Christiaan Barnard, performed the world's first heart transplant. Although the recipient, Louis Washkansky, lived for only 18 days after the surgery, other transplant recipients followed who lived for several years. Heart transplants now are relatively common, with specialists and equipment in many large hospitals capable of performing such operations. But in 1967, Dr. Barnard was venturing into new and unexplored regions of medicine. Until he successfully performed the first transplants and established the procedures for doing so, no other doctors or hospitals could even think of attempting a heart transplant. There was no cure for a severely diseased heart. Just as the man in our text discovered there was no cure for his son's demon possession. Until the Lord Jesus arrived.

The man had brought his son to the disciples, and he had high hopes of a cure. After all, these men were students and associates of the great Healer from Galilee. Surely they would know the methods and procedures of their Master. We don't know what attempts the disciples made to heal the lad; all we know is whatever they tried, it did not work. And the boy and his father were no better off. The lack of a cure meant only one resort: the only One who could heal. Many today are looking for a cure for their sin and guilt, and are going to the wrong places. Instead of going directly to the Lord Jesus, people are flocking to many other fonts of false relief. The cults are prospering as they spread their confusion and false doctrine, just as the mainline denominations of Christendom are spreading their doctrine of religion and good works. Other people are attempting to slake their thirst at the cisterns of pleasure, wealth, power, and philosophies. Like the powerless disciples, these cannot cure. But sadly, they prevent many from seeking the One Who can and will cure.

We who are saved can sing of the sin cleansing power in the blood of the Lamb. We have found that our incurable disease of sin is not incurable after all, not when the case is turned over to the Great Physician. That which is impossible with the efforts and money and ideas of men is gloriously possible when the Lord Jesus steps in.

There are some patients with diseased hearts who cannot be cured, not even with a heart transplant. But there is not one sinner who cannot be saved by the blood of Christ.

The Grace of a New Beginning

And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new."  - Revelation 21:5

It is a sign of God's immeasurable grace that no one ever reaches a stage in life where one cannot start over.  Each day that dawns is a new beginning.  Our God is the God of second chances.

Do not allow whatever may have happened in the past to cause you to lose sight of what the future may hold.  If you wish to make a fresh start, make a firm decision to be done with your old life, even though it will still try to enslave you.  All new life comes from God alone.  Continually affirm that new life flows through you as a result of God's grace, and you will receive the inheritance of new life that is yours in Christ.

Lord of new beginnings, thank you that each new day Your mercies are new and I can begin again. Amen.