Gentleness Is Next To Godliness

Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5

The third happy instruction from Jesus that we call the Beatitudes is the one about being meek, gentle, and humble.  He said we’ll be happy and blessed by God if we possess this character quality. We will be assigned an inheritance of contentment on earth. We know we've got heaven in our future but we can have a little “heaven on earth” if we can live in a peaceful gentle way.

I think it’s not so much the activity or action as it is the attitude. It is a joyful submission. It’s the golden rule we were taught as a child: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. (From Jesus in Matthew 7:12) But Jesus took this attitude a little farther. He took awful actions from others and He gave in return the attitude of love, grace, forgiveness, and mercy.

I think that when we give gentleness in the face of harshness directed toward us we are being the most like Christ.

We quietly submit to God and the authority He has placed over us. We bear insults and do not retaliate with insults. We are patient with those who are impatiently angry. We don’t belittle others so we can build up our own ego. We don’t join in the step on whoever I have to, to get ahead philosophy. We don’t get bitter if someone mistreats us or takes away our life prizes.

And by the way, just think about those people who are insubordinate, insulting, angry, ego indulgers, clawing their way to what they think is success; those who grab and hold the stuff of the world and are never remorseful over who they hurt to get it but are bitter and unforgiving if they don’t get their way.  Are they happy?  Are they ever content? Do they ever reach that place of relaxed peacefulness?

Well Jesus has that place on earth. And we can be in that place on earth. Be gentle like He was gentle. Be humble like He was humble. Give love and forgiveness to others as He does for you.

Change the golden rule to the Godly rule: Do unto others what Jesus did for you. Do unto others what Jesus did for them. Be as much like Jesus as you can. 

 What do you get out of this way of life? You get happiness. You get contentment. You get that place of relaxed peacefulness that the world doesn't understand.

It sounds like a wonderful place and I don’t know why I don’t go there more often.

 Too many times I get my feelings hurt because someone wronged me. I get angry that it didn't go my way. I get impatient with slow people. Yes, and on occasion, I've even said, “I don’t care,” and I didn't. Those were the unhappy times. Those were the times I wasn't accessing the inheritance God has for me on earth. 

I don’t like that place.

I want my happy inheritance place.

I want the place of gentleness.

That place is next to Jesus.

Hopeful are the Hopeless

I’m a bit of a Pinterest follower. I know it can suck up a lot of time but I've gotten some neat ideas from the site. And not only have I pinned them but I have actually used them. Anyway, I saw a pin that said, “I feel like I’m always waiting for something that will never happen.” When I read that I thought that that was surely the definition of hopelessness. How sad this person must be to always be longing for something that will never actually occur.  

I’m studying the Beatitudes now and this Pinterest led me to verse 4. I’m stopped in my study with this verse as I take it apart and put it back together. (Yes, my friends call it “cleaning a corner with a toothbrush.”):

Matthew 5:4 God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

God blesses the hopeless. He makes them happy and hopeful again. One of my favorite theologians and teacher calls this verse, “Happy are the sad.” I say, “Hopeful are the hopeless.”

This word “mourn” is a term of intense grieving over something that is lost or gone forever. Many theologians argue over what that is. I could be the death of a loved one. It could be an irreparable loss. I could be grief of the loss of a relationship with God because of our sin. Whatever it is it is a sorrow so severe that it takes possession and overwhelms. It makes you feel helpless and hopeless. And this is what God blesses?

Yes, Jesus said that in this hopeless situation He shows up with comfort. The happiness doesn't come from the situation but it comes in God’s response to it. He sends comfort through the “comforter.” It’s no accident that the Holy Spirit is called our comforter. The Greek word is “paraclete.” (I know. It reminds me of parakeet too.)  It means the part of our Holy God who consoles, helps, counsels, comforts, encourages, uplifts, refreshes, and stands before the Father on our behalf as our advocate. He is in us and with us and goes before us. We don’t face the awfulness of life alone.

And the best part is that Jesus makes the promise that in this distressing time we will be comforted. It’s not a sometimes or a maybe. We will have the comforter. Now that is hope in our hopeless circumstances. A friend of mine just last week said, “Things are so bad in my life and I’m really going through the wringer. But I don’t know what my state of mind would be if I was not a Christian. God makes it OK.” And I could relate to the feeling. I've been there. And God made it OK. 

God makes it OK.

God gives hope in hopelessness.

God gives us relief that we are not facing things alone.

Something good is going to come of our most retched situations.

Just wait and see.

Happy are the sad.

Hopeful are the hopeless.

Fortunately Fortunate

Jesus said that some people were very fortunate or happily blessed by God.

Now we, in today’s world, either consider ourselves fortunate or not fortunate. I know I fall prey to any kind of enter to win contest. So far I have not won the “Dream Home,” the “Smart Home,” the “Blog Cabin,” the “Paris Escape,” the “Publisher’s Clearing House Prize,” or even the door prize at the women’s events at church. I consider myself as not what the world calls lucky.

But Jesus’ definition of fortune and those gifted with it is quite different from the world’s explanation. He said:  

Blessed, happy, and fortunate are those who are utterly destitute and helplessly worthless before Him, because they are considered part of His royal kingdom. They have a covering from heaven of happiness, riches, power, and eternity. Matthew 5:3

Wow! I can come into His presence a looser and come away a winner.

1.      I don’t need to pay an entrance fee because He requires that I am helplessly poor.

2.      I don’t have to give my personal information because He already knows me.

3.      I don’t need to be at a certain location at the time the prize is given because He brings it to me.

4.      I don’t have to worry that I have a one in a million chance to win because He guarantees that I have already won.

 I am the winner of the grand prize. I am one of the ones who are fortunate and happily blessed by God.

Before you get all, “That’s not fair. I never win either,” let me assure you that you've won this prize too. You can be blessed and part of His kingdom of riches, power, and eternal treasure. You just have to come to Him with nothing. Don’t bring your credentials, or your self-confidence. Don’t bring what the world calls your success. Don’t come with all of the wonderful things you have done that you think will influence Him.  Just come to Him realizing you have nothing with which to impress a holy God.

God saved you by His own grace to you when you believed in Him. You can’t take any credit for this; it is a gift to you from God.  Ephesians 2:8

So you see, you are the winner of the grand prize too if you have met the requirements. Come with nothing. Believe in Him. Leave with everything.

Some people are just fortunate.

That would be you and me, fortunately.

When You’re Down, You’re Up

Do you remember the kiddie song that was invented I’m sure to keep me not bored at church:

When you’re up, you’re up

And when you’re down you’re down

And when you’re only halfway up…

Yes, that one. I've been thinking about that song this week. I've come to realize that when you’re down you can really be up. The seemingly impossible is due to Jesus and His salvation.

A dear sister/friend Pam referred me to this verse while I was down. And, low and behold, I wasn't down anymore. Had circumstances changed? No. My attitude toward the circumstances had changed. I saw the circumstances through the eyes of heaven. I saw God’s attitude toward me. Oh, here’s the verse she referred to me:

The Lord your God in in your midst;

He is the mighty one who saves.

He will rejoice over you with gladness;

He will quiet you with His love.

He will rejoice over you with loud singing.

Zephaniah 3:17

God through the Holy Spirit is in the very middle of each one that is saved through Jesus. He is in the middle of me and my circumstances and in the middle of you and your circumstances. Right there in the very middle. That is what “in your midst” means.

He is the victorious mighty one in the middle of us who delivers and saves.

He will “yasis” over us. That’s the Hebrew word for rejoice and the word looks like a party: 

יָשִׂ֨ישׂ. 

See the balloons and confetti? Well, I do but then I've done a lot of kid’s parties. Anyway, He throws a great festival of rejoicing over little old you and little old me.

His love is so great for us that we don’t even have to question it. We can quietly be secure in this knowledge. But while we may be quiet, God is not. He is “yasis”ing and when He rejoices over us He even sings loudly.

Now this is a party to which I want to be invited. How about you? Good news! We are invited.

How can I be stressed and depressed when there’s a party going on?

How can I pout when He loves me that much?

How can I be down?

And All the People Said, “Amen!”

David’s Song of Thanks from I Chronicles 16         

8 Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples!
9  Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; tell of all His wondrous works!
10  Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!
11  Seek the LORD and His strength; seek His presence continually!
12 Remember the wondrous works that He has done, His miracles and the judgments He uttered,
14  He is the LORD our God; His judgments are in all the earth.
15  Remember His covenant forever, the word that He commanded, for a thousand generations,
23  Sing to the LORD, all the earth! Tell of His salvation from day to day.
24  Declare His glory among the nations, and His marvelous works among all the peoples!
25  For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and He is to be feared above all gods.
28  Choose the LORD, O families of the peoples, give the LORD glory and strength!
29  Give the LORD the glory due His name. Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness;
34  Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!                                                                          

36  Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting!”

       Then all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the LORD.

Let us remember the covenant God has promised us through His Son Jesus Christ. Let us praise Him for the mighty works He has done in our lives. Let us seek Him daily and continually rejoice. Let us always live in thankfulness. Glory to God. Glory to God. Glory to God forever!

And all the people said…

We Are Your Church

Last week was VBS week and I saw a wonderful thing. I saw the body of Christ in action. I saw all ages of the church come together to present the gospel and practice kingdom building.

Everyone was effectively using their gift to make the church united in this effort. The older children were examples to the youngers. The students led the kids to the correct location with love and kindness. The ladies in the kitchen worked tirelessly to provide smiles and food for the children. The teachers taught God’s word with enthusiasm and joy. The men made sure the kids had fun outside and taught them inside as well. There were workers behind the scene to make sure the atmosphere was conducive to optimal learning. The teacher’s lounge people ministered to the teachers so that they had a little time of refreshment. The olders in Christ, pastors, and deacons of our church made their presence known and felt lending their experience. And money was given with joy to help our inner city ministry reach past the walls of our church. We all had a great time in ministry. The church was alive and well.

It made me think of the song our choir and congregation just learned. Here are the words that kept going through my mind:

Unleash Your kingdom’s power
Reaching the near and far
No force of hell can stop
Your beauty changing hearts
You made us for much more than this
Awake the kingdom seed in us
Fill us with the strength and love of Christ
We are Your church
We are the hope on earth

I kept singing, “We are Your church. We are the hope on earth” to myself (and not to myself sometimes.) To me our VBS was a micro example of what the church of Christ is doing around the world. It gave me a visible illustration of what God sees as He watches His church continue on until He comes to take us to be with Him.

We all have a job to do.
We all have a God given gift.
When we work together, we are an unstoppable force.

We are Your church!

Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that He might present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish Ephesians 5:25-27

Pineapple Boat Prayers

Wow! I’m having a busy week. Along with everything that usually happens in the week there’s; VBS each night, a new fence being put in, planning a vacation, my neighbor is moving, yard work that I have neglected, I stepped in a fire ant bed, and my great friend asked me to make two pineapple boats. 

Yes, the last thing, two pineapple boats. Since I've never even made one, I was quite mystified at being asked to make two. But she asked as if making pineapple boats comes natural to me. I’m thankful for Pinterest is all I can say.

In all the chaos of everyday life I realized I’m praying less. Shouldn't I be praying more the busier I get? Don’t I have more to pray about? Is my life pushing my relationship to my Father away? I had to answer honestly, “Yes” to all of the above questions.

James 1:5

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

The Greek word need (as in “need wisdom”) means not just lacking but leaving it behind or abandoning it. That’s what all my spinning has caused. I've abandoned wisdom. I've tried to live in harried industriousness without God’s guidance.

But our God will give us wisdom to cope with busyness if we simply go to Him in prayer. He gives it sincerely, graciously and bountifully. He will not mock our clumsy requests or take our simplicity as an insult. He wants to be part of our busyness. And He wants to be all up in our business.

That’s when I realized that as crazy as it sounds, He doesn't mind if I ask Him to be with me as I make pineapple boats.  He doesn't mind if I pray that the cost of new fence gate will be a good use of the money He has given me. He is concerned that my vacation doesn't take place without regard to what is happening in His plan for the world. He wants me to keep VBS in perspective of what He wants to do in children’s heart. He wants me to leave a last testimony of what He can do in my neighbor’s heart before she leaves.  And, yes, He can help me remember the sting of sin by me having the sting of fire ant bites.

So in the future I want to remember to pray for all these little things that can clutter my life.

In fact, I want to pray more the busier I get.

I think I’ll call them

pineapple boat prayers.