Introduction to Pastor Chris' Paraphrase of Proverbs Devotion

Introduction
There was once a man who was made the king of all Israel while he was still very young.  How was he to lead when he had no experience?  God appeared to him in a dream and asked, “What do you want me to give you?”  The young man said, “O Lord my God, I am like a little child who doesn’t know what to do.  And here I am trying to lead a kingdom.  They’re too many of them to count! Give me wisdom so I can govern them well and know the difference between right and wrong. That’s the only way I’ll be able to govern Your people.”  

God was pleased and said, “Since you asked for wisdom to govern the right way and didn’t ask for a long life or wealth or revenge against your enemies, I will grant your wish! I will give you wisdom the likes of which the world has never seen! And I will also give you something you didn’t ask for—riches and fame!  No other king in all the world will even hold a candle to you!  And you will live a long, full life!” (Adapted from 1 Kings 3:5-14)

The young man was Solomon.  He is known as the wisest man who ever lived.  His wisdom lead Israel to a period of great peace, power, and prosperity.  Word of Solomon’s wisdom spread all over the world and people came from near and far to learn from him.  Solomon accumulated vast treasures of the finest quality.  His palace was luxuriously adorned.  He built a glorious Temple to honor God--the first Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.  

Solomon lived nearly 3,000 years ago.  His palace, his temple, and all his treasures are gone--faded into history.  However, Solomon’s most important contribution--the most valuable treasure he possesed--is still available to us today.  The Book of Proverbs is a collection sayings and advice that offer practical wisdom for life.  Many of the sayings were from Solomon himself; some were from others who were inspired by him.  Solomon’s love for wisdom and focused attention to it during his reign ensured the collection and preservation of Proverbs down through the ages.  Now, the wisdom that enabled a young, inexperienced man to become the greatest king Israel had ever known is available to guide our lives.

Wisdom.  It is more precious than silver and gold.  It is a faithful guard against trouble, injury, and death.  It is a fortress of protection and a treasure of immense value.  Wisdom leads to prosperity, honor, and success.  Those who have it want even more.  Those who scorn it suffer greatly for their folly.  To have great wisdom is better than any super power you could possess.

And yet wisdom of this magnitude is not something for casual amusement.  It is not something in which to merely dabble .  To find real wisdom, one must commit their whole heart to the journey.  Proverbs says we should search for wisdom as a man searches for hidden treasure.  He knows it is there and its worth is immeasurable and its value will alter the course of his life.  He doesn’t casually search for the treasure when he has a little extra time to spare here and there.  He doesn’t think about it one moment and forget about it for most of his day.  No, he thinks about that treasure all the time and he searches for it with his whole heart as often as he can, giving it everything he has, almost consumed by the search, because he knows finding the treasure will change his life forever.  That is how one searches for wisdom in the Book of Proverbs.  In fact, Pastor Chris’ Paraphrase of Proverbs 2:1-8 says, “If you listen to what I say, child, and hold on to these truths in your heart, if you pay attention to my wisdom and really want to understand, if you beg for more insight and really try to get it, if it’s as important to you as silver, like going on a treasure hunt, then you'll get to know God and be awestruck by the Lord.  The Lord makes us wise; He gives truth and understanding.  He fills good people with dependable wisdom.  He protects the innocent and maintains the road to justice, keeping his dedicated, godly people safe.”

Are you ready to search for God’s wisdom treasure passed down through the ages by the great king, Solomon?  I hope you are and I hope you will make it a lifelong quest.  It will change your life forever.

General Themes
You are about to make a start on your lifelong treasure hunt.  It begins with this thirty-one day devotion to the search of God’s wisdom.  Our goal together will be to grow closer to God as we grow in His wisdom.  There are several general themes I have discovered in my treasure hunt through Proverbs thus far.  I summarize them for you here.

First of all, true wisdom begins with a deep reverence for the Lord.  Even the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisest wisdom of man.  The wisdom we can attain by our own means is nothing compared to what God can give.  Therefore, if we want to be truly wise, we must humble ourselves before God and honor Him as our Lord, the Lord of all.  This in itself is wisdom.  It is to recognize the true state of affairs--that He is Lord and we are His.

Second, wisdom is a willingness to listen and learn.  Those who gain true wisdom are not necessarily the smartest, most skillful, or capable people.  It is not those who have the most natural ability or highest education who gain the most wisdom.  Sometimes these things even hinder the growth of wisdom because wisdom comes to those who are patient and humbly listen and learn.  Wisdom is not something you already have within you, it is something you receive from God when you listen and learn.

Third, a huge part of wisdom is controlling yourself and your impulses.  Again and again, Proverbs teaches people to control their tongue, their anger, their appetites, and desires.  Proverbs encourages self-disciple, hard work, persistence, and long-term growth.  One must be committed to the journey and willing to put off short term gratifications and gains for the sake of something more lasting.  This is wisdom.  Those who are ruled by their desires will miss out on wisdom.

Instructions 
This thirty-one day devotional is a great way to search for the treasures of wisdom in Proverbs.  It may be used as you embark on your treasure hunt for the first time or as an aid for those who have been lifelong students of wisdom.  Let me suggest some directions as you begin this thirty-one day journey.  

There is a short devotion for each day followed by a chapter from Proverbs.  Since there are thirty-one chapters in Proverbs, it makes a great month long devotion--reading one chapter of Proverbs per day.  Begin with a short prayer to the Lord.  Wisdom all starts with a deep reverence for God.  So, pray to God.  You don’t have to use the flowery language you might have heard a preacher or some deeply spiritual person use.  Simply talk to God as you would talk to someone you truly respect.  Ask God to teach you wisdom as you read the day’s devotion and chapter.  This is how King Solomon found wisdom.  He asked God for it.

Next, read the devotion at the beginning of each section.  These are short reflections that highlight insights I gained in my reading of Proverbs each day.  They will feature a short paraphrase that caught my attention.  Perhaps they will speak to you as well.

At the end of the devotion is my prayer for the day.  You may read it as my prayer for you or you may adopt the words as your personal prayer to God.

Finally, read the daily chapter of Proverbs.  I have compiled two versions side by side in parallel.  The version in the left column is the New American Standard Bible (NASB) and is one of the most accurate word for word translations of the Bible available in modern English.  It is a very reliable translation, but it is not always the easiest to understand.  Therefore, in the right column is Pastor Chris’ Paraphrase (PCP) where I have put the chapter in my own words, which I hope are as simple and straight as possible.  I suggest you read both versions--the NASB first and then the PCP.  After reading the chapter, close with a short prayer to thank God for being with you during your devotion and/or ask Him to continue to speak to you throughout your day about any particular insight that caught your attention.

Thank You!
Thank you for deciding to read my daily devotion.  I am proud of your commitment to spend time with God each day as you search for wisdom in Proverbs.  I am grateful you chose this devotional to be your guide.  I pray God will lead you to find more of this priceless treasure.  God bless!

Preface to Pastor Chris' Paraphrase of Proverbs Devotion

Preface
My first Bible paraphrasing project was a study of Gospel passages about the birth of Christ. The Birth of Christ was so rewarding I wanted to do another. I chose the book of Proverbs for my second project for several reasons.

First of all, Proverbs is quite a bit longer and more challenging than the birth narratives of Christ. This paraphrase of Proverbs is at least eight times longer than The Birth of Christ. However, the challenge is more than just the length. The witty, symbolic, and poetic meanings in Proverbs are far more difficult to translate than the narrative stories of Christ’s birth. Yet, having already successfully accomplished the easier project, I wanted something more challenging.

Second (and most important), I need more practical wisdom in my life. Wisdom is more than education. It’s more than book knowledge. It’s far more than knowing things. Wisdom is even more than knowing right from wrong. I have known wise people who were not very intelligent (and perhaps a few who were not even very noble). Yet, a truly wise person seems to have an uncanny ability to do the right thing in the right way at the right time. Who wouldn’t want more of that kind of wisdom? Proverbs teaches it and we can grow in this wisdom as we spend time with God while we read, study, and live out the Proverbs in these pages daily.

There is a third reason I chose the book of Proverbs. The book has a nice symmetry that lends itself to daily devotion. My friend, Tom Kazniki (who has since passed away), was the first person to point out to me the symmetry in Proverbs. There are thirty-one chapters in Proverbs and thirty-one days in most months, making a natural rhythm to read one Proverb each day of the month. That was Tom’s daily devotion. I have followed his pattern as I studied Proverbs over the last year.

A Word About Translations and Paraphrases
I should add a short explanation about the difference between a Bible translation and a Bible paraphrase. A good translation starts with the most ancient and accurate copies of the biblical manuscripts available in the original languages and then carefully evaluates the differences and translates them into English (or whatever language is desired). Emphasis is on accurately translating the words and meanings of the original authors into English. A translation is far more accurate and reliable than a paraphrase. The struggle of the biblical translator is that words and phrases from ancient Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic do not always translate directly into English. For instance, Jesus and his father Joseph are called carpenters. In the original Greek, Mark 6:3 calls Joseph a 'tekton'. A tekton is a builder, usually of houses. Most houses today are made of wood so it makes sense to translate 'tekton' as carpenter. But in Jesus day, a builder of houses usually worked in stone or mud and there wasn't much wood around with which to work. So maybe it might be better to say Jesus and Joseph were stone masons, but that doesn't really get it either. And this is just one of the easy translation problems. The work of translators can get really, really tricky. Add to this that other languages use words in different orders than the way we use them in English. For example:

• In English, the verb follows immediately after the noun.
• In German the verb at the end of the sentence comes.
• Appears the verb in Greek at the beginning of the sentence.

So, translators can't translate the Bible word for word from the original language to English or we wouldn't be able to understand it. Translators have to strike a balance between making the translation as accurate as possible and as readable as possible. Modern translations fall somewhere between two ideals. There is the word for word translation, which tries to keep everything as literal as possible and sacrifices readability for accuracy. On the other end of the spectrum is a thought for thought translation, which tries to translate the thought or idea and sacrifices word accuracy for readability and to make the passage easier to understand.

With a paraphrase, the author takes a translation of the Bible and puts it into his or her own words. The author of a paraphrase usually does not start with the Bible in its original languages--Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic. It is more common for a paraphrase to come from an English translation that is rephrased into the author's own words. My process was to compare a passage from Proverbs in several English versions (NRSV, NASB, KJV, NLT, NIV, and YLT) and then rephrase the passage according to how I would say it in my own words. Often, I looked up the meaning of the original Hebrew words my Strong’s Concordance to better understand what I thought the author was trying to say so I could try to put that in words that make sense to us today. However, a paraphrase does not do the more difficult and scholarly work of studying all the most ancient fragments, manuscripts, and copies of the Bible that exist in their original languages and translating the Bible into English. Therefore, a paraphrase is not as accurate as a translation. A paraphrase can be helpful in seeing the Scripture from a different perspective or shedding more light on a passage, but we should never rely on a paraphrase to replace or change the meaning of a passage. A translation is just more accurate and reliable than a paraphrase in almost every aspect. Furthermore, the risk of a paraphrase is that it can introduce the author's own ideas, perspectives, theology, and bias into the Scripture.

The New Living Translation is one of my favorite translations of Scripture. I value it’s thought-for- thought style for easy reading and understanding. Furthermore, the creators of the NLT compiled an impressive and diverse team of translators to guard against theological bias into their version. However, for this project, I chose to feature the New American Standard Bible (NASB) because it is a strict word for word translation that seeks to render the original passages as literally as possible. The NASB’s translation style leads to one of the most accurate translations of the Bible, but it can also make passages more difficult to understand for the contemporary reader. The NASB was the logical choice to parallel my paraphrase. You can read a very accurate and reliable Bible translation in the left column and look to my paraphrase to shed more light in the right column.

Acknowledgments
I would like to make several acknowledgements. First of all, I want to thank my Lord, Jesus Christ, who continues to lead and speak to me as I study His Bible. His Word is alive and powerful. I am blessed every time I dig deeply into it. My journey through Proverbs has been no exception. It has brought me closer to Christ as I walked with Him through Proverbs every morning.

Second, I am thankful to the congregation of Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church. Their support enables me to earn a living as I pursue the Lord and share His guidance with as many as I can. What a blessing and privilege to do something I love and live out my calling as a child of God and a minister of the Gospel. Working as their minister gives me the time and encourages the discipline needed to complete projects like this paraphrase. I am very grateful.

I also want to acknowledge the many people who read my daily paraphrase postings on social media. Their words of affirmation spurred me on to continue and expand my work, knowing my own discoveries were an encouragement to others as well. It brought me joy to share my personal journey with a wider community of faith.

Finally, I want to acknowledge my amazing wife who’s honesty, love, and support are a deep blessing and constant encouragement. The thoughts, prayers, and paraphrases in these pages were mostly written early in the morning after we both had a cup of coffee. We would sit together on the couch of our living room together for a few minutes to start the day. Then, I would begin my study as she went to get ready for work. Dressed in her nursing scrubs, she would head off to the hospital NICU to serve her tiny little patients and their parents as I typed on the computer. She is a blessing to so many and especially to me.

The Fruit of the Spirit - Self-control

Introduction

I want to thank everyone who has followed this blog series on the Fruits of the Spirit from Galatian 5:22-23.  We started all the way back at the beginning of August!  If you’ve missed any, I invite you to go back and read them.  You can also watch videos of the sermons on my church's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pg/pgumc.dalton/videos/.

Galatians is all about Christian freedom.  Christians have been set free from a vain religion where we try to impress God and earn His love by following a bunch of rules.  Jesus proved God's love by dying on the cross and won our freedom from sin and death.  We are free to love God as He loves us.  However, with great freedom, comes a great need for self-control.

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Galatians 5:22-23

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Self-Control

Today, I want to talk about self-control.  Self-control is vital for free people.  The more freedom your have, the more self-control you need.  Think of a child.  They start out as a helpless infant.  Then something terrifying happens.  They become toddlers who know how to walk--sort of.  Suddenly, these immature, fragile beings are mobile and stumbling around.  Every table corner and sharp object threatens to smash their head or impale them as the bumble around their environment.  They are learning, but they are in danger because they have yet to learn to control their movements and their parents are terrified for them.  Parents, do you remember the first time your toddler learned how to open the front door?  It's horrifying because you know it's not safe for them to be outside alone.  They need an adult to keep them under control and safe.  Thankfully, as our children grow, they need less and less direct supervision because they are more mature and can control themselves.  Soon, they are adults who hopefully have enough self-control to live independently.  

This is a good analogy for the Christian life.  Before Christ, people needed rules and laws to babysit us and keep us safe and out of trouble so we didn't hurt ourselves or other.  Then Christ came to set us free.  Those who trust in Christ have the Holy Spirit living inside them to guide and direct them.  We have the freedom given to those who are spiritually mature.  However, with great freedom comes great responsibility.  We must have self-control to live safely in our freedom.

Self-control doesn’t mean controlling everything yourself.  There are some who just can’t let go.  They have to be in control of everything in their life.  Are you the kind of person who can’t sit in the passenger’s sit and let someone else drive?  When was the last time you let someone else plan a trip—figuring out how you are gonna get there, booking the hotel, deciding what to do while you’re there, etc.—without any input from you?  Self-control isn’t being a control freak.  Christian self-control is actually the opposite.  Christian life demands you to get out of the driver’s seat and let the Holy Spirit of God take the wheel.  That can be incredibly difficult for some people; and so sometimes the first act of self-control is controlling your own impulse to be “in control” of everything.

"Just Say No" In the 1980’s, Nancy Reagan said we should “just say no” to drugs.  It was a helpful public service campaign to bring awareness to America's growing drug problem, but it didn't solve the problem because, sometimes we just can’t say no.  Some teens are so influenced by peer pressure it is nearly impossible to just say no in certain circumstances.  Without God’s help, we are not free to “just say no.”  There’s a darkness within every human heart that just wants to say “yes” to all the wrong things.  And it doesn’t ever want to say “that’s enough” to good things when too much is bad for us.  The human soul always cries, “More! More! More!” even when more will completely destroy us.  “Just say no” was a good start, but people can’t just say no—not on our own.   We need God's help.  

The Christian life of freedom can be a tangled wilderness.  Freedom is awesome, but it is also messy.  We are free from the legalistic rules of religion that say, “You must do this and avoid that in order for God to love you.”  Instead, God’s grace tells us, “I love you regardless of any sin you ever commit.  You are welcome in my house!”  1 Peter 2:16 says, “You are free!”  but it also says, “don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil.”  Thankfully, God gives Christians the Holy Spirit to show us the way.  So, we must let the Holy Spirit be our careful guide as we walk this middle road through the tangled wilderness between evil self-indulgence and religious legalism.

Self-control is not just for teenagers. Adults often like to criticise teenagers for their like of self-control, but maybe we should take the log out of our own eye before we complain about the spec in the teenager's eye.  Adults need self-control even more than teenagers because we have greater freedom and usually more resources with which to indulge ourselves. With greater freedom comes a greater need for self-control.  Unfortunately, adults today seem to have so little self-control.  Cholesterol problems, high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease are rampant among adults in America primarily because we lack self-control.  We eat too much food and don't exercise enough.  We also struggle to control our TV and internet consumption.  We complain news outlets and social media are too negative, yet we do not limit our consumption of them to healthy doses.  And adults struggle with alcoholism and drug abuse as much or more than teenagers.  Where is our self-control?

How to Nurture Self-control
If we are going to lead healthy, godly lives, we need more self-control.  Thankfully, this is a virtue the Holy Spirit wishes to grow in us.  We cannot grow it ourselves; we must allow the Holy Spirit to grow it.  However, just like a garden, there are some things we can do to nurture the growth of self-control.  Self-control is like pruning your garden.

We have a lovely rose bush at our house.  Now, in order to have a lot of roses, you have to do something that doesn't make sense.  You actually have to prune--cut away--a good number of the rose buds before they bloom.  That just seems crazy to me.  Why would you cut off rose buds in order to get more roses?  It's because the bush can actually produce more roses if it can concentrate its limited resources on fewer buds.  So by cutting away some of the buds, the bush focuses on the few that are left and they are larger and more beautiful.

In our spiritual life, if we try to feed our every selfish desire, we grow spiritually weak and malnourished.  However, a self-sacrificing life of self-discipline, controlled by the Holy Spirit, leads to spiritual abundance and health.  Self-control takes root and grows.

Spiritual pruning, self-control, is a daily way of life gained as we walk intimately with the Lord. In Matthew 22, someone asked Jesus, “What is the greatest command?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 

This is how we live to nurture the growth of self-control.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.  And love your neighbor as yourself.  

First, love the Lord with all your heart—service.  1 John 4:20 says, “…if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see?”  You have to love people in order to love God with all your heart.  So, find as many ways to serve as possible.  The local church is a great place to serve.  At my church, you can help serve food and cleanup during our Wednesday night suppers.  You could volunteer with our youth or children's programs.  You could work in the yard.  You can fix something that is broken.  You could be one of our Facebook live videographers.  The list of other service opportunities is long.  Serving helps you focus less on yourself; this is a great way to practice 'self' control.

Love the Lord with all your soul—piety. Piety is a fancy word that means spending time with God through spiritual practices.  As you become intimately acquainted with God, you worry less about yourself.  Self-control grows inside you more and more.  Some essential ways to practice piety are through prayer, worship, and Holy Communion.  

• Prayer - I encourage you to pray five times a day--in the morning when you wake, at night before you sleep, and before every meal--and also say a short prayer whenever else you think about it throughout the day.  
• Worship - We were designed to worship God and God deserves our loving thanks and praise.  I recommend you worship God with other believers every Sunday.  Try not to miss more than five Sundays per year.
• Holy Communion - Also known as "The Lord's Supper", Holy Communion is an important way Jesus told us to remember what he did for us when he died on the cross.  Furthermore, it is a sacred way God pours grace into our life and nurtures the growth our our spirit.  I recommend you celebrate Holy Communion as often as possible, but at least once a month.

Love the Lord with all your mind—study.  Through the daily discipline of study, we can nurture more self-control within.  Read your Bible prayerfully and daily.  The Lord will strengthen you mind and your spirit.  Everyone should also study together with a small group of Christian believers.  At my church, this is primarily found in a Sunday school class, Wednesday night study, or our Thursday morning Bible study.  What study groups could you join to help nurture the fruit of the Spirit, self-control?

Conclusion

If you love God with all your heart, all your soul, and all love your mind, and if you love your neighbor as yourself, you will let the Holy Spirit control your life so that you do all that you can to express that love and avoid those things that are not loving to God, your neighbor, or yourself.  The practice of these greatest commands given to us by the Lord is a great exercise in self-control.

I hope you enjoy reading my blogs, made possible through the support of Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church in Dalton, GA.  Please consider supporting us financially by making a donation online.  Click here to go to our website and make a donation - www.LoveLivesAtPGUMC.org.   

Join us for worship each Sunday at 10:55 AM at 2701 Cleveland Hwy in Dalton, GA.

The Fruit of the Spirit - Gentleness

Introduction

When you put your faith in Christ to save you from your sins and trust him as your Lord, the Holy Spirit of God comes to live inside you.  The creative power of God begins to change you from the inside out so that you are more and more like His Son, Jesus.  Galatians  5:22-23 tells us the character traits of those who follow Christ.

Galatians 5:22-23

²² But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Though God is the mighty Creator of the universe, He is gentle and will not force you to change.  God’s Holy Spirit is available to help you, heal you, and grow the fruit of the Spirit within you, but only if you welcome His love and nurture the spiritual fruit He wishes to give you.  Like a garden—when tended and nurtured—the Fruit of the Spirit grows steadily within you until you reap a bountiful harvest.  I challenge you to learn all nine of the Christian virtues listed in Galatians 5:22-23.  Furthermore, I challenge you to cooperate and let the Holy Spirit grow them within you more and more.

Gentleness
Gentleness is not difficult too understand. We have known people who are gentle and also those who are not. And we see that the Word of God encourages gentleness throughout the history of God's people.

• The Bible shows that God is devastatingly powerful. However, when God spoke to the prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 19:11-12, it was not in a tornado or an earthquake or a fire or even a thunderous voice; God spoke to Elijah in a gentle whisper. 
• Proverbs 15:1 says, “A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare.”
• In Matthew 11:29, Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
• And Ephesians 4:2 encourages us to emulate Jesus' example saying, “Always be humble and gentle.” 

Gentleness is Not Weakness

The Greek word the New Living Translation renders as gentleness is “praus” (prah-oos). Some older translations like the King James Version use the word meekness. The same Greek word is used when Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. “Praus”, means gentleness, meekness, or humility. But it does not mean weak! 

“The Greek word “praus” (prah-oos) was used to define a horse trained for battle. Wild stallions were brought down from the mountains and broken for riding. Some were used to pull wagons, some were raced, and the best were trained for warfare. They retained their fierce spirit, courage, and power, but were disciplined to respond to the slightest nudge or pressure of the rider’s leg. They could gallop into battle at 35 miles per hour and come to a sliding stop at a word. They were not frightened by arrows, spears, or torches. Then they were said to be meeked… …To be meeked was to be taken from a state of wild rebellion and made completely loyal to, and dependent upon, one’s master… …These stallions became submissive, but certainly not spineless. They embodied power under control, strength with forbearance."[i]

We are to be gentle, like a warhorse. The Lord takes us from a state of wild rebellion to that of total obedience. He moves us from a state of fear to one of unflinching trust in the face of danger. To be gentle is to be full of God’s incredible power, but yet to also speak and act with incredible humility and gentleness. 

Perhaps CS Lewis captured the “meekness” of Jesus Christ best in his fictional book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe when Mr. Beaver and Susan talk about the lion, Aslan, who represents Jesus Christ. Mr. Beaver says, “Aslan is a lion—the Lion, the great Lion." "Ooh" said Susan. "I'd thought he was a man. Is he—quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion"..."Safe?" said Mr. Beaver ..."Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you.”

Jesus is Gentle
Jesus is the perfect example of the spiritual fruit of gentleness. Matthew 12:19-20 says, “He will not fight or shout or raise his voice in public. He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle.” Do you ever feel like a flickering candle, like you're barely hanging on in this life?  You feel like the smallest puff of wind might blow you out.  Jesus doesn't look at you and scoff about your weakness; nor will he lash out at you so as to snuff out the tiny flicker that remains in your heart.  No, Jesus gently comes and guards you and nurtures that tiny, flickering flame until it grows and grows to become a raging fire burning within you.  Do you trust him?  Jesus is incredibly powerful, but he’s also gentle. And gentle is what we need—especially because we are so broken. 

When we feel lost and alone, Jesus gently comes to be our best friend.  When we’re bruised and broken, Jesus gently come to heal us.  When we’ve failed and fallen and given up hope, Jesus gently comes to pick us back up and set us on the right path once again.  When we fear our sin has angered God to the point He will turn His back on us forever, Jesus gently comes to forgive and invite us back.  And when we feel full of energy and power, or when we feel self-righteous or angry at those who have not lived as they should, Jesus calls us to be gentle as he is gentle.  

I read this illustration the other day and I share it with you. It is from Richard Foster's book Prayer.  Suppose you find a bird with a broken wing and pick it up to nurse it back to health. How would you hold the bird? Would you squeeze it tightly with all your might? Of course not!  That would kill the bird!  Nor would you hold it too loosely with hands wide open—for then it might be frightened and try to fly away and fall from your grip in injure itself even worse. No. You would hold the bird gently in cupped hands until it was healed and healthy enough to fly. This is how we are to be gentle with those around us—for everyone we meet is broken in some way. Treat them gently as you would a bird with a broken wing.

As Christians, we have incredible power.  It is not our own power.  It is the power of the Holy Spirit of the Living God inside us.  We often don't realize our power.  Like a grown 200 pound man who often doesn't realize how his slightly raised voice sounds booming and frightening to a small child, we often don't realize the amazing power we wield as God's adopted children.  With great power comes great responsibility.  We must constantly remind ourselves to be gentle.  We must pray the Holy Spirit plants the seeds of gentleness within us.  We must nurture the seeds of gentleness so they grow into abundant Fruit of the Spirit within us.  For we want to be like Jesus.  Though he was the Lion of Judah, he humbled himself, laying down his life on the cross--even forgiving those who nailed him there.  And thus, our gentle Christ brought salvation into the world.  And he gently calls to you, "Come Home.  Come Home."

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[i] https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/31293/does-meek-in-matthew-55-refer-to-restraint-with-weapons

Faithful - The Truth As Far As I Can Tell...

Luke 16:10 – If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.

We are called to be faithful.  Faithfulness is the concept of unfailingly remaining loyal to someone or  Christians—those who put their faith in Jesus Christ and follow him as their Lord—promise to be faithful to Christ.  At my church (Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church), we formalize our commitment with vows.  We promise to:

something, and putting that loyalty into consistent practice regardless of extenuating circumstances.

·       Renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of our sin,

·       Accept the freedom and power God gives us to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves,

·       And confess Jesus Christ as our Savior, put our whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as our Lord, in union with the church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races.

Our promise is to serve Christ as Lord, in union with the church.  So we ask people to become members of our church congregation who promise to faithfully participate in its ministries by their prayers, their presence, their gifts, their service, and their witness.  Prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness seem like little things, but they are the building blocks of a vibrant spiritual life.  We hinder our spiritual life when we neglect any of them.  Furthermore, we harm our fellow church members when we are not faithful.  Are you faithful to Christ?  Are you a faithful member of a church?  Ask yourself:

·       Am I faithful in prayer? Do I pray daily?  Do I pray often throughout the day?

·       Am I faithfully present at church?  Do I attend Sunday worship weekly, missing no more than five Sundays a year?  Do I participate in a Bible study, a Sunday school, a small group, or a prayer group?  Am I present regularly at special events like Trunk or Treat or the Easter Egg Hunt?

·       Am I a faithful giver to my church?  Am I committed to give 10% of my income to the church?  If not, how much will I give and how might I begin to work toward the goal of one day giving a full tithe?  If I already give 10%, how might I go further and be even more generous?

·       Am I faithful to serve in my church?  Do I volunteer regularly (as a teacher, or choir member, or help with cleanup, or changing the church sign, or serving Wednesday night suppers, or helping with youth, or something else)?

·       Am I a faithful witness for Jesus Christ?  Do I try to live a life of integrity that represents Jesus well?  Do I tell people how important my faith is to me and what Jesus is doing in my life? How many people have I invited to church this year?

Faithfulness is vital to the Christian life.  If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones.  But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.  Of course, I’m no expert and I certainly don’t claim to know everything, but that’s the Truth as far as I can tell…

Remember, God loves you and so do I!

The Fruit of the Spirit - Faithfulness

Everyone who believes in Jesus Christ has the Holy Spirit of God living inside them. 

The Holy Spirit is a powerful force.  It is the very power of God that was with God and was God creating the universe filled with trillions upon trillions of stars and planets and galaxies—so much that it would take you 27.4 billion years to travel from one side of it to the other if you could travel at the speed of light.

And when you have faith in Christ, the power of God’s Spirit takes up residence in your soul and begins to work His creative power in your life.  However, our powerful God is not a monster or a tyrant.  He will not force change upon you—even though He knows it’s for your own good.  He only grows change within you as you cooperate with His love and nurture the spiritual fruit He wishes to give you.  Like a garden—when tended and nurtured—the Fruit of the Spirit grows steadily within you until you reap a bountiful harvest.  The Apostle Paul wrote:

Galatians 5:22-23

²² But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Faithfulness

I want to talk to you about faithfulness today.  According to Wikipedia:  “Faithfulness is the concept of unfailingly remaining loyal to someone or something, and putting that loyalty into consistent practice regardless of extenuating circumstances.  It may be exhibited by a husband or wife who, in a sexually exclusive marriage, does not engage in sexual relationships outside of the marriage.”  However, when we speak of faithfulness—as a fruit of the Holy Spirit—we are speaking of faithfulness in a relationship that is even higher than that of marriage.  We are primarily focused on faithfulness to God through Jesus Christ.  Our faithfulness to God leads us also to be faithful in all our other relationships, because doing so is an expression of our faithfulness to the Highest Power.

Before we were ever faithful, God was faithful to us.  He created us with the purpose of sharing His love—of living a life in loving relationship with God and each other.  Boy have we messed that one up.  The history of humanity has been a continual history of turning our backs on God and each other.  Yet God has been faithful to us, even when we have been totally unfaithful to Him.  Ultimately, God sent His own Son, Jesus Christ, in love to reconcile us to Him.  Yet we were unfaithful and murdered the Son of God on a cross.  Yet still, God didn’t turn His back on us.  Christ rose on the third day and continues to offer God’s love and forgiveness to all who repent of their sin, turn to God, and trust in Christ.  Through faith we have eternal life—but we have something even greater; we have a living, loving relationship with the God of the universe who is always faithful and challenges us to be faithful.

Faithfulness in Uncertainty

God calls us to remain faithful even when we don’t understand.  Faith, almost by definition, implies a degree of uncertainty.  We sometimes use expressions like "taking a leap of faith" to describe faithful obedience.  We even use a simple exercise to demonstrate faith—a trust fall—where you close your eyes and fall backwards into the arms of a colleague you trust (it can be an unnerving experience).  Faith implies that we don’t have all the answers, that sometimes we are walking through life in the dark and cannot see the way, but we are trusting in God’s faithfulness to get us through.  Even when we hurt, even when losses come that are too deep to fathom, even when we don’t understand and just want to give up, faithfulness means we just keep trusting God and walking through the darkness towards His voice.

We don’t have all the answers, but we do have some; we have enough to get started and we will get enough as we walk to continue walking the road of faith.  There are many who read the Bible and lament, "I don’t understand it."  It is true that there are many things in God’s Word that are very hard to understand.  However, there are also many things we read that are very clear and it’s not the things I don’t understand about the Christian life that disturb me most.  I am far more disturbed by the things I do understand.  For then I feel the Holy Spirit convicting me:  “Will you be faithful?  Will you obey?  Will you do what you know you should do?"

The Faithfulness of a Church Member

In the United Methodist Church, we try to spell out the ways we promise to be faithful to God when someone decides to become a member of the church.  Many feel church membership is no longer important.  "Why should I join as a member of a church?" They say, "Isn't that like joining a club?  It sounds so exclusive!"  And our culture reflects this devaluing of church membership more and more.  It mirrors the general aversion to commitment that runs throughout our society.  People ask some of the same kinds of questions about marriage.  "Why should I get married?"  They ask.  And for all practical purposes, it seems they have a point.  In our times, an unmarried couple can do just about everything a married couple can.  They can fall in love, live together, have sex, have and raise children together.  So many ask, why should they bother with marriage?  I would argue marriage is essential.  Here's why.  Through marriage, a man and a woman stand before God and witnesses and promise to love each other for better or worse, in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, until death.  And until you make those promises to each other, the relationship can only go so far.  Until your partner knows that you are all in, 100%, completely committed to the very end, your relationship cannot go to the deepest levels.

And much the same is true of church membership.  You can attend a church and never become a member.  For most practical purposes, you will look and act just like a member.  You can attend, worship, sing in the choir, volunteer, and even serve in some official positions.  However, your relationship with God and the other members of the church can only go so far until you fully commit.  Until you stand before God and the whole church and promise to be 100%, all in, sold out to the mission of the church, you can only go so deep.  And so, I encourage everyone who really wants to go to the deeper levels in their spiritual journey to prayerfully consider joining a church as a member.

The very first step to becoming a member of my church Pleasant Grove United Methodist church) is to become a Christian.  You cannot be a member of our Church unless you are a Christian—meaning you have repented of your sins and placed your whole faith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, for your salvation.  So we ask potential church members some questions in front of the whole church to help them profess their faith in Christ.  We ask:

• Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin?
• Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?
• Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, put your whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as your Lord, in union with the church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races?  

Local Church Membership

Having become a member of God’s “Holy Catholic” Church (that is the universal church that is made up of all believers in Christ from all places and in all times), now one makes a commitment to be faithful to a local congregation of the church.  So we ask potential members a few more questions about how they will be faithful to the local congregation.  We ask:  "As members of this congregation, will you faithfully participate in its ministries by your prayers, your presence, your gifts, your service, and your witness?"

Are you faithful to pray?  I recommend everyone should pray five times a day.  Say a prayer to start your day when you wake up and a prayer before you go to sleep.  That's two prayers.  Add to this a prayer to bless your food before every meal (which for most is three times a day) and you have five prayers.  But don't stop at just five prayers.  Live a live of prayer.  Throughout your day, say a breath prayer whenever you think about it (a breath prayer is a short prayer you can say in one breath).  So as you are sitting in traffic, aggravated by the person in front of you for going too slow, breathe out, "Lord Jesus help me to be patient."  As you pass an accident on the side of the road, pray, "Father, please help that person who is hurt."  When someone asks you to pray for their mother who is having surgery on Tuesday, right then as they are asking in your own mind pray "Holy Spirit, take care of their mother this Tuesday during her surgery."  In this way, you can be more faithful to pray.

Are you faithfully presence at church?  We need to be together with other Christians for worship, study, fellowship, and service.  This is best done in a local congregation.  Do you attend church weekly.  My own practice and what I encourage everyone to adopt is to miss no more than five Sundays of worship per year.  Does that seem excessive?  I don't think it is.  Last week I was talking with a South Korean pastor who explained that Christians in Korea have church 7 days a week.  On work days, thousands of Christians come in to the sanctuary as early as 5:00 AM for an hour long prayer service before they go to work.  It's no wonder that a great revival is taking place in South Korea, home of the largest Christian church in the world--Yoido Full Gospel Church--with 480,000 members.

Are you faithful in your giving?  The biblical standard is to offer 10% of your income God through the local church.  So if you earn $30,000 per year, you would give $3,000 to the church each year.  The church in America struggles to do all the good God calls us to do because we simply don't have the funding we need.  That problem would be instantly solved if every Christian would simply be faithful to give the tithe.  Maybe you are willing to jump straight into tithing.  But could you grow more faithful in your giving?  If you are only giving 1% right now, could you be more faithful to give 2-3%?  make it a goal to grow a little bit every year until you reach 10%.  And if you are already giving 10%, don't just sit back and fold your arms and say, "I've given all I need to give."  What was Jesus' standard for giving?  He said give it all.  Remember, he said if some ask you to carry their back for a mile, go an extra mile with them.  If someone demands your coat, give them your shirt also.  That sounds a lot like 100% giving to me.  Now, what you give is between you and God.  And no one at my church--me or anyone else--is going down the list checking to see who gives what or ranking people by their giving status.  That's between you and God and our church is all about grace.  Jesus doesn't want your money.  He wants your heart.  For where your heart is, there your treasure will be also.  I just want to encourage you to be faithful in your giving.

Are you faithful to serve.  Some people think, "Well I give a lot of money so I don't have to serve."  Members who join Pleasant Grove UMC promise to do both.  It's not either or; it's both and.  Faithful members give and serve.  So remember the words of Galatians 6:9, "So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up."

Are you a faithful witness?  A witness is simply someone who tells what Jesus has done for them.  A witness invites others to come and see what Jesus is doing in there church.  Are you a faithful witness?  How many people have you talked to about Jesus?  How many have you invited to church this year?  If you haven't invited anyone, what does that say about the faithfulness of your witness?

Repentance and Call to Faithfulness

If we are honest, we all see how we have fallen short in many of the areas in which we promise to be faithful.  It breaks my own heart to think of the ways I fall short and fail God who has been so faithful to me.  In particular, I struggle in the area of faithful prayer.  Don't get me wrong, I pray all the time, because I am a pastor.  I pray several times during the Sunday worship service.  I pray to open Bible studies, Sunday school classes, in prayer meetings, and with those who are sick or in the hospital.  Where I struggle is in praying when I am not operating as a pastor.  I think it's because I pray so much on other occasions.  I just get tired.  However, I have asked the Holy Spirit to help me be more faithful in this area of my life and I'm working on it.

How about you?  Can you be honest with yourself and God?  Can you confess where you have not been as faithful as you should?  Do you faithfully renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin?  Do you faithfully accept the freedom and power God gives you every day to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves ?  Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, put your whole trust in his grace, and serve him as your Lord? Are you faithful pray, be present at church, to give, serve, and be faithful witness?

Perhaps God is calling you repent today.  Maybe you need to commit your life to Christ and becoming a Christian for the very first time.  Maybe you need to find a local church where you can join and become a faithful member.  Maybe you need to admit that you have not been faithful to the membership promises you’ve already made.

Even when we are unfaithful, God is still faithful.  In 1 John 1:9 it says, “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”  Perhaps today, you would like to pray the following confession to God and ask the Holy Spirit to help you be more faithful.

Prayer of Confession

"Most merciful God, I confess that I have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what I have done, and by what I have left undone. I have not loved you with my whole heart; I have not loved my neighbors as myself. I am truly sorry and I humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on me and forgive me; that I may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your name. Amen."

And now, I offer this prayer on your behalf:

Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen.