SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/27/2019
10:23 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-1 “Meekness, Gentleness”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Ephesians 4:2
Message of the verses: “2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love,” “2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;” (AV).
As you can see there are different words used in these different Bible translations, but for us today we will be using the word “gentleness.”
When we began looking at chapter four in our introduction we mentioned that as we look at the words in verses 2-4 that we as believers had to have one before we got the next one. We have to be humble before we can have gentleness, as gentleness or meekness is one of the surest signs of true humility. Just as we learned that you cannot have pride and humility, the same is true with meekness and pride, if you are prideful you cannot be meek or gentle.
The Lord Jesus Christ was a meek person while on planet earth, and some think that means that He was timid, but that is not the case at all for we saw many times His reactions and conversations with the Scribes and Pharisees. John MacArthur writes “Praotes” (here translated gentleness) refers to that which is mild-spirited and self-controlled, the opposite of vindictiveness and vengeance. Jesus used the adjective form in giving the third beatitude (‘Blessed are the gentle,’ Matt. 5:5) and to describe His own character (‘For I am gentle,’ Matt. 11:29). ‘Gentleness is one of the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:23) and should characterize every child of God (Col. 3:12; cf. Phil. 4:5).
The meaning of praotes has nothing to do with weakness, timidity, indifference, or cowardice. It was used of wild animals that were tamed, especially of horses that were broken and trained. Such an animal still has his strength and spirit, but its will is under the control of its master. The tamed lion is still powerful, but his power is under the control of the trainer. The horse can run just as fast, but he runs only when and where his master tells him to run.”
Now after looking at the meaning of this word one can better understand why at times Jesus got so upset with the Scribes and Pharisees, after all they were doing and saying things that were in direct opposition with the Word of God and the God of the Word.
Biblical meekness is power under control of God. Think about when the Lord Jesus Christ was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane by the soldiers and what He said to them about the fact that if He desired that His Father would send 12 legions of angels to rescue Him. Even in His humanity Jesus had access to infinite divine power, which He could at any time have used in His own defense. Yet not one time in His life on earth did He use that power from His Father. His refusal to enlist this divine resources for anything but obeying His Father’s will is the supreme picture of meekness—power under control.
We can even go back to the life of David and see this meekness demonstrated a number of times when he could have killed Saul, but refused to do so even though Saul was chasing him to kill him. There is another story in 2 Samuel which speaks of David’s meekness and with that story we will conclude this SD.
“5 When King David came to
Bahurim, behold, there came out from there a man of the family of the house of
Saul whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera; he came out cursing continually as
he came. 6 He threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David; and
all the people and all the mighty men were at his right hand and at his left. 7
Thus Shimei said when he cursed, "Get out, get out, you man of bloodshed,
and worthless fellow! 8 "The LORD has returned upon you all the bloodshed
of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the LORD has given
the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. And behold, you are taken
in your own evil, for you are a man of bloodshed!" 9 Then Abishai the son
of Zeruiah said to the king, "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the
king? Let me go over now and cut off his head." 10 But the king said,
"What have I to do with you, O sons of Zeruiah? If he curses, and if the
LORD has told him, ’Curse David,’ then who shall say, ’Why have you done so?’"
11 Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, "Behold, my son who
came out from me seeks my life; how much more now this Benjamite? Let him alone
and let him curse, for the LORD has told him. 12 “Perhaps the LORD will look on
my affliction and return good to me instead of his cursing this day." 13
So David and his men went on the way; and Shimei went along on the hillside
parallel with him and as he went he cursed and cast stones and threw dust at
him. 14 The king and all the people who were with him arrived weary and he
refreshed himself there.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I have to say that as I look at the things
that are going on in our country, especially the way that the left is treating
and killing unborn babies it truly makes me angry, and I suppose if I had the
power that I would do things to them that would not be something that I should
do. However what they are doing will
cause them to face the wrath of God for God has said “vengeance is mine” and so
one day those who are killing those innocent babies will face His wrath, and so
I must pray that God will stop this killing of innocent lives knowing that some
day He will do so.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Continue to
trust the Lord to teach me humility as seen in both Romans 12:3 and also Eph.
4:2.
Today’s quotation: “Let every student be plainly instructed and
earnestly pressed to consider well the main ends of his life and studies; to
know God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life, and therefore to lay Christ
in the bottom as the only foundation of all knowledge and learning and see that
the Lord only giveth wisdom” (John Harvard [Harvard University]).
2/27/2019 11:16 AM
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