Tag Archives: Matt5:5

Jesus On Prayer – Mon – 22-05-02

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Have you ever wanted to learn something? Maybe you saw someone playing the guitar or the drums and yearned to play like they did. When I was a child, I took piano lessons. It wasn’t my idea. It was probably my great aunts’ idea, because they gave us a piano. But I wanted to learn the guitar. I also took guitar lessons. I put far more effort into learning how to play guitar than the piano!

Which brings me to prayer. Have you taken any lessons in prayer? Jesus must have been so good at it. His disciples asked him to teach them how to pray. That’s what we are looking at this week. One of his lessons is found in Matthew 6:5-6, “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

Jesus tells us that prayer is not a virtue signal. We should never pray in order to make other people approve of us. Their opinion is not relevant. God’s judgement is relevant. We must focus on him when we pray, not what other people think. Find some time today to pray.

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The Meek – Sat – 21-09-04

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Have you noticed the different ways people react to advice? Some roll their eyes and tap their foot. Others rebuke you for offering the advice. Then there are those who simply say “thank you,” but never follow it. Finally, some listen quietly and take the advice.

This week, we have been searching for examples of meekness. Meekness, also called gentleness, is the attitude that deals with others in a soothing, pleasant way. It is not harsh or full of anger. We have looked at several examples of meekness, including Jesus. Our search began by looking at the Beatitude, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”

This attitude is important for dealing with other people. However, it is also vitally important for the way we approach God and his Word. James 1:21 says, “Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.”(NIV) In this verse, the same root word translated “meek” in the Beatitude is translated “humbly.”

So what does this mean? Well, all the ways people react to advice are the same ways people react to God’s Word. Some roll their eyes, others get angry. Some act like they listen, but never follow it. You see, to humbly, or should we say meekly, accept God’s Word is to listen quietly and follow it.

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The Meek – Fri – 21-09-03

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When I was in high school, I was part of the basketball team. I remember that our coach had very specific expectations for how the team dressed and acted on game day. First, we wore the school colors and a tie. This meant we all wore white slacks and red shirts with white ties. What a sight! We wore dress shoes and our hair couldn’t be in our eyes or past our collar. Not only did we attend school wearing this outfit, but we also wore it on the bus ride to away games. Coach told us that we were representing the school and we needed to look and act the part.

This is a bit like what the apostle Paul said in Ephesians 4:1-2, “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”(NIV)

In other words, God has saved us by his grace and made us into his special people. Therefore we have to look and act the part. Did you hear the word gentle? This is the same word as meek in the Beatitudes. God expects us to be completely humble and meek and patient with others. You see, meekness is not simply a nice-to-have attitude that makes getting along with others easier. It is part of living worthy of the calling of God!

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The Meek – Thu – 21-09-02

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Have you ever needed to correct another person? Perhaps you’ve managed others in the workplace and you needed to improve the performance of your employee. Or, maybe you are a parent. Parents often need to correct their children! Or could it be a neighbor with whom you have a dispute?

When it comes to correcting others, people handle it in different ways. Some people expend a lot of anger and energy on their employee or child. They are harsh and overbearing. The same can be true of neighbors. In all of these situations, voices are raised and the words spoken are hard.

Paul the apostle needed to correct the Corinthians. In 2 Corinthians 12:20-21, Paul expressed his fear that some people in Corinth had not repented of sexual immorality. And he was concerned he would arrive and find rage, jealousy, selfishness, slander, gossip and disorder. So how did he approach the situation? Did he rail at them with a harsh tone? No. Listen to what he said in 2 Corinthians 10:1, “By the humility and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you.”(NIV) Then Paul spent a couple of chapters appealing to them.

Think about that phrase “by the humility and gentleness of Christ.” Shouldn’t that be the way we approach correcting others? For that matter, shouldn’t that be the way we approach others in any situation? May we have the meekness and gentleness of Jesus!

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The Meek – Wed – 21-09-01

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Do you make judgements about people based on the vehicle they drive? If you see a white, four-wheel-drive pickup sporting big tires on the highway, what do you think? Would you think differently if the person was in a low-slung, red sports car? How about someone driving a small, electric car? Or someone in a large, black limousine? I’m sure you’re like me, and you make some conclusions about people based on what they drive.

You know, the same was true in Jesus’ day. They didn’t have cars, but you could conclude something about the person if they were walking versus riding in a cart. Or if they were riding a horse versus a donkey. That is why Jesus selected a donkey colt to ride into Jerusalem during the triumphal entry. Yes, it was a fulfillment of prophecy, but the act of riding a donkey sent a clear message. Listen to Matthew 21:5, “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” (NIV) Jesus signaled that he was the meek and gentle king by his choice of animal.

Jesus treated people with kindness, not harshness. As a leader, he was not in your face, but by your side. Yes, he could be forceful in presenting the truth, but he was also full of grace. As we search for examples of meekness, look to and follow Jesus!

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The Meek – Tue – 21-08-31

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This week we are focusing on meekness, which is usually called “gentleness.” In my search for examples, I came across Andy Mort’s blog site. Andy wrote a post entitled, “Gentleness is Strength: The 7 Habits of Highly Gentle People.” In the post he said some very interesting things. Here is the quote I liked the most:

“I have also come to believe that acting with gentleness is an act of rebellion. It stands counter to the expectations of a quick tempered, blame-fuelled culture where we want to take our frustrations out by criticising others, shirking responsibility, and fearing and fighting anyone or any way of life that we don’t understand or subscribe to.”*

Wow! He hit the nail on the head! Our culture does not encourage gentleness. That may be why we have a hard time finding it!

In his post, Mort goes on to detail the seven habits of gentle people. One of them is that gentle people leave time and space between what happens and how they react to it. They choose if they will react, as well as how.

With this description in mind, can you think of a gentle person. Someone who doesn’t explode in anger. One who thinks before replying, whether verbally, in email or text, or on social media? Think about how much better this world would be if we all were more gentle and meek!

*Andy Mort, “Gentleness is Strength: The 7 Habits of Highly Gentle People,” andymort.com, https://www.andymort.com/gentleness-is-strength/, emphasis in original.

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The Meek – Mon – 21-08-30

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If you were going to look for an example of meekness, where would you look? Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” So, what do the meek look like? Where can we find examples that we can emulate? Would you look at film or music stars? What about political leaders? Do we know where to find examples of meekness? If you’re like me, it is easier to know where NOT to look!

I find it interesting that Peter talks about Christian women in 1 Peter chapter 3. He describes their inner spirit of meekness. Most translations use the word gentle. He describes the purity and reverence of their lives. These women are a contrast to others who are absorbed in style, clothes and jewelry. All those adornments fade or go out of fashion. Not so the inner beauty of a gentle spirit. It is unfading. Listen to Peter talk about the source of their beauty in verse 4: “It should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”(NIV)

Meekness is the opposite of being harsh or irritating. It does not have an anger problem! If you want to see meekness, look for Christian women who love and respect their husbands, as well as, everyone else. Learn to treat others with the gentleness they display!

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The Meek – Sun – 21-08-29

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Have you noticed there always seems to be something to get angry about! The news cycle reports one outrageous thing after another. It may be inflation, unemployment numbers, the way people react to Covid, acts of racism or the latest political flap. We should stop calling it the “news cycle” and just call it the “outrage cycle.”

What we really need, are the words of Jesus. He told us how to have a blessed life. His Sermon on the Mount begins with sayings called the Beatitudes. This week, our focus will be on the Beatitude recorded in Matthew 5:5, which reads, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” (NIV)

When Jesus spoke this Beatitude, he may have based it on Psalm 37. That Psalm is a contrast between the righteous and evil doers. More specifically, it urges us not to get bent out of shape at those who do wrong. Our focus should be on trusting God and doing what is right, rather than on being anger or envious at those doing evil. Verses 10 and 11 echo the Beatitude. They read, “In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.”(NIV)

So join me this week as we reduce focus on the negative news. Let’s focus instead on meekness!

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Fruit of Gentleness – Sun – 21-07-18

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I was searching for some information on the internet when I came across an interesting photo. It showed a glass display case. Inside were individually packaged pieces of multi-layered chocolate cake. They looked delicious! But the thing that made the picture interesting was the sign on the display case. It read, “Please do not tap on glass. It scares the cake.”* Someone has a sense of humor! This picture reminded me of a misunderstanding many people have — which I’ll talk about in a moment.

This week on the podcast, we are focusing on one of the most misunderstood virtues, meekness. It is listed in the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:23, that is, if you look at the King James Version. However, most newer translations use the word gentleness to describe the virtue. But it is the same basic word that Jesus uses in the Beatitudes. In Matthew 5:5 he says, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”(NIV)

So how does the sign on the cake display relate? It is funny because we know fearfulness and cake don’t go together. But many think fearfulness and meekness do go together.  They think that being meek or gentle is akin to being timid and fearful. But that is not the case. Instead, it means being pleasant, soothing or friendly. We’ll look at Jesus as an example of gentleness tomorrow.

*Ana Samways, “Sideswipe: June 18: Timid cake,” New Zealand Herald, June 17, 2021, https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/sideswipe-june-18-timid-cake/WOGIHHMXH6IIVPNR36SQHXZGH4/

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