What’s this about “being meek”?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

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

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Meekness is one of the most confused, misunderstood words in all of the Beatitudes, because most people confuse meekness with weakness. Jesus said He was “meek and lowly” (Matthew 11:29), but He wasn’t weak.

The word “meek” means “strength that is brought under control.”

When horse trainers “break” horses, they describe what they do as the horse being “meeked.” They don’t cripple the horse or take away his strength. They train him to use his strength in control.

In the same way, God doesn’t come into your life to cripple you but to control you so that He might complete you. That means you take the reins of your life and say, “Here they are, Lord. I give the reins to You. I turn my life over to You.” I did that with Jesus Christ. But I must continually update it, continually be turning my life over to the Lord Jesus Christ.

ACTION POINT:

Ask your heavenly Father today to break the strongholds in your life, break your strong will, and replace it with His strength under discipline. He will do it, if you give Him permission. This is the heart of true meekness.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

God Rejoices to Do You Good

“I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. . . . I will rejoice in doing them good.” (Jeremiah 32:40–41)

This is one of those promises of God that I come back to again and again when I get discouraged. Can you think of any fact more encouraging than that God rejoices to do you good? Not just does you good. Not just is committed to doing you good — glorious as that is. But that he rejoices to do you good. “I will rejoice in doing them good.”

He doesn’t begrudgingly fulfill the promise in Romans 8:28 to work everything together for our good. It is his joy to do you good. And not just sometimes. Always! “I will not turn away from doing good to them.” There are no lapses in his commitment or in his joy in doing good to his children — to those who trust him.

That should make us so glad!

But sometimes it is hard to be glad. Our situation is so hard to bear that we just can’t muster any joy. When that happens to me, I try to imitate Abraham: “In hope he believed against hope” (Romans 4:18). In other words, you look your hopeless situation in the face and say, “You are not as strong as God! He can do the impossible. And I know he loves to do it for those who trust him. So, hopelessness, you will not have the last say. I trust God!”

God has always been faithful to guard that little spark of faith for me and eventually (not always right away) fan it into a flame of happiness and full confidence. And Jeremiah 32:41 is a great part of that joy.

Oh, how glad I am that what makes the heart of almighty God happy includes doing good for you and me! “I will rejoice in doing them good.”

John Piper 

Are you mourning your sin?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

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

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Jesus purposefully gave the Beatitudes in this order because this is the way we grow in sanctification. First, we see our bankrupt condition (Matthew 5:3). Then it breaks our heart (Matthew 5:4).

To “mourn” doesn’t mean going around with a melancholy attitude. It means painful grief, like we would feel over the death of a loved one. It speaks of the strongest kind of lamentation, not just a sentimental tear. What we need today are men and women who are broken over their sin.

Warren Wiersbe said, “If you want to know a person's character, watch and find out what makes him laugh and what makes him weep.” We need people with hearts that are broken over their sin.

How will our hearts be broken? Perhaps if we could see our destiny in hell, it might break our hearts. If we could see Jesus’ agony upon the cross, it might break our hearts. If we could see what our sin is doing to others and to our world, it might break our hearts.

Proverbs 14:9 says, “Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favor.” Jesus speaks of this favor when He says if we mourn over our sin, we will be comforted. The Holy Spirit is our Comforter who will strengthen us when we are broken over our sin.

ACTION POINT:

Do you know where we ought to be? On our face before God in bitter tears over the barrenness of our lives, the coldness of our hearts, and the wickedness of our attitudes. And what will be the outcome? We will be comforted.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

When Anger Fills Your Heart

19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;

20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. - James 1:19-20

5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 

6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.

7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind,

8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.

10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. - James 3:5-10

What is anger?

It's a feeling of hostility, annoyance and displeasure.

It's one of man's most evil temptations.

Many of us struggle with anger.

That is not what God wants from His people.

What then is the answer?

Prayer.

Be humble.

Repentance.

You can't change alone but God can change you.

I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; - 1 Timothy 2:8

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.  - Proverbs 15:1

5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming.

7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them.

8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices

10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. - Colossians 3:5-10

God Works Through Good Resolves

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power. (2 Thessalonians 1:11)

Seeking the power of God to fulfill our good resolves does not mean that we don’t really resolve, or that we don’t really use willpower.

The engagement of God’s power never takes the place of the engagement of our will! The power of God in sanctification never makes us passive! The power of God engages itself beneath or behind and within our will, not in place of our will.

The evidence of God’s power in our lives is not the absence of our willing, but the strength of our willing, the joy of our willing.

Anyone who says, “Well, I believe in the sovereignty of God and so I will just sit back and do nothing” does not really believe in the sovereignty of God. For why would someone who believes in God’s sovereignty so blatantly disobey him?

When you sit back to do nothing, you are not doing nothing. You are actively engaging your will in a decision to sit back. And if that is the way you handle sin or temptation in your life, it is blatant disobedience, because we are commanded to wage a good warfare (1 Timothy 1:18) and resist the devil (James 4:7) and strive for holiness (Hebrews 12:14) and put to death the sinful acts of the body (Romans 8:13).

Second Thessalonians 1:11 says that it is by the power of God that we will fulfill our good resolves and our works of faith. But this does not nullify the meaning of the word “resolve” and the word “work.” Part of the whole process of walking worthy of God’s call is the active engagement of our will in resolving to do righteousness.

If you have lingering sin in your life, or if you keep neglecting some good deed just because you have been waiting around to be saved without a fight, you are compounding your disobedience. God will never appear with power in your will in any other way than through your exercise of that will; that is, through your good resolves — your good intentions and plans and purposes.

So, people who believe in the sovereignty of God must not fear to engage their wills in the struggle for holiness. “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able” (Luke 13:24). Only strive in the faith that in and through your striving God is at work to will and to do his good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).

John Piper 

Are you willing to admit you’re bankrupt?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

What does it mean to be “poor in spirit”? To live so downcast, you could qualify as cruise director on the Titanic? No. Jesus is talking about someone who recognizes they are spiritually bankrupt in the sight of God.

Do you remember how God created this world? He spoke and swung this world into space. Let me tell you something about the nature of God: it is God's nature to make something out of nothing. When you finally say, “I am nothing in and of myself. I am morally and spiritually bankrupt,” then God says, “Now, there's some raw material I can work with.” So come to Him in brokenhearted repentance.

ACTION POINT:

Some don’t want to admit this, but have you ever come to God and admitted that you're a lost sinner in the sight of God? Have you said, “In my hand no price I bring. Simply to Thy cross I cling”? Many of us sit in churches headstrong, unbroken, unbent, unbowed, thinking we're doing God a favor. You will never discover the true riches of the Christian life until you first admit your bankrupt condition before heaven.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Arm Yourself with Promises

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)

When Paul says to put to death the deeds of the body “by the Spirit” (Romans 8:13), I take him to mean that we should use the one weapon in the Spirit’s armor that is used to kill; namely, the sword, “which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17).

So, when the body is about to be led into a sinful action by some fear or craving, we are to take the sword of the Spirit and kill that fear and that craving. In my experience, that means mainly severing the root of sin’s promise by the power of a superior promise.

For example, when I begin to crave some illicit sexual pleasure, the sword-swing that has often severed the root of this promised pleasure is, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). I recall the pleasures I have tasted of seeing God more clearly from an undefiled conscience; and I recall the brevity and superficiality and oppressive aftertaste of sin’s pleasures, and with that, God has killed the conquering power of sin.

Having promises at hand that suit the temptation of the hour is one key to successful warfare against sin.

But there are times when we don’t have a perfectly suited word from God in our minds. And there is no time to look through the Bible for a tailor-made promise. So, we all need to have a small arsenal of general promises ready to use whenever fear or craving threaten to lead us astray.

Here are four of my most oft-used promises in fighting against sin:

Isaiah 41:10, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Philippians 4:19, “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

And the promise implicit in Philippians 3:8, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

And, of course, Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

Be constantly adding to your arsenal of promises. But never lose sight of the chosen few that God has blessed in your life. Do both. Be ever-ready with the old. And every morning look for a new one to take with you through the day.

John Piper