Something to Think About

Question from college group yesterday: Are you conforming to the Christian life, or to Christ Himself? More to come later!

Gentleness/Meekness

Came across this definition/explanation of "gentle" while doing homework for one of my classes. I can't seem to find the source, but it is either from Alfred Humphreys or W. E. Vine, as far as I can tell. (For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, the number is one given from the Strong's Concordance.) It's long but it's worth the read.

gentle (Greek#4239 praus) - "meek, gentle, mild"; it is an adornment of the Christian profession, I Pet. 3:4. "It is an inwrought grace of the soul, and the exercises of it are first and chiefly towards God. It is that temper of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing and resisting. It is closely linked to the word for humility. It is the humble heart which is also the meek, and which, as such, does not fight against God and more or less struggle and contend with Him. This meekness, however, being first of all a meekness before God, is also such in the face of men, even of evil men, out of a sense that these, with the insults and injuries which they may inflict, are permitted and employed by Him for the chastening and purifying of His elect. In Gal. 5:23 it is associated with 'self-control'...this word (gentle/meek) describes a condition of mind and heart...the meekness manifested by the Lord and commended to the believer is the fruit of power. The common assumption is that when a man is meek it is because he cannot help himself; but the Lord was 'meek' because He had the infinite resources of God at His command. Described negatively, meekness is the opposite to self-assertiveness and self-interest; is is equanimity of spirit that is neither elated nor cast down, simply because it is not occupied with self at all."

There are so many things I could say about this, but I think that this pretty much says it all.

Quotes

‎"A person's involuntary response to the unexpected is a more reliable indicator of his character than his planned reaction to a situation he anticipates. It is when we are caught off guard that our true character is most likely to show itself." MacArthur

"Every experience God gives us, every person He puts into our lives, is the perfect preparation for a future only He can see." Corrie ten Boom

"Someone once observed that the toothache you have this very minute is the worst pain in the world." Elizabeth Elliot

"Let not our longing slay the appetite of our living." Jim Elliot

"When the will of God crosses the will of man, somebody has to die." Addison Leitch

"It is a good thing God chose me before I was born, because He surely would not have afterwards." Charles Spurgeon

Hope

Today as I sat in the Poached Pear with Meredith, I spilled my guts out and told her all that's gone on this week. It's been a rough one! Nothing bad has happened, I am just in many situations where I cannot control the outcome. She pointed out that this forces me to (and I am so thankful for it) completely trust in my all-powerful Creator who is in control and works all things for His glory and my good. She reminded me of the gospel and the fact that God is faithful and is working in my life, even through the tough times. This week has made me really think about where my hope lies. My hope is not on anything this world has to offer, but "is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness."

In high school, I remember hearing an amazing sermon from my youth pastor on hope. I do not remember much of what he said, but I found a source that has a similar message (for the full text, click here). Here's an exerpt I found especially helpful:

What's the difference between a Christian definition of hope and the way it is usually used?

The word "hope" in ordinary English vocabulary is generally distinguished from certainty. We would say, "I don't know what's going to happen, but I hope it happens."

When you read the word "hope" in the Bible (like in I Peter 1:13 - "set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ"), hope is not wishful thinking. It's not "I don't know if it's going to happen, but I hope it happens. That's absolutely not what is meant by Christian hope.

Christian hope is when God has promised that something is going to happen and you put your trust in that promise. Christian hope is a confidence that something will come to pass because God has promised it will come to pass.  -John Piper, emphases his

So to hope in God is to be fully assured that He will bring what He promised to pass. Hope is certain. Meredith reminded me that I must rest in God and His promises. When I don't have control over my circumstances it is the perfect reminder to trust in God. Hebrews 10:23 says, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." Why are we able to hope in God? Because He is faithful to fulfill His promises! If He says He'll do something, HE WILL. Here are a few of the promises we hope in.

• Matthew 11:28-30 - "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." He gives rest - rest for our souls.
• Philippians 4:19 - "And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." He will provide for ALL of your needs.
• Romans 8: 37 - "But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us." We can have victory over sin.
• Romans 8:38-39 - For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angles, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing can take away His love from us.

I don't have much else to say about this, let alone time to say more. But I just was so encouraged by this reminder and wanted to share in case others could be encouraged, too.

A Letter to My Girls

To all the ladies in my life,

Yesterday was Valentine's Day, and many of you are single like I am. This can often be a difficult day for "all the single ladies". It feels even worse sometimes if you've had a valentine before, but you don't this year. Trust me, I know. Today a very insightful friend pointed out that for many of us girls, we plan these massive girls nights to have a blast and prove our independence and that we don't need a guy in our life, but often it's really a pity party on the inside. But I just want you all to remember some very important things.

God is in control. No matter what is going on in your life, He does have a plan (Psalm 37:23). If you daily seek His face and ask for His will and are obedient, you're exactly where you need to be. If that means you're in a relationship with a great guy, that is amazing! If it means that you're single right now, or experiencing a recent breakup, or heartache of feelings not reciprocated, that is amazing too. Even though it may sting a bit right now, God truly does have a plan. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that every single one of you who desires a relationship or marriage will have it someday. I can't promise that. But God has a plan for each of our lives and He will fulfill that plan. If you're alive and breathing and if you have salvation, you already have more than you deserve. God pours out blessings on His people. He gives us what we need (Philippians 4:19).

As cliche as these verses can sound, we find incredible truths in them (don't let the Bible become cliche, friends): "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6). Trust God. Don't lean on your understanding (but on His). Acknowledge Him in all that you do. HE will direct your path. Know that He is God and that He has all the power in the world and that His will is your sanctification, and it's for your best. Remember that His ways are not our ways - they are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). We will not always understand His ways, but He's the omniscient one. He knows what He's doing. Lean on that, not your own understanding of how things "should" be.

Friday a sweet friend reminded me of this truth - God withholds no good things from those who walk uprightly (Psalm 84:11). If God withholds no good thing from us when we obey Him, and we're obeying Him, what we don't have really isn't good for us at the present time. This isn't to say that it won't be good for us to have in the future. It means that right now we are better off without the things we don't have, or else we'd have them. This may mean that I (or you, or someone else) never get the things we want from this life - our own family, security, a job we love, whatever else. But if God is withholding it, we really are better off that way. And if it's His will, one day you will have a wonderful man to celebrate every Valentine's Day with.

But for now - soak up your time as a single lady! Enjoy your friends, especially your girlfriends. Don't sweat the small things. Choose your battles. Love people as much as you can. Get involved in ministry. Get a discipler. Disciple someone else. Be an encourager to those around you. Try something new. Forgive fully every chance you get. Take adventures. Do crazy things. Be part of a small group or Bible study. Make new foods. Meet new people. Hang out with kids. Study the Bible intensely. Work hard in school. Work hard at your job. Do everything to the best of your ability. Enjoy the time and the freedom you have that may not be there when you're in a relationship.

Take Time to Be Holy

Take time to be holy. Speak oft with thy Lord;

Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.

Make friends with God's children; help those who are weak,

Forgetting in nothing, His blessing to seek.

Take time to be holy. The world rushes on;

Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.

By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;

Thy friends in thy conduct, His likeness shall see.

Take time to be holy. Let Him be thy Guide;

And run not before Him, whatever betide.

In joy or in sorrow, still follow thy Lord,

And, looking to Jesus, still trust in His word.

Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul;

Each tho't and each motive, beneath His control.

Thus led by the Spirit, to fountains of love,

Thou soon shalt be fitted, for service above.

The other day, I was reading one of my books for class (Living by the Book by Howard Hendricks and William Hendricks), and something the author said struck a chord. I would love to quote an entire paragraph from the book but am not sure about the legality of that. So instead, I'll sum it up for you. In a chapter on the importance and the how-to of meditative Bible reading, he mentioned this hymn. Meditation takes time, but time is exactly what we need. We need to spend time reflecting on the Word in order to know, love, and imitate God more.

I remember singing this in church growing up. Over and over, I am so thankful to have gone to a hymn-singing church for my whole life. This is exactly the kind of song I need to sing over and over to remind myself of its truths. The cool thing is that this song has so many practical applications to the main message. It gives you plenty of ways to "take time to be holy" if you don't know where to begin. Meditation on the Word of God is just one way to do this. Praying to Him, abiding in Him, feeding on His Word, befriending other believers, helping people who are weak, remembering what He's done for you (in light of who He is and who you are), following Him in joy and in sorrow....these are all ways to be holy.

An important thing to keep in check is your motivation. Holiness, while essential and important, is not the main thing. The main thing is knowing and loving God more so that you can glorify Him better. Holiness comes from that, and it must be practiced. But you must be careful to not pursue holiness only for the sake of being holy or for the sake of appearing to be holy to others. You must learn to be holy because it's what God requires - "Because it is written, 'Be holy, for I am holy.'" I Peter 1:16, and obedience is what pleases Him.

Struggles

The more I learn about myself, the more I see how sinful I am.
I struggle to be selfless.
I struggle to think often about God and things that are eternal.
I struggle to have only righteous anger.
I struggle to be content.
I struggle to be diligent and disciplined.
I struggle to focus on what matters and forget about what doesn't.
I struggle to not be passive aggressive.

The important thing, though, is to not just let myself struggle. I need to fight my sin. (Wisdom of Jake Ebner obtained second hand). Killing sin is part of dying to self - Paul even said "I die daily" (I Corinthians 15:31). The good news: we can have victory over our sin! And...though it is usually difficult, and it is often hard work to fight our sin nature, it's not a pointless fight. "The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord." (I Corinthians 15:56-58).