Video Bible Lesson - Blessed are the Meek by Sarah Phillips

1/2 Hour of God’s Power with Scott Ralls

02/10/2020

Blessed are the Meek
by Sarah Phillips
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Mt 5: 5 (NIV)
I used to have a strong dislike for the word "meek." It brings me back more than a decade to a defining moment during my sophomore year of high school.
I was a shy teenager who had stepped outside of her comfort zone by enrolling in several theater classes, including a class on "behind the scenes" theater productions. This should have been the easiest of all the courses for my sensitive nature. But my instructor, while delegating roles for the Spring production of Peter Pan, proved me wrong when she voiced her choice of stage manager like this:
"I've chosen Melissa because I need someone with a strong personality - someone who isn't meek, like Sarah."
Of course, I only drove her point home when I didn't stick up for myself. I spent years after that scene developing assertiveness, determined to prove that Sarah was not meek. Like this teacher, I associated meekness with weakness and both were traits that needed to be eradicated if I was going to get anywhere in life.
At least that's what I thought until I found that dreaded word jumping off the pages of scripture at me in the Gospel of Matthew. There it was, one of the first things Jesus says in his famous Sermon on the Mount.
Our deacon offered some thoughts on this verse that helped put things in perspective for me. He shared that it's in the Sermon on the Mount where we see Jesus begin to expand on His true purpose - and to the disappointment of many, He was not going to be an earthly king bestowing power and prestige on His people, not just yet. Instead, God's plan for mankind included an interior transformation of souls for the sake of an eternal kingdom. To properly prepare us for this kingdom, God rejected earthly methods of acquiring power in favor of the healing that comes with merciful love.
It is God's mercy that changes our hearts from hearts of stone to hearts of flesh. It's Christ's humility, His lowliness, that beckons us into a relationship with Him. And ultimately, it was Christ's willingness to give up earthly glory that opened the door for us to share in His eternal glory.
Now, as much as I would like earthly power, He asks us to "learn from him." As our souls find rest in God, He can continue His redemptive work through us as we display these same "weaker" virtues to the world.
This isn't to say God lacks power or that Christians should throw out virtues like courage. I think sometimes cultivating traits like meekness and humility are trickier than learning boldness because we can easily tip the scales too far and become passive. It's a difficult balance, but a necessary one if we want to reflect Christ to a hurting world.
Intersecting Faith & Life: Is there a situation in your life right now that would benefit from a little meekness, humility, or gentleness on your part? Ask God to show you how to have a meek and humble heart like His - one that offers healing and restoration while maintaining your God-given dignity.

Blessed are the Meek
by Sarah Phillips
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Mt 5: 5 (NIV)
I used to have a strong dislike for the word "meek." It brings me back more than a decade to a defining moment during my sophomore year of high school.
I was a shy teenager who had stepped outside of her comfort zone by enrolling in several theater classes, including a class on "behind the scenes" theater productions. This should have been the easiest of all the courses for my sensitive nature. But my instructor, while delegating roles for the Spring production of Peter Pan, proved me wrong when she voiced her choice of stage manager like this:
"I've chosen Melissa because I need someone with a strong personality - someone who isn't meek, like Sarah."
Of course, I only drove her point home when I didn't stick up for myself. I spent years after that scene developing assertiveness, determined to prove that Sarah was not meek. Like this teacher, I associated meekness with weakness and both were traits that needed to be eradicated if I was going to get anywhere in life.
At least that's what I thought until I found that dreaded word jumping off the pages of scripture at me in the Gospel of Matthew. There it was, one of the first things Jesus says in his famous Sermon on the Mount.
Our deacon offered some thoughts on this verse that helped put things in perspective for me. He shared that it's in the Sermon on the Mount where we see Jesus begin to expand on His true purpose - and to the disappointment of many, He was not going to be an earthly king bestowing power and prestige on His people, not just yet. Instead, God's plan for mankind included an interior transformation of souls for the sake of an eternal kingdom. To properly prepare us for this kingdom, God rejected earthly methods of acquiring power in favor of the healing that comes with merciful love.
It is God's mercy that changes our hearts from hearts of stone to hearts of flesh. It's Christ's humility, His lowliness, that beckons us into a relationship with Him. And ultimately, it was Christ's willingness to give up earthly glory that opened the door for us to share in His eternal glory.
Now, as much as I would like earthly power, He asks us to "learn from him." As our souls find rest in God, He can continue His redemptive work through us as we display these same "weaker" virtues to the world.
This isn't to say God lacks power or that Christians should throw out virtues like courage. I think sometimes cultivating traits like meekness and humility are trickier than learning boldness because we can easily tip the scales too far and become passive. It's a difficult balance, but a necessary one if we want to reflect Christ to a hurting world.
Intersecting Faith & Life: Is there a situation in your life right now that would benefit from a little meekness, humility, or gentleness on your part? Ask God to show you how to have a meek and humble heart like His - one that offers healing and restoration while maintaining your God-given dignity.

#Jesus, #Christian, #Bible, #Salvation, #Heaven, #God, #HolySpirit

Streams in the Desert

Streams in the Desert

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves (Romans 12:19).

There are seasons when to be still demands immeasurably higher strength than to act. Composure is often the highest result of power. To the vilest and most deadly charges Jesus responded with deep, unbroken silence, such as excited the wonder of the judge and the spectators. To the grossest insults, the most violent ill-treatment and mockery that might well bring indignation into the feeblest heart, He responded with voiceless complacent calmness. Those who are unjustly accused, and causelessly ill-treated know what tremendous strength is necessary to keep silence to God.

Men may misjudge thy aim,
Think they have cause to blame,
Say, thou art wrong;
Keep on thy quiet way,
Christ is the Judge, not they,
Fear not, be strong.

St. Paul said, "None of these things move me." He did not say, none of these things hurt me. It is one thing to be hurt, and quite another to be moved. St. Paul had a very tender heart. We do not read of any apostle who cried as St. Paul did. It takes a strong man to cry. Jesus wept, and He was the manliest Man that ever lived.

So it does not say, none of these things hurt me. But the apostle had determined not to move from what he believed was right. He did not count as we are apt to count; he did not care for ease; he did not care for this mortal life. He cared for only one thing, and that was to be loyal to Christ, to have His smile. To St. Paul, more than to any other man, His work was wages, His smile was Heaven.
--Margaret Bottome

God's Master Plan of Finance...............Dr. Charles Stanley

God's Master Plan of Finance

Dr. Charles Stanley

Malachi 3:7-12

Though the world is full of disorder, confusion, and uncertainty, believers in Christ have the wonderful assurance that God is in absolute control of every situation. When He created the heavens and the earth, He had a purpose and a plan, which He carried out with precision and order. Nothing was haphazard, late, or uncertain. The Lord also has a plan for each one of us, and every aspect of our lives is not only under His scrutiny, but also under His care.

One of those areas is our finances. If we'll follow God's plan, He promises to manage our money. Now, that's quite a blessing. After all, who do you think would be better at knowing how to handle money—you or our omniscient, all-powerful God? He promises that if we will give Him the first part of all we receive, He'll provide for our needs. He has an amazing way of making the remainder stretch farther than the original amount.

So, considering the blessings of this promise and the unfailing faithfulness of the Promise Giver, what is keeping you from obeying this command? The most likely reason is unbelief—fear to test Him on this even though He invites you to do so. But you may be asking yourself, What if He doesn't come through? What if I give it away and don't have enough?

The Lord is after your trust, and what better area to test and build it than your finances? Believing Him for our salvation seems easy, yet we often doubt He'll keep His promise when it comes to money. Take a step of obedience today, and discover how faithful your God really is.

When You Need a Recall Button for Your Mouth

When You Need a Recall Button for Your Mouth
KAREN EHMAN

“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” Luke 6:45 (NIV)

Have you ever thought about the myriad ways we can talk to each other?

We can do video calls on our cell phones. Or hop on our computers and hold online meetings. And of course, our phones allow us to talk even while we’re in a remote location or traveling far away.

One of my favorite ways to talk to my friends is using a phone app that acts much like an old-fashioned walkie-talkie. It enables you to speak in real time to someone else who has the app. Or, if you happen to be busy at the time, the app holds the message from the sender until you have time to open it and listen.

This particular app has a feature called the recall button. So, if you leave a message for someone to retrieve but then change your mind about them hearing it, you can recall the message. They will never know what you said, and you can leave a different, better message instead.

A close friend of mine happens to use this button a lot.

The other day, she explained how she often talks too fast, or doesn’t think things through before leaving her message. As a result, she decides to recall the message and try again. Then she joked, “Now, if only I had a recall button for my actual life!”

You know, she might be on to something!

I think back to the many times I’ve regretted my words. Maybe I spoke something in haste, or I was careless in my word choice and sent an inaccurate message. But usually, I spoke in anger or frustration and, as a result, regretted my words.

Honestly, the real problem isn’t in the speaking. The problem is in the storing.

Today’s key verse states, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Luke 6:45). The loose translation? You are going to speak what you have stored.

If you store up resentment toward someone, it may come tumbling out one day in angry words.

If you store up bitterness about a past hurt, you might find yourself suddenly spilling caustic criticism.

If you store up unforgiveness in your heart, it may bubble to the surface and show up in unkind speech.

You are going to speak what you have stored.

To reduce the chances of spilling out unsweet speech, we need to continually go to God and ask Him to reveal any destructive feelings lurking in the dark corners of our hearts. Surrendering these corrosive and unhealthy feelings to Him can prevent us from spilling out words we later regret. Preaching this little, one-sentence sermon to ourselves can also help: Don’t say something permanently painful just because you’re temporarily ticked off.

When we make it both our prayer and our aim to speak words that are kind, we have less need for a recall button for our mouths. Instead, we’ll find ourselves sprinkling sweet speech around us, improving our relationships, and preventing a boatload of regret.

Father, help me store up that which is good in my heart and keep me from allowing evil thoughts and feelings to take root instead. I want my mouth to spill goodness when I speak. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Matthew 15:11, “It’s not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth — this defiles a person.” (CSB)

A Prayer for When You’re Feeling Weak

A Prayer for When You’re Feeling WeakBy: Christina Fox

That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

I hate weakness.

I don't like to feel inadequate or incapable. I don't like being dependent on others. I don't like not knowing what's going to happen. I don't like feeling helpless in the face of a trial. I don't like feeling spent and overwhelmed. I don't like it when I am physically weak, emotionally weak, mentally weak, or spiritually weak.

Did I mention that I don't like being weak?

But ironically, God's word looks at my weakness differently. It's part of the prerequisite for coming to Christ. Jesus said in Luke 5:31-32, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

Our weakness is no match for Christ. It's not an obstacle he has to overcome. He doesn't look at us and bemoan the fact he's not been given the cream of the crop. Rather, he laughs at weakness and says "Look what I can do with it."

If the reality of your own weakness is mocking you today, go to God in prayer. Plead with the Lord about it and rest in his power made perfect in weakness.

This prayer is for you and me:

Dear Father,

I come to you today feeling so weak and helpless. There are many thing on my plate, so many worries, so many uncertainties, so many things that I just can't do. Every time I think about what lies ahead for me, I feel overwhelmed. When I consider carrying this burden for days on end, I feel like I just might drown. Everything seems impossible.

You said to come to you with my burdens. The Bible says you are our "Rock" and our "Fortress." You are all knowing and all powerful. You know the burdens that I bear. You are not surprised by them. In fact, you've allowed them into my life. I may not know the purpose for them, but I do know that I can trust your goodness. You are always faithful to do what is best for me. You care most about my holiness, even above my immediate happiness. I ask that you remove this burden from me, take away my weakness, but ultimately, I desire most of all that your will be done.

I confess that I hate this weakness in me. I don't like not knowing what to do. I don't like being incapable and insufficient. Forgive me for wanting to be sufficient in myself. Forgive me for wanting to be in control. Forgive me for complaining and grumbling. Forgive me for doubting your love for me. And forgive me for not being willing to trust and rely on you and your grace.

When I look into the future and see my weakness, help me to trust you. May I, like Paul, embrace my weakness so that you can be my strength. May you work through my weakness to change me. May I glorify you in my weakness, looking away from myself and to the wonders of your amazing love through Christ.

Grant me gospel joy, even in the midst of this struggle. It's because of Jesus and through Jesus that I can pray, Amen.

Blessed Are the Peacemakers

Blessed Are the Peacemakers
by Lynette Kittle

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God”  - Matthew 5:9

When it comes to conflicts on Social Media or in the office, home, or family events, how are you at bringing peace to situations?

Do you jump in and take sides or do you look for ways to promote harmony?

As a kid I remember sitting in the backseat of my parents’ car on a dark rainy night, lost in a questionable area in Chicago with my Mom and Dad upset at the situation, and at each other. After Dad called a man standing hidden in the dark street over to ask directions, my backseat praying for God’s turned me to action.

With little to no map reading experience of my own, I grabbed it and started giving my Dad directions to the church we were trying to find. Although I’m not really sure how much it helped, it did seem to turn the tide of the angry car atmosphere and de-escalate the situation.

In my family’s traveling nightmare, it diffused the anger and helped my parents to get on the right path to our destination. Like James 3:18 explains, “Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.”

Looking back I realize my Dad who lived in a small Ohio farming community and had an aversion to big cities, was probably fearful of being lost and vulnerable on the back streets of Chicago. He was most likely afraid for the safety of his family.

In fearful situations, God’s remedy for it His peace. As 2 Thessalonians 3:16 reveals, there is only one true source of it found in the Lord Himself, who is able to give you peace at all times in every way. And there is no situation that can keep His peace from you.

When you choose to step in as a mediator, you are following Christ’s example as the peacemaker between God and mankind. As 1Timothy 2:5 explains, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.”

Taking opportunities to be a peacemaker brings you benefits, too. 2 Corinthians 13:11 explains how “Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourages one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.”

Setting your goal to become a peacemaker, like Jesus, will bring God’s love and peace to your life. As Isaiah 26:3 explains, God will keep you in perfect peace when your mind keeps steadfast in trusting Him. “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).

Learning to be Content

Learning to be Content
by Anna Kuta

“Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:11-13).

I am not a patient person. I admit it. Whether I’m stuck behind a slow driver on a one-lane road, counting down the hours to a particular event, or realizing that something I’ve been looking forward to has been postponed, waiting has never been something easy for me.

Wishing for the future is also something I’ve often struggled with. Whether counting down to high school graduation, the start of college, college graduation or my first job, it seemed at the time like each of those things could not come fast enough. It isn’t until looking back that I realize in each of those seasons of life God was teaching me things and using me for a particular purpose right where I was. That’s not to say I don’t still struggle with the “grass is greener” syndrome, though. I’ve been out of college for nine months now and gotten settled into my job, but these days, especially as Valentine’s Day rolls around, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get discouraged by being a single girl sometimes.

But look at what Paul says in Philippians 4:11. He says he has learned to be content in any situation – “everywhere and in all things.” The Greek word for “content” here literally means “independent of others, having sufficiency in one’s self” – but Paul is referring to one’s new self in Christ, because only God can teach the ability to be content. Paul says he has learned to be content in the good and the bad, in the times of abundance and the times of want, because he can do all things through Christ who strengthens him. I think the key word here is that Paul learned, and it’s possible for us to learn as well. Being content does not necessarily mean being resigned to the fact that you might not get what you want; it means being willing to let God teach you and work through you wherever you are at the moment.

When I start to get impatient or start wishing some area of my life would just hurry up, I remind myself what the Lord says in Jeremiah 29:11, that he has a plan and purpose for those who follow Him. As Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” God’s timetables are not necessarily ours, but there are lessons He wants to teach us in each season of life. For me, it means growing closer to the Lord during the single years of my 20s and using this time to serve Him to the fullest wherever He needs me. With His help, I’m learning to be content, and you can learn too. Don’t be so busy wishing for a different situation that you miss what Jesus has in store for you right here and now – lean on the strength of God and let Him teach you what it means to be content in all things.

Intersecting Faith & Life

Have there been times in your life when you didn’t realize what God was teaching you until you looked back? How can God use you in your current situation? Wherever you are now, remember that God has a purpose and a plan for this season. Through Christ who gives us strength, we can do all things, and that includes learning to be content.

Further Reading

Philippians 4:19
Psalm 27:14
Psalm 37:3-5
Isaiah 40:31