“Are You Jesus?”

“Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” 1 Timothy 6:18 After their meeting ran late, five out‐of‐town salesmen hurried as fast as they could to catch their train. As they raced through the terminal, one inadvertently kicked over a slender table on which rested a basket of apples. It belonged to a ten‐year‐old blind boy who was selling apples to pay for his books and clothes for school. The salesmen clambered aboard the train, but one felt compassion for the boy. He asked his friends to call his wife and tell her he would be late getting home. Then he jumped off the train and returned to where the boy was standing. As the salesman gathered up the apples scattered across the floor, he noticed that several were bruised or split. Reaching into his pocket, he said to the boy, “Here’s twenty dollars for the apples we damaged. I hope we didn’t spoil your day. God bless you.” As he walked away, the boy called after him, “Are you Jesus?” We are most like Christ when we show compassion and generosity to others. Jesus said, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40). We reflect His character whether we’re helping someone less fortunate or giving our mate a back rub at the end of the day. Just between us… How do our interactions with others reflect the character of Jesus? When was the last time we stopped to help another person in need? How do you feel when you show compassion to someone else? Lord, we ask that Your extravagant love would flow through us each day to touch those around us. Show us how to serve, to help, and to give without expecting anything in return. Amen. From Night Light For Couples, by Dr. James & Shirley Dobson Copyright © 2000 by James Dobson, Inc. All rights reserved. Illustration from The Signature of Jesus by Brennan Manning (Sisters, Ore.: Multnomah Books, 1992). Reprinted in Stories for a Man’s Heart, comp. Al and Alice Gray (Sisters, Ore.: Multnomah Publishers, Inc., 1999).

Space Flight

“The righteous will live by faith.” Romans 1:17 The early days of the American space program were thrilling times. John Glenn and other astronauts would blast off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral into the “last frontier.” Their return voyages were especially dangerous. When a spacecraft reentered earth’s atmosphere, only a heat shield on the bottom of the capsule protected it from temperatures exceeding one thousand degrees Fahrenheit. During this phase, communication with earth was blacked out for approximately seven minutes. The world would wait anxiously until a reassuring voice finally announced, “This is Mission Control. Everything is A-OK.” Your kids are a bit like those early astronauts. They one day climb aboard a capsule called adolescence and lift off into uncharted regions of space. Soon you as parents are going through the scariest experience of your lives—you’ve lost all contact with the “capsule.” The same kid who used to talk nonstop has now reduced his vocabulary to “I dunno,” “Maybe,” and “I forget.” It’s a period of great apprehension for those on the ground! This is the time to remember the words of the apostle Paul: “We live by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). You haven’t failed as a parent; your child is simply going through the social and hormonal turbulence of adolescence. If you have raised your kids by God’s principles, your teaching and patience will be rewarded. When the time is right—perhaps in your son or daughter’s early twenties—you will likely reestablish communication and discover that everything is indeed A-OK. Before you say good night… Do you feel like a failure because your child is in a “blackout” period? How can you help each other stay confident in your roles as parents? Father, please forgive us when we forget that You are in control of the lives of our kids. Help us to have a firm faith in You, in Your Word, in the roles You have given us as parents, and in our children. Amen. From Night Light For Parents, by Dr. James & Shirley Dobson Copyright © 2000 by James Dobson, Inc. All rights reserved.

MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST

The Unrivaled Power of Prayer We do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.  Romans 8:26 We realize that we are energized by the Holy Spirit for prayer; and we know what it is to pray in accordance with the Spirit; but we don’t often realize that the Holy Spirit Himself prays prayers in us which we cannot utter ourselves. When we are born again of God and are indwelt by the Spirit of God, He expresses for us the unutterable. “He,” the Holy Spirit in you, “makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:27). And God searches your heart, not to know what your conscious prayers are, but to find out what the prayer of the Holy Spirit is. The Spirit of God uses the nature of the believer as a temple in which to offer His prayers of intercession. “…your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit…” (1 Corinthians 6:19). When Jesus Christ cleansed the temple, “…He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple” (Mark 11:16). The Spirit of God will not allow you to use your body for your own convenience. Jesus ruthlessly cast out everyone who bought and sold in the temple, and said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer…. But you have made it a ‘den of thieves’ ” (Mark 11:17). Have we come to realize that our “body is the temple of the Holy Spirit”? If so, we must be careful to keep it undefiled for Him. We have to remember that our conscious life, even though only a small part of our total person, is to be regarded by us as a “temple of the Holy Spirit.” He will be responsible for the unconscious part which we don’t know, but we must pay careful attention to and guard the conscious part for which we are responsible. From My Utmost for His Highest Updated Edition Bible in One Year: Jeremiah 43-45; Hebrews 5

 

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS God does not further our spiritual life in spite of our circumstances, but in and by our circumstances. from Not Knowing Whither, 900 L

A Prayer for Meekness – Your Daily Prayer – November 7

 

A Prayer for Meekness
By Mark Altrogge

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

To be meek is to be gentle, humble, lowly.

“The meek are the ‘gentle’… those who do not assert themselves over others in order to further their own agendas in their own strength, but who will nonetheless inherit the earth because they trust in God to direct the outcome of events.” ESV Study Bible notes:

The first reason we should be meek is because Jesus is.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls. – Matthew 11:29

I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ  – 2 Corinthians 10:1

If God, the infinitely great and all-powerful one, is gentle and meek, how much more should we be!

Meekness shapes the way we relate to our Christian brothers and sisters.

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. – Ephesians 4:1-3

We’re not to fight and scrape, intimidate or pressure our brothers and sisters to get our way. Rather we should relate to one another with complete – “ALL” – humility and gentleness.

Meekness changes our speech

A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. – Proverbs 15:4

The way to impart life is with a gentle tongue. Anger won’t produce God’s righteousness (James 1:20). Anger may intimidate others to do what we want, but it won’t change their hearts.

Meekness affects the way we correct opponents

And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth 2 Timothy 2:24-25

We can’t persuade anyone by getting in their face. Yelling “murderer!” at a pro-choice person won’t win them to our side. Calling someone who differs with you an idiot won’t persuade them you are right. When we correct opponents, we must realize we can’t change them. Only God can grant repentance. So all we need do is gently submit our correction then trust God to change their heart.

Meekness affects the way we treat people ensnared in sin

We’re tempted to judge those trapped in sin. “How could you possibly do that? I would never do that!” But the Bible tells us we should restore sinners gently:

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. – Galatians 6:1

We are gentle when we help others who fall because we remember our own spiritual bankruptcy and sins. Each of us is capable of any sin. Remembering this will go along way to helping us restore others gently.

The world says the assert yourself. Put yourself forward. Grab. Fight. The Bible says be meek and you will inherit the earth. When we inherit something we don’t work for it but receive it as a gift. God gives the meek everything they need. Those who are meek find deep contentment and joy.

And someday we will inherit the new earth.

Father, we pray today that you would draw us into meekness. We pray that you would soften our hearts, that you would remind us of the gift of gentleness, that you would show us through Jesus how to live in love day by day. We pray that you would forgive us of our sins and open our eyes and hearts to forgiveness for others in our lives. We ask that you would help us to guard our speech, that the words we say would be life-giving and glorifying to you. We are so grateful for your refining fire in our lives. In your holy name, Amen.