LBY – Gentleness

Fighting God? I loved what Beth had to say on the first page of this week’s study on gentleness: “Meekness or gentleness is the power and strength created from submitting to God’s will. Gentleness is responsibility with power.”

Ha – how many times do I cross my arms and pat my foot (actually I am doing it right now in my life). I don’t want to walk the path He has put in front of me!!!! Yes, He has to fight me every step of the way. BUT I want to submit to His will, because He knows where I can serve Him best. This part of my life is truly ‘living beyond myself’. “…to endure pain and suffering in the will of God (was) is far better than to risk ease outside His faithful hands.” I couldn’t agree more with Beth on that.

Looking at the life of Peter and Paul, I have nothing to fear to submit to the will of God. He saw them through! He was faithful to give them strength and gentleness. It always comes back to His faithfulness, doesn’t it? I liked that Beth shared the story about the knot in her daughter’s hair. That is a great picture to think about when God is getting our knots out of our life; cleaning the junk that is not helpful being His hands and feet.
What a great treasure Beth shared on day two:

“Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.” ~ Titus 3:1-2

Looking at the life of John the Baptist once again was incredible. What a man of faith! I would like to be as humble as he was. He emptied himself and let God be God. What a great way to be the hands and feet of the King of kings, the Lord of lords.
“Lord, continue to help me pour out all the junk in my life, guide me to be filled with your Holy Spirit every single morning and night, or how many times I need to pour out each day – In Jesus’ name – Amen”.

Being teachable is another great treasure Beth shared with us this past week. Yes, I want to be teachable; especially if it is rooted in His Word. The one question Beth asked this week that really hit home for me was: “Have you ever had a stubborn period like Balaam’s when you refused to listen to God?” ~ Why, yes! And it was a very long time I walked without Him; longer than Carol’s “dark dozen”. But it would be long for this post to get in to (this post is already getting too long). Let’s just say I learned the hard way to be teachable; through circumstances described in day 4 of the study. I made “executive decisions without consulting the Chief Executive”.

“Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.” ~ Proverbs 16:20

My favorite day of this past week though was day 5 as Beth was sharing about teachers and the Ultimate Teacher. It was interesting to read that Christ was referred to as teacher 41 times in the New Testament; but not surprising. The ‘treasure passage’ Beth shared is something I want to take to heart – 2 Timothy 2:24-26:

“And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.”

Beth said that the kind of teacher God is looking for are ‘servant-teachers’. That is where the power of the Holy Spirit comes in again; where we need to submit to His will and not our own. I have read many blogs over the last year. Some are written in ways that oppose the Holy Spirit, but others are walking in step with Him. Beth said that “God’s teachers are not called to wield the Word of God like a baseball bat. The Sword of the Spirit is to injure Satan, not the body of Christ.” All I can say – Amen to that. If we want to teach the Word of God we need to do it with gentleness and rely on the Holy Spirit of God and not our own understanding…

“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” ~ 1 Peter 3:15-16

Addie	Heather*	Carol
M	Rach	Jeana
Jenn	Amanda	MamaB
GiBee	Boomama	Maria
Blair	Heather	Nancy
Janna	Flipflop	Robin
Sherry	Patricia	Tara
Lauren	HolyMama!	Faith
Christy	Eph2810	Karin
Leann	Rachel	Janice
May God bless you richly from the hearing of His Word.