Tag Archives: Galatians 5:1

Meekness Isn’t Weakness. It Could Even Win the Preakness

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You have heard the phrase, “Gentle Jesus, meek and mild”, right? I have often wondered about Jesus’ meekness. How meek was he? Was he just some sort of a milquetoast or doormat? Was Jesus a weakling? So, I did some research about meekness, and discovered there was more to it than merely being a wimp.

Paul talked about meekness in his letter to Timothy:

“And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in meekness correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.” (2 Timothy 2:24-26, NKJV)

Strength in Being Gentle

Paul’s letter to Timothy contains practical advice about relationships and sharing the truth as well as a startling cosmic reminder about the state of mankind. He admonishes Timothy to avoid fruitless arguments, and to be gentle and patient when facing opposition. This is pretty good advice about all relationships, and there are some valuable insights that can be gained from what Paul says here.

He tells Timothy to teach with humility. The Greek word he uses (praus) is usually translated as mildness or meekness. Jesus uses it in Matthew 11:29-30, when he says “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Remember, this is the same Jesus who overthrew the moneychangers’ tables in the temple. He was the one who blazed with glory on the Mount of transfiguration. When an armed cohort came to arrest him in the garden, his simple statement “I am He” (John 18:6) caused dozens of tough men to step back in awe, stumbling and falling down. Jesus was no lightweight. Remember, He endured the cross when he could have come down on his own.

The Greek idea for meekness is not being a doormat. It is one of controlled power. Think of a gentled horse. They don’t lose all of their power, but they are trained and therefore disciplined enough to channel their power; they are still strong enough to throw you but they don’t.

Gentleness is also the eighth fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5. The quality of meekness is not abject weakness, it’s like a horse that could win the Preakness. (Ha, try to forget THAT!) Emulate Jesus and be filled with the powerful Spirit.

Which Kind of Person are YOU?

The other thing Paul points out in this passage is that there are only two kinds of people in this world: there are those who know the truth, and those who have been taken captive by the snare of the devil. Seems kind of radical, doesn’t it? I mean, taken captive by the devil, come on! Surely my friends, my neighbors, those other people on the highway are not captured by the devil!

Ask yourself this, though: If someone is not living for Christ, who are they living for? Never forget that you reside in occupied territory behind enemy lines. Everyone who has not found the truth is captive to something else, something they may not even acknowledge or be aware of. It may be that you are uniquely positioned to share the Truth with someone so that they can escape the devil’s trap. Be powerful. Be gentle.

The Strongest Meekness You Ever Saw

This world is hard. This world is wild, and ever since I was a child
I’ve heard the Lord described as “gentle Jesus, meek and mild”.
I know that he was good and right; I know that Jesus didn’t fight,
But there were things about him that would indicate a hidden might:
He entered the Temple with a shout and threw the money changers out.
He took the beating and the cross, defeated Satan like a Boss,
And conquered evil, sin and death as all eternity held its breath.

See, “meekness” in the Greek has more of a meaning if you seek it,
And it doesn’t always come across the way we usually speak it.
In Greek it’s like a harnessed force, something like a gentled horse,
Very strong and yet controlled in all the power that it holds.
Greek meekness is not weakness, it’s enough to win the Preakness.
Meek Jesus really should be styled as “Powerful Savior, strong and Wild”! Don’t be beguiled. If you get riled, stay strong! You are the Savior’s child.

To buy my latest book, Real People, Real Christmas: Thirty-one Days Discovering the Hidden Treasures of the Christmas Story, go here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1729034918/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For Slaying Giants: Thirty Days with David, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Giants-Thirty-Devotions-Ordinary/dp/172568327X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535814431&sr=8-1&keywords=Slaying+Giants%3A+Thirty+Days+With+David
To buy my book, Beggar’s Bread, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Devotions-Ordinary-Guy/dp/1535457392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-1&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread

The Dome of the Rock, the Western Wall, and the Churches in Jerusalem: What Do They Have in Common?

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In Jerusalem the number one business is tourism. Hotels and buses are filled with pilgrims anxious to see and touch Holy sites like the Dome of the Rock, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, or the Wailing Wall. There are more buses running around Jerusalem than you will see anywhere this side of Branson, Missouri.

It is truly impressive to see the devotion that pilgrims have to their sacred sites. Millions of people come each year to insert written prayers into the Western Wall, and to pray earnestly as close to the site of the Second Temple of Jerusalem as they can. It is thought that being closer to the Temple is being closer to the presence of God, thereby putting prayers almost directly to the ear of God, where they will surely be heard. Orthodox Jews and devoted Christians come to the wall in hopes that the Lord will surely answer prayers delivered so close to His house.

There is an interior passage on the other side of the wall where a special group of women pray daily, bringing their petitions before God with continual supplication. Their reverent whispers echo softly in the secret passage, flying up through stone walls on butterfly wings to the heavens. The women pray fervently at the wall, perhaps with a prayer-book or Scripture to guide them, or perhaps with eyes closed as their lips move in silent supplication. Unlike the outer wall, this sacred space is reserved for women who are committed prayer warriors locked in spiritual battle with grief or longing or darkness…

Out and above the wall on Dome of the Rock, access is also limited. The Dome Mosque was built in the 700’s on TOP of the old Temple site, and is restricted these days to almost all “outsiders”. Only Muslims are allowed there, and there are guards at every entrance to keep tourists and non-Muslims from looking into the Dome. It is considered holy by the Muslim faith because it houses the rock where creation originally occurred; it is also where Mohammed allegedly rose to heaven with Gabriel, and where he went to pray (in a story very similar to the Transfiguration) with Abraham, Moses and Jesus. Westerners and Christians have been kept out of the Mosque for almost two decades, and Jews do not enter the Dome because it is a violation of Jewish law. There was an opening where a door was being repaired when we walked by the Dome, and the guard hurried out to move us away from the entrance lest we see inside.

A group of women sat in the doorway and gave us dirty looks as we tried to catch a glimpse of what was inside, but alas! The religion of peace apparently doesn’t want outsiders. Their zealous devotion has created a shield around the Mosque…

At Churches and Christian holy sites, the devotion is also amazing. Pilgrims kiss the stones where Jesus may have been killed or prepared for burial, and the stations of the cross along the Via Dolorosa are venerated by the followers of Christ. People come from all over the world to lay prostrate, to reach and touch, and to experience the thrill of walking perhaps where Abraham or Jesus walked. The religious fervor and devotion of these pilgrims is touching and inspiring. (Interestingly, it was matched on our trip only by the curiosity and desire of celebrity-seekers who were trying to see Prince William up close!) But as I watched all of this devotion directed at holy sites and sacred places, I wondered if it was not perhaps the teeniest bit misdirected…

Matthew 28:5 “The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

For me the truth in the Holy Land was not about the many amazing places we visited, or in the archaeological tells, or in the Church of the Nativity or the Church of the Holy Sepulcher; I appreciate the tradition behind those sites and the fervor with which people respond to them. But for me, in thinking of the Living God who said, “I am come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly” I couldn’t find spiritual excitement in rocks, or walls, or Domes nearly as much as I found it in an empty space…

Reflection After the Wailing Wall Upon an Empty Space

Prayers are offered at the wall by Saints and Rabbis lifted high
In supplications large and small, regardless of the passers-by…
There a Rabbi bobs his head and there a tourist walks around,
While holy prayers are being said with passion on this holy ground.
Will Yahweh in His heaven hear as saints and Pilgrims seek this place?
And will they know that God came near, and offers peace? And love. And grace.
The Dome above the Temple rock is covered up with sheets of gold,
While guards at every entrance block all touring pilgrims, young and old…
And pilgrims come here every day to see these holy, sacred sites,
To look and see, to kneel and pray, to replicate religious rites!
When in Bethlehem we trod, in Churches, or in Galilee,
I wondered: does the living God reside in things that we can see?
We saw another wall of stone that opened to a burial room
And stood within it, all alone, Rejoicing in the empty tomb!

To buy my latest book, Real People, Real Christmas: Thirty-one Days Discovering the Hidden Treasures of the Christmas Story, go here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1729034918/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For Slaying Giants: Thirty Days with David, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Giants-Thirty-Devotions-Ordinary/dp/172568327X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535814431&sr=8-1&keywords=Slaying+Giants%3A+Thirty+Days+With+David
To buy my book, Beggar’s Bread, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Devotions-Ordinary-Guy/dp/1535457392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-1&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread