A Gentle and Quiet Spirit

It never fails, no matter how many times you read and study a verse, something you’ve never seen before just all of a sudden jumps out at you.  That’s what happened to me while studying the following passage.  

"Rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit which is very precious in the sight of God”.  

That’s how I Peter 3:4 reads in the New King James Version.  The part that really hit me was: “a gentle and quiet spirit which is very precious in the sight of God”. Peter had been writing about how we should be modest in our dress and let the real beauty from our inner self shine through.  God doesn’t look at us as man does. He doesn’t take pleasure in looking at us dressed up in all our finery, rather He looks at our inner beauty, our spirit.  

"Precious in the sight of God is a gentle and quiet spirit.”

How many times have you read that scripture but never took the time to actually find out what those words mean? Gentle means a spirit free from harshness, sternness or violence.  Quiet means easygoing, free from noise or uproar, unobtrusive, conservative. When something is precious it’s of great value or high price, highly esteemed or cherished.

I had to ask myself a few questions after studying the definitions of these words.

• Am I harsh in my demeanor?
• Stern with others?
• I don’t think I’m a violent person, but do I come across as maybe a little too aggressive or display anger that may be construed as violent?
• Am I loud, obnoxious?
• Cause a scene?
• Pushy? 
• Have to get my “two cents” in no matter what?
  

Or do I display:

• A calm, rational, caring, gentle demeanor?
• One that doesn’t make people feel uncomfortable or not want to be around me? 
• One that doesn’t say, “Hey look at me!”?

I know I need to work on a few of these things, because I’ve had to truthfully answer, “yes”, to a few of them.

Why do I want to work on these things?  This is not the way current society thinks a woman should behave. We have to be tough to make it in this world, right? We have to show people we’ve in charge, right? We need to make sure no one pushes us around, right? We need to be forceful to get our opinion heard because it matters, right? No, it’s because I want to be cherished and of great value (very precious) to God. That’s why I want to learn these things and put them into practice in my life.

Let the beauty of your gentle and quiet spirit shine through.   

Blessings

Recently I read an article on-line where a man stated that Christians should quit saying they’re blessed.  One of the reasons given was that it reduces God to a “sky-bound, wish-granting fairy who spend his days randomly bestowing cars and cash on his followers.”  The article continued by saying that it’s wrong to call yourself blessed because of material good fortune and that it can be offensive to hundreds of millions of Christians in the world who have less.  He even went as far as saying that being blessed for material goods is an American mind set.  He ended the article by saying that we need to say we’re grateful not blessed. 

I find a few things in this article that I disagree with. 

•     Saying I’m blessed isn’t an American mindset, It is a Biblical concept. 

                           i.      Gen. 24:1 says, “God blessed Abraham in every way.”  Verses 35-36 says, “The Lord blessed my master abundantly, and he has become wealthy….he has given him everything he owns.”

                          ii.      Isaac was also said to be blessed by God. Gen 26:12-14, “Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him. The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy”

                        iii.      David mentions being blessed by God for material goods many times in his writings in Psalms. They are too numerous to list them all here, but one is Psalm 67: 6, “The land yields its harvest; God, our God, blesses us.

                        iv.      In the New Testament we see this concept in Luke 12, after Jesus talks about us not worrying about the things we don’t need to worry about, (food, clothing, shelter) he tells the listeners in verse 30, “…the Father knows that you need them”, verse 31, “Seek his kingdom, and these things will be given (provided) to you as well.”  The word   blessed isn’t in this verse, but is it not implied in the giving of the things we need?

                          v.      I Timothy 6: 17, “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth...but to put their hope in God, who richly provides (blesses) us with everything for our enjoyment.”

                        vi.      In Romans 15, Paul talks about the Gentiles’ material blessings and that they should be shared with the Jews.

• Just because I may have been given more or less then someone else, doesn’t mean that I should not feel blessed with what I have.  The apostle Paul taught that he was content in whatever state he found himself in (I Tim 6:8, Phil 4:11-13). If a Christian is offended because someone has more than he/she does, then they have a heart problem, not a blessing problem. When we say we're blessed, we are acknowledging it comes from God, less we fall into the trap of the rich fool in Luke 12, who forgot who provided him with all that he has.  “Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Eph. 5:20.

Where much blessings have been given, more is expected.  But that's a lesson for another day,

Praise God from whom all Blessings flow!

New Venture

Several years ago I did a newsletter for our local congregation's ladies. Many things have changed since then, hence this blog.  I wanted to connect once more with my sisters-in-Christ and others. Share thoughts, ideas, provide some encouragement and maybe edify a few.  Of course, when you start something like this, you end up getting more out of it than the people who read it, and right now I really need this! 

Our world is not the world my generation remembers.  Christianity is being challenged on all sides in all parts of the world.  Our youth are being drawn away from Christ by the allure of all kinds of immorality in numbers never before seen in modern history. They are enticed into lifestyles that are contrary to God's will and will cause them to lose their souls. (Gal 5:19-21) It's so discouraging to see this and sometimes my faith waivers. How can we combat this trend and help to guide the next generation back to God and His word?  It's not easy. It never has been. But if we stand on the Word of God, be bold in our declaration of that word and, most importantly, be the examples we ourselves need to be, then maybe, just maybe, we can bring a few back to the Lord before it's too late.

My prayer is that this blog will lift you up when you hit those discouraging times by giving you simple lessons from the Bible. I know I feel very disheartened at times as I see the path many have taken today and I need to stop and bow my head in prayer for encouragement and then turn to the Bible to find strength to go on.  So I hope this blog will be a help to you.  My one request is that once you read my blog, take out your Bible and study to see if what I say is in accordance to God's Word.  Never take my word for something, let the Word be your guide. 

I look forward to once again conversing with my sisters. 

Brothers and sisters, I encourage you through our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love that the Spirit creates, to join me in my struggle. - Romans 15:30

Thank you for reading....God Bless