The willingness to lie down and sleep is itself an expression of trust in the sovereign hand of God.
– Adrian Reynolds in And So To Bed…
Tag: God
Passion Points
Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:
10 Things You Should Know about the Presence of God – J. Ryan Lister (Crossway)
The church has two clear purposes: 1) the church works within itself for the sanctification of its members to prepare God’s people for God’s present and future presence; and 2) the church works externally to share the gospel so that the lost may enjoy God’s presence now and forever as well.
Masters of Self: Cultivating Gentleness in an Age of Outrage – Scott Swain (DG)
When the vice of anger is the spiritual diagnosis, Holy Scripture prescribes the virtue of gentleness or meekness as the spiritual medicine. Gentleness is the spiritual virtue that tempers or moderates the desire for vengeance we experience when we suffer or witness injustice. According to Protestant moral theologian Niels Hemmingsen, gentleness is “the virtue by which minds that have been rashly stirred up toward hatred of someone are restrained by kindness.”
Six Marks of Maturity to Look for in Your Life – Colin Marshall (SA)
So, who are the really mature Christians in your church? What’s the grid that we use to measure maturity?
One of the Church’s Greatest Needs – R. Kent Hughes (Crossway)
The church cannot prosper with deception among its members—and God wanted to make this clear for all time. Deception wounds the body of Christ—makes it dysfunctional—and is a sin against God! This is why Peter cried to Ananias at the moment of his death, “You have not lied to man but to God” (Acts 5:4).
Hope you have a great Lord’s Day worshiping the Lord with your local church!
Doctrine Collection
Here are some good posts t help you think about God:
10 Things You Should Know about the Trinity – Fred Sanders (Crossway)
10 Things You Should Know about God’s Attributes – Mark Jones (Crossway)
A Vital Yet Neglected Attribute of God (God’s Patience) – Mark Jones (Crossway)
Awed
Sometimes we are awed into silence in the presence of the Eternal.
– J. Oswald Sanders in Enjoying Intimacy with God
Flows
Everything in our Christian life and service flows from our relationship with God. If we are not in vital fellowship with Him, everything else will be out of focus.
– J. Oswald Sanders in Enjoying Intimacy with God
Rest Reflections
Without rest, we miss the rest of God: the rest he invites us to enter more fully so that we might know him more deeply. “Be still, and know that I am God.” Some knowing is never pursued, only received. And for that, you need to be still.
– Mark Buchanan in The Rest of God
The Savior’s Example, Part 2
He will not quarrel (strive, argue) or cry aloud (shout), nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; a bruised (battered) reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench. – Matthew 12:19-20a ESV (NKJV/CSB/others)
These words are a prophecy from Isaiah 42 that Jesus quotes in reference to himself. They show a contrast to gentleness, what gentleness is not.
Jesus does not quarrel (strive, argue, fight, brawl). He does not cry aloud (shout, yell, rant, scream). In other words, he is not a loud-mouth. All of this is the opposite of gentleness. When we are yelling or loud or quarreling with people, we are not being gentle.
But Jesus was gentle with people, and we are given two great pictures of his gentleness. First, a bruised or battered reed is easily broken, but Jesus is so gentle he doesn’t break it. Second, a smoldering wick is ready to go out, but Jesus carefully blows it back to life.
These pictures are about people. Jesus reached out to bruised, battered, and smoldering people with a gentle love that healed, restored, and revived. This gentle love gave new life to the hurting, weeping, sick, and oppressed. This gentle love gave forgiveness to the sinner.
More often than we think, the people around us are bruised, battered, smoldering, weary, tired, and fragile. We need to follow Jesus’ example and treat one another carefully, with great gentleness that builds up and gives life.
In what situations in your life do you need to rest in the gentle love of your Savior?
In what situations are you tempted to quarrel or yell?
In what specific ways can you treat others carefully this week to build up and give life?
The Shepherd’s Care
He will tend (feed) his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.
– Isaiah 40:11 ESV (KJV)
Isaiah gives us the picture of a gentle shepherd who cares for his sheep. He tends, feeds, gathers, carries, and leads his flock.
Our God is like a shepherd to us. He tends and feeds us, taking care of our needs. He gathers and carries us in his arms. And he gently leads us along the path we should go. He doesn’t harshly drive us. He doesn’t violently beat us. He cares for us with the gentleness of a shepherd.
Is this how you think of God – as a gentle shepherd?
In what situation in your life do you need God to carry you right now?
How do you need God to gently lead and guide you today?
Trust and Turn
Even if we do not understand what God is doing, we can believe that he is still at work. Trusting in the sovereign goodness of God will help us turn our attention to others in love rather than focusing on our own frustrations.
– Phil Ryken in Loving the Way Jesus Loves
The Shepherd’s Care
He will tend (feed) his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.
– Isaiah 40:11 ESV (KJV)
Isaiah gives us the picture of a gentle shepherd who cares for his sheep. He tends, feeds, gathers, carries, and leads his flock.
Our God is like a shepherd to us. He tends and feeds us, taking care of our needs. He gathers and carries us in his arms. And he gently leads us along the path we should go. He doesn’t harshly drive us. He doesn’t violently beat us. He cares for us with the gentleness of a shepherd.
Is this how you think of God – as a gentle shepherd?
In what situation in your life do you need God to carry you right now?
How do you need God to gently lead and guide you today?
Brian J. Mikul 