LET YOUR GENTLENESS BE EVIDENT TO ALL
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By:
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Blessing-to-you
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Mood:
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Full of life
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Date:
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11/23/2007 12:03:28
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Music:
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None
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PHP 4:5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. I have to say being sick all week has really dampened my ability to write and of course the energy needed was lacking too. Inspiration has also been mising too, and it wasn't until I overheard a discussion in a group I'm in did I come up with any kind of working thesis. We see where God takes me on this one, I know where I want to go, but What does He want to say?
We were discussing legalism and it is a subject that bothered the early church also. Many early church members were poor and they were getting leftovers from pagan ceremonies to eat. I guess we can liken this to some of the controversies we have in our churches as to what is good, proper and righteous to do, sing, think, listen to, to wear, to believe and days to observe.
Oh the verses talking about this? Romans 14 the whole chapter but verse 5 is where I want to go, do not omit the earlier parts about not judging someone else servant, etc. Any way here is:
Romans 14:5One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
I picked this one because most of the thrust of the chapter is on eating meat originally sacrificed to idols. We don exactly have an equivalent of that these days, so I using the verse St. Paul dropped in there to make the whole controversy more salient to the ages. Thank you Paul. It then, at least in My Bible [margin] refers to
Galatians 4:10
You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! 11 I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.
Just to put it into perspective. Jews had holidays ordained by God, designed to illustrate Jesus role in the salvation of Man, they show how Jesus fulfills the law.
Some people were and still are very strict in observing the Old Testament laws. Some of us call that Legalism. Yet He admonishes us to let our Gentleness be evident, our Mercy to those who insist on whatever seems to outsiders to be a rigid standard. Perhaps God has spoken to their hearts and told them that, for them a stricter of rules must be maintained for their own good. Some things would be a snare to one person and not to another. Some churches insist on having no musical instruments in Worship, and others laugh at that. But we are free to choose the set of rules we will live under. < FONT size=3> It always good to have an overseer, a leadership that reflects the kind of God has given each of us to maintain. Whatever we decide is best for us, it is good if we remember to let our gentleness be evident on the subject. Especially when we discuss it with others who aren as as we feel we are.
Remember: Romans 14:1-4Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. 2 One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him
Because:
Romans 15:1-3 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: "The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me." I have a tale to tell on myself in this area. I used to love really good rock music, I loved certain artists and kinds of guitar music. One day God convicted me of this and asked me to give up even what might seem the most innocuous of musicians and writers. So I gave up all secular music, I kept the Classical because of them were originally Praise and Worship anyway. After this I was in the company of others and began to argue vehemently that they shouldn listen to any secular rock music either. Then I realized that the direction God had given me was only for me and I had to apologize and explain that it had been a personal revelation, and indeed it had propelled me into a deep appreciation of all praise and worship music and turned out was my own personal gateway into His presence. I found out that God wasn limiting me but was opening me up for a greater blessing. How Like God to do that for us. In Jude 22 it says: Be merciful to those who doubt
Lord, when I see your will so clearly and I want to point it out to others to tell them of your rules remind me that you only have 10 and loving each other is the highest one for dealing with my fellow man. Help me to be gentle with others who haven been as I am. Help me to have Mercy and to forgive as you have forgiven me, and let my gentleness be evident to all. In Jesus Name, Amen.
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