Monday, August 27, 2012

Who Are The Meek?



By Greg Laurie
Meekness is not weakness. Sometimes we confuse the two. But the difference between a meek person and weak person is this: a weak person can't do anything. A meek person, on the other hand, can do something but chooses not to.
Jesus said, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5). The word meek from the original language was used to describe reining in a stallion. It is the idea of a horse being controlled by a bit and bridle. The horse is choosing to submit to authority. That is meekness. It is power under constraint.
Although Jesus said, "Blessed [happy] are the meek," we don't celebrate meekness in our culture. Instead, we celebrate assertiveness. We celebrate getting things from other people, sometimes even taking advantage of other people. When is the last time you saw a movie that celebrated the virtue of meekness? When is the last time the big buildup for the movie was the moment when the good guy meekly restrains himself, even though he was wronged? We don't want to go to a movie like that. We want to see a payback movie in which the first half consists of bad things happening to the hero, and the last half consists of bad things that come to the people who did those things to the hero. That is what entertains us. That is what our culture celebrates.
How different this is from what the Bible teaches. The Bible celebrates meekness. The biblical worldview says last is first. Giving is receiving. Dying is living. Losing is finding. The least is the greatest. Meekness is strength. The idea is that we are living by God's truth—not by what our culture says should make us happy

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Can a Christian Lose His or Her Salvation?

Rather than trying to live in two worlds, it is far better to live as close to God as you possibly can.
Greg Laurie

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Feeling Inadequate for the Great Commission?



Jesus Christ knew all about the human tendency to feel inadequate. That is why He assured His followers they would receive a Helper - the Holy Spirit - who would come to abide in them forever.
Charles Stanley

Sunday, August 5, 2012

A Friend of Tax Collectors?

"While our religion can never save us; the good news is that our past can’t keep us from salvation."
-Ray Pritchard