40 Days Pondering the Fruit of the Spirit
Dr Jim Brown's TruNorth Devotional
40 Days PONDERING the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
Day 29 | GENTLENESS
40 Days PONDERING the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
Day 29 | GENTLENESS
GENTLENESS
Philippians 4:5
“Let your gentleness be evident to all, the Lord is near.”
The Book of Philippians is one of the most JOYOUS books in the entire Scripture. Today’s verse follows another quick statement by Paul… “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say REJOICE!” (Verse 4)
So what does that matter? One of the KEYS to understanding Scripture is knowing some basics about how to study the Bible. We call those basics “hermeneutics,” which I’ve mentioned before… it is the class we take in seminary to learn proper Bible study techniques. And one of the most basic is to read a verse in context. That means reading the verse or verses before and after.
Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi was one of JOY and happiness. Paul was pleased with how well they were doing and is just reminding them here in today’s verse to always be GENTLE as you deal with one another and outsiders.
A good example would be Jesus’ dealing with the woman caught in adultery. The Jewish leaders made this a set-up to try to trick Jesus. Stoning to death was the prescribed Jewish law covering this sin. And yet Jesus said, “He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone.”
This ONE EXAMPLE should be enough to keep us from being critical and harsh with one another. It doesn’t mean a correction is never appropriate… but as with Jesus in the above case, when ALL of the woman’s accusers finally left (since none of them was without sin), Jesus said to her: “neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.”
That was gentle. Was there a need for correction? Yes. An acknowledgment of sin, yes. Was there forgiveness and gentleness? Yes!
ONE of the big reasons non-Christians seem to avoid church “like the plague” is the fear of being criticized. And that is usually rooted in a history of non-gentle rebukes from parents, teachers, and maybe perceived “church people.”
Prayer: LORD, help me show gentleness to ALL and everyone I meet. You are always NEAR me, and I want to treat people more like Jesus did. Amen.
Philippians 4:5
“Let your gentleness be evident to all, the Lord is near.”
The Book of Philippians is one of the most JOYOUS books in the entire Scripture. Today’s verse follows another quick statement by Paul… “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say REJOICE!” (Verse 4)
So what does that matter? One of the KEYS to understanding Scripture is knowing some basics about how to study the Bible. We call those basics “hermeneutics,” which I’ve mentioned before… it is the class we take in seminary to learn proper Bible study techniques. And one of the most basic is to read a verse in context. That means reading the verse or verses before and after.
Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi was one of JOY and happiness. Paul was pleased with how well they were doing and is just reminding them here in today’s verse to always be GENTLE as you deal with one another and outsiders.
A good example would be Jesus’ dealing with the woman caught in adultery. The Jewish leaders made this a set-up to try to trick Jesus. Stoning to death was the prescribed Jewish law covering this sin. And yet Jesus said, “He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone.”
This ONE EXAMPLE should be enough to keep us from being critical and harsh with one another. It doesn’t mean a correction is never appropriate… but as with Jesus in the above case, when ALL of the woman’s accusers finally left (since none of them was without sin), Jesus said to her: “neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.”
That was gentle. Was there a need for correction? Yes. An acknowledgment of sin, yes. Was there forgiveness and gentleness? Yes!
ONE of the big reasons non-Christians seem to avoid church “like the plague” is the fear of being criticized. And that is usually rooted in a history of non-gentle rebukes from parents, teachers, and maybe perceived “church people.”
Prayer: LORD, help me show gentleness to ALL and everyone I meet. You are always NEAR me, and I want to treat people more like Jesus did. Amen.