“God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.” Matthew 5:5 NLT
We are in Chapter four of “Forgiveness the Passionate Journey” nine steps to forgiveness through Jesus’s Beatitudes. Flora Slosson Wuellner If you don’t have this book just open a Bible to Matthew 5 and follow along. Join us in breaking this promise down to action in our lives. And this is a very good promise, inherit the whole 🌏
I am fascinated with the title of this Chapter, “Away from Force into God’s Gentle Power.” What say you?
thedailylily.com 
I like what Wuellner writes on page 52: ” Listening to God, to others, to ourselves; being willing to learn and to change; responding out of God’s gentle power rather than out of defensiveness or aggression -these are the meanings of meekness.”
And I also liked, Tammy, that she added also on pg 53, “and willing to be helped” to… ‘those willing to learn and to change”.
I must take “opposition” to the word “like” used in this lesson by my friends, Tammy and Debi. Now, my thoughts of “like” kinda runs through my thought pattern like this, oh, yes, thanks I would ‘like’’ to join you for ☕️🍩🍦
Therefore, to bounce myself into this “like” pattern I go for the benefits. ‘Inherit the Earth.” 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Now, I’m liking this thought. On page 53 writer quotes Psalm 37 saying inherit the land is used 5x. And land and earth are used interchangeably. Now, this gets my attention to start the ‘school work’
of change to be meek and gentle yet firm.
Yes, Sara, I understand and agree with you when you go “bouncing into the ‘like’ pattern , you go for the benefits”😉😂. Maybe I should have said that I “like” how Wuellner helps one have a better understanding of the “meaning of meekness,” with her words written above????
Oh yes, Tammy, I like that! Maybe, I can move forward to next page now that we solved my issue as we came to agreement on our “likes.” This shows just how important communication is. We need to stay in the communication game to get a win. I think our actions here shows a side of meekness.
“Blessed are the meek”. Matthew 5:5 is from
Psalm 37:11 “But the meek shall inherit the earth,
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.”
Psalm 37 speaks about the life and actions of the meek.
Verse 1 “Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.”
Verses 3-5 “Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.”
Verses 7-8 “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.”
According to these verses the basis for being meek is complete dependence on the Lord. This brings me to a question just what does meek mean?
The ESV Study Bible notes says, “The meek are the “gentle” (cf. 11:29), those who do not assert themselves over others in order to further their own agendas in their own strength, but who will nonetheless inherit the earth because they trust in God to direct the outcome of events. Cf. Ps. 37:11.”
A definition of “meek” doesn’t carry a very good meaning, it starts out well. “Humble in spirit or manner, suggesting retiring mildness or even cowed submissiveness.” Being meek or humble seems good but if you really listen to this definition you hear meekness is weakness. It isn’t a characteristic in great demand in our world. Yet it is amazing “the meekest man in the world “ in his time was responsible for the deliverance of millions from slavery. “Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth.”Numbers 12:3
A study of Moses’ life reveals a man of strength who was submitted to God and obedient to his commands and will. Perhaps a look at Moses will give us a view into real meekness not the forced upon us definition of the world. If you want to see meekness in action you need to read the life of this man recorded in scripture.
Jeepgary ‘s post,“Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth.”Numbers 12:3
When I read this I thought Whoa wonder if anyone since that time has broken his record.? Then, I reread another line in Jeepgary’s post about Moses and his meekness, “It isn’t a characteristic in great demand in our world. Yet it is amazing “the meekest man in the world “ in his time was responsible for the deliverance of millions from slavery.” I must say the more I am reading about Moses it seems he is a tough act to follow.
Just last night during President Trump’s State of the Union address given in the halls of Congress we heard story after story of individuals doing acts of valor as told and shown by President Trump. Then, I read about Moses. I’m thinking about now, yes of course the meek are unique and I can see without any doubt they should and will inherit the 🌏
I think 🤔 I’m thinking the beatitudes are faith blocks to build us to be brave enough to take ownership of the earth and do our humble part by joining force with His power and authority to do great things🌈
Lots to think on about Moses and meekness reading the comments above . And as I began to read👓some on his life as jeepgary suggested, one thing that stood out to me was that the “Lord would speak to him face to face, as one speaks to a friend”(Exodus 33:11). That in itself seems like quite an inheritance.
Lots to think about from the comments about Moses and meekness above. As I began to read 👓 some on his life as jeepgary suggested, one thing that stood out to me was that “the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.” (Exodus 33:11). That in itself seemed like quite an inheritance.
Debi’s comment on her reading about the life of Moses and how God spoke to him face to face, as one speaks to a friend. I have believed from study and experiences that Moses might just have been limited in his face to face time with God. Why? Jesus, His Son came to earth to befriend all that desires and seeks Him out as a perfect friend. Then He sends us trusted friends to speak to us face to face. I had lunch with a friend this week and she had just come from her prayer meeting and her face was aglow and our conversation was comforting as we were grieving over losing a mutual friend. Bingo! Our second Beatitude, … “…for they will be comforted.”
She writes back in response with an email continuing our conversation of encouragement with many perfect words including these:
“I am doing a word study on “the Lord our help” this week and it is a HUGE reality in the life of a trusting child of God. He bends over backwards to put the right people, resources, and precision timing together so that all truly works for our good. This is our covenant keeping God!”
I believe this study on the Beatitudes, its timing, resources, people is face to face with God speaking to me. He is giving help in this journey of making closure in the death of a mutual friend while striving for forgiveness that needs its sacred space about this friend. The (Word of God) lamp with light and switch to be turned on which happens when pride among other dark words keep you in the dark gets turned on when we interact face to face with those, resources and timing are sent to light our walking path. The Psalmist says, “The Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.” 119:105
After reading some on Moses this morning, I am in agreement with Sara above, Moses is certainly “a tough act to follow”. 😳🙏🙏🙏
I would like some dialogue on the second from last paragraph of pg 55… “This way of responding…rises from our own sense of worth, combined with willingness to learn and grow. It is not submission, nor is it aggression or defensiveness.”
Sara, I would like to offer some thoughts.
Tammy mentioned the bee retreat “we had a few years back” in our study on the second beatitude. I felt to go back and review the book you wrote for that retreat, “The Four Bee’s, Finding Your Spiritual Gifts” because I thought it had bearing on Wuellner’s statement you quoted. According to her, one of the attributes we must possess in order to be able to respond like in her example is “our own sense of worth.” I have at times, like perhaps others, have struggled with this. You give many helps in your book lessons for developing our God given gift and growing our authentic self such as: “BEE You-There is only one you, you are a God-given gift, an original, no one else is qualified for your job.” (Lesson 2, pg 4). “As you study the Word, you will find the promises that are needed to affirm, confirm and validate your abilities and gift(s).” (Lesson 1 pg 5).
And you lead us through an understanding that our ‘power’ develops as we develop our gift’s and authentic selves (Wulellner refers to ‘power’ in the chapter title as “God’s Gentle Power”). You say that the ‘force’ we need to use is to ‘force’ “fear, anger, shame, worry, stress” underground and let that die. (Lesson 1 pg 8).
Wuellner states that the other component we need to possess in order to have healthy responses is a ‘willingness to learn and grow’. You offer us help with regard to this growing by saying, “When you allow the authentic self to come through in your life, He (the Spirit) will teach you, he will comfort you, He will direct and guide you.” (Lesson 4 pg 6). And also that when this happens, “You’ll not be moved when others come along and criticize you…you’ll be free to stay steady in what you know to be true…You’re kind and loving but you’re unmovable.” (Lesson 4 pg 7).
Just above this paragraph, Wuellner writes, “If at our workplace or at
home someone gives a sharp, cutting criticism, we can meet it
directly, saying, ‘The way you are saying this is hurtful, but I’m
trying to hear the real gist of your criticism. I think I might learn
something from your point if we can talk about it in another way.”
Sara writes, “I would like some dialogue on the second from last
paragraph of page 55…’This way of responding…rises from our own
sense of worth, combined with willingness to learn and grow. It is not
submission, nor is it aggression or defensiveness.”
I’d like to add to the dialogue by inserting some information I
found on the internet about self worth…………
“Why is Having a Sense of Self-worth So Important?
Your Sense of Self-worth is how you regard yourself. It is your
understanding of your qualities, your strengths, and your personal
attributes. Your Sense of Self-worth is a measure of how you value
yourself.
• It recognises that you are valuable because you are you; you are
unique, and there is no one else like you in the world.
• It encourages you to try new things, to meet new people, and to
really enjoy life.
• It helps you get through tough situations, and to pick yourself up
and try again if things don’t work out as you’d hoped.
What it is and What it Isn’t
• A healthy Sense of Self-worth is NOT the same as having an inflated ego!
• It is not about thinking you are great just because you might be
good at something, or have an appealing physical attribute.
• You can have healthy Self-worth without having stand-out skills.
• You need to be able to find qualities within yourself that you think
are important.
• Things people might value: * that you take responsibility for yourself and
your actions
* your ability to be polite to strangers
* that you always try your best
* your ability to go to training even on days you mightn’t feel like it
* the fact that you are unique and there is no one else like you.”
Debi and Tammy, love your Clarion Call for me to inherit my World! 🌏 Great, thoughtful dialogue from you both. Expressed a little differently but comes to same conclusion by two very smart women that are daily empowering the 🌏
You both have helped to reshape my thinking and feelings as I journey into the fourth truth Jesus delivered in one of his famous forever sermons. Thankful for your mini sermons from the understanding of the Master sermon giver. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 I told you above you both are women that are gifted to empower others. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🌺🌺🦋🌺