Humble yet Meek!

For Wednesday, January 11, 2023:

Matthew 5:5 NLT: “God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.”

In the pecking order of eternity, God is at the top. We ask him for forgiveness of our sins. We ask him to confirm our reservation in heaven. Those are big ‘asks,’ so we approach the Lord humbly. We lift up – elevate and respect – the name of the Lord.

While we lift up the Lord – make him higher than ourselves – it’s important to not put ourselves down. God didn’t make any junk! After all, we are made in his image. He’s been looking after us since we were in out mothers’ wombs! We’re worth a lot, and God doesn’t want to lose us, but he IS higher than we are!

Your translation may say that the meek shall inherit the earth. Meekness, from the Greek word ‘praus,’ implies controlled strength. Meek people are not necessarily weak. Rather, their strength is well-managed. The meek could try to approach the Lord with arrogance and aloofness, but they choose not to. That would be wrong. Humble is the word of the day! “The earth” could be referring to the New Earth, our final destination after God restores it to its original specs, where he will live among his people! Exciting outlook!

You don’t have to put yourself down to lift up the Lord!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Humble!

For Tuesday, November 23, 2021

Matthew 5:5 NIV, Jesus speaking: “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”

Jesus is continuing “The Beatitudes,” part of his Sermon on the Mount. He’s promising that if the believers remain humble, God will bless them while they’re here on earth.

The meek are happy, joyful and spiritually prosperous. They’re living in God’s favor – living in anticipation of promised salvation. They have hope. I’m reminded of Jesus with a towel over his arm washing the disciples’ feet – in other words, having the heart of a servant, figuring out what you could do that would be helpful. That’s being meek.

Step #7 in a 12-step recovery program says, “Humbly ask Him (God) to remove our shortcomings.” It occurs to me that “humbly” is the only way to approach God. If we need help in our lives (and we all do!,) it wouldn’t make sense to approach God with belligerence and arrogance. He is God, creator of everything, and we are the ones needing help, and it would behove us to keep that relationship in perspective. If we approach God humbly, Jesus says we have hope!

God is God, we are not, and that’s good!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship, 3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Lift Up the Lord!

For Sunday, August 23, 2020. 

Matthew 5:5 CEV: “God blesses those people who are humble. The earth will belong to them!”

Jesus taught his greatest message, the Sermon on the Mount, which included ‘The Beatitudes,’ defining great joy, extreme blessedness and happiness. 

“God blesses the ‘humble;’” other translations use the word ‘meek.’ Don’t get the wrong idea – this does NOT imply weakness. Rather it is strength under control, knowing when to stand up for principle and when to let the little stuff slide. It’s a finely-tuned balance between anger and indifference, both in your relationships with other people and with the Lord.

Jesus said that the first will be last, and the last will be first, implying that if you think you have it all together, you probably don’t, and if you know you need the helping hand of God, you’re on the right track! 

While we’re on the subject, let’s clear up the difference between ‘humility’ and ‘humbleness.’ Humility is like the word ‘humiliate,’ where someone is putting you down. But ‘humble’ is where you’re honoring someone else, lifting them up, as in “humbling yourself before God.” You don’t need to put yourself down in order to lift the Lord up!

So today, lift up the Lord! Exalt him! Know that He is God and you are not! Then expect more happiness and joy to fall into your life! 

Blessings and joy on this Sabbath day!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406