Especially His: 2019

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

BIBLE STUDY: HUMILITY AND GOLDILOCKS

Take a moment to watch this YouTube video

before you begin the study.

Just click on the link or copy and paste the link into your browser:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rTbE5DshPk

or search YouTube for: “Private Jet Pastor”

Think of a person you know in real life who has exhibited humility in their life? What were they like?

Christ and humility

There is no better example of humility than Jesus! In this study, you can easily review some of the activities of Jesus' life that demonstrate for us what humility and meekness means for us today.

Look up each of the Scriptures and answer the question. If you know the answer, write it down, but look up the Scripture anyway and read it.

a. Where was Jesus born? (Luke 2:1-7)

b. How did He grow up? (Luke 2:41-50)

c. How did Jesus interact with John the baptiser? (Matthew 3:1-17)

d. In Jesus famous Sermon on the Mount what does He teach about being meek and humble? (Matthew 5, 6, 7)

e. How did Jesus deal with children? Matthew 19:14)

f. What was so special of Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well? (John 4:4-26)

g. What did Jesus know about those who would stone the woman caught in immorality? (John 8:7)

h. How did Jesus treat His disciples, even Judas, at the last supper? (John 13:5)

Goldilocks and the dangers of humility

Goldilocks is a fairy tale that teaches us the practical way to apply humility. And just like Goldilocks, humility has to be 'just right'. Jesus told of how the Pharisees and the Sadducees would practice their righteousness before men, but looking humble to others can also become prideful.

It is important to think honourably about the gifts and strengths you've been given and endeavour to use them wisely and ultimately for His glory. On this scale, you need to be in the middle - just right.

Humble Proud

See the first and second YouTube videos below

for additional information about this.

Practical and Personal Application

Considering what has been reviewed here, what is one way you better live out the essence of Jesus’ example of meekness and humility.

Additional Scriptures to Explore about Humility and Meekness

Take time to look up these verses. You can look one up a week, one a day or break them into time-manageable clusters.

In the corresponding column write a keyword or phrase to help you remember what you’ve learned about humility and meekness in the verses.

Then, take time to pray these verses and concepts for your life and use your new insights to help others understand this Christian life characteristic.

	Reference	Write a word or phrase that will be meaningful for you to remember the ‘meat’ of the message.
Humility - Old Testament
1	Genesis 43:28
2	Leviticus 23:27-32
3	I Kings 8:33
4	Psalm 18:35
5	Psalm 45:4
6	Proverbs 11:2
7	Proverbs 15:33
8	Proverbs 16:18
9	Proverbs 18:12
10	Proverbs 22:4
11	Proverbs 29:23
12	Joel 2:15
13	Zephaniah 2:3
Humility - New Testament
14	Acts 20:19
15	II Corinthians 10:1
16	Galatians 5:23
17	Galatians 6:1
18	Ephesians 4:2
19	Philippians 2:3-8
20	Colossians 2:18-23
21	Colossians 3:12
22	Titus 3:2
23	James 1:21
24	James 3:13
25	I Peter 3:15
26	I Peter 5:5
Jesus was Meek
27	Zechariah 9:9
28	Matthew 11:29
29	John 13:5
30	II Corinthians 8:9
31	Philippians 2:8

YouTube Videos for further study

1. Francis Chan The Importance Of Humility (4 mins) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQBjKJlNefo
2. (False) Christian Humility | What it Means to be Humble (6 mins 19 sec) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KRjz3s-KRQ
3. Beg God for the Miracle of Humility – Desiring God (2 mins 8 Sec) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mksq5hgnZdo
4. What is Christian Humility? | Being Humble Today | Humility Explained (4 min 31 sec)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZPrdXSKsB0
5. Being Christian in a Secular World - Bruce Downes The Catholic Guy (29 mins21 sec) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkChZHiiNLY
6. Humility - Alistair Begg – (33 min 55 sec) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AiZ2jFZqC4

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

BIBLE STUDY: TAMING THE TONGUE

Copy and paste the link below in your browser

or click the picture above:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e475ww32Jg

or search YouTube for

O for a Thousand Tongues - St Michael's Singers [with lyrics]

Find a quiet place. Bring your Bible with you. Pray the Holy Spirit will open your heart to understand His words and the challenges of this study before you begin.

Then read James 3:1-12. (I’ve shared the Amplified Version) or read the passage in your own Bible:

1) “Not many of you should become teachers [self-constituted censors and reprovers of others], my brethren, for you know that we [teachers] will be judged by a higher standard and with greater severity [than other people]. Thus we assume the greater accountability and the more condemnation.

2) For we all often stumble and fall and offend in many things. And if anyone does not offend in speech – never says the wrong things – he is a fully developed character and a perfect man, able to control his whole body and to curb his entire nature.

3) If we set bits in the horses mouths to make them obey us, we can turn their whole bodies about.

4) Likewise look at the ships, though they are so great and are driven by rough winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the impulse of the helmsman determines.

5) Even so the tongue is a little member, and it can boast of great things. See how much wood or how great a forest a tiny spark can set ablaze!

6) And the tongue [is] a fire. [The tongue is a] world of wickedness set among our members, contaminating and depraving the whole body and setting on fire the wheel of birth – the cycle of man’s nature – being itself ignited by hell (Gehenna).

7) For every kind of beast and bird, or reptile and sea animal, can be tamed and has been tamed by human genius (nature).

8) But the human tongue can be tamed by no man. It is (an undisciplined, irreconcilable) restless evil, full of death-bringing poison.

9) With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men who were made in God’s likeness!

10) Out of the same mouth comes forth blessing and cursing. These things, my brethren, ought not to be so.

11) Does a fountain send forth [simultaneously] from the same opening fresh water and bitter?

12) Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine figs? Neither can a salt spring furnish fresh water.”

Introduction

Did you know the tongue is a muscle and it is the one muscle that gets the most exercise of all our muscles! We love to talk in fact, we spend an average of one-fifth of our entire lives talking! This does not include the time we spend talking to ourselves.

If you go through an average day you will speak about 20,000 words each day. This is enough to fill 66 books of around 800 pages each!

Some have the gift of gab and some have the gift of gabbing well. What we must keep in mind is that the way we speak reveals how we are doing spiritually!

Take a moment to write down your thoughts:

Share a personal experience where you were built-up by someone’s words.

Share a personal experience where you were torn down by someone’s words.

You can speak in jest or in the heat of your emotions and you can hear words others speak that wound you. God entrusted you to use this great power wisely. But it is not easy.

Nevertheless, there is no rewind -- you can’t take your words back, no matter how you wish you could.

Metaphors to help

James, the author, is known for how he fills his writing with illustrations we can relate to. In the passage above, he uses seven metaphors to explain the tongue. What are they? Would these be easy to share with another?

1. B _______ in the mouth of a horse
2. R ____________ of a ship
3. F ______ / S ________ that sets a forest ablaze
4. B ___________ or M ______________
5. F _________________
6. P __________
7. F _____ T _________

After the resurrection of Jesus -- and before He ascended to heaven -- He challenges those who would follow after Him:

“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’” Matthew 28:18-20

That makes you and me His representatives until He returns! So, it is important for you to use your words being ever mindful of that responsibility. A good place to begin is to remember Jesus’ example. Think about how Jesus spoke to those He met and taught and corrected.

============================

What is one example you remember

that illustrated how Jesus spoke with someone?

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You can use your words to build others up, encourage and refresh them or to wound them for life. Wounding words seem to have a very long shelf-life in your heart. The tongue reveals hidden heart thoughts, ideas and temptations you are dealing with.

You must purpose to use your words to glorify Christ, because you are Christ to those around you.

Application

1. Think and consider before you speak
2. Watch your words (Your tongue is in a wet place and it’s so easy to slip.)
3. Put off gossip and put on praise
4. Be wise with the use of your words
Speak (write, post, send) whatever you intend to say to the glory of God.

Morgan Blake an Atlanta Journal-Constitution Writer: “I am more deadly than the screaming shell for the howitzer. I win without killing. I tear down homes, break hearts and wreck lives. I travel on the wings of the wind.

"No innocence is strong enough to intimidate me, no purity pure enough to daunt me. I have no regard for truth, no respect for just, nor mercy for the defenseless. My victims are as numerous as the sands of the sea, and often as innocent. I never forget and seldom forgive. My name is gossip.”

Five ways to avoid sharing gossip

1. Is it true, do you know it’s true?
2. It may be true, but is it necessary to share it?
3. Is it beneficial?
4. Do I have permission to share this?
5. Is your motivation pure? (Don’t use the excuse of sharing a prayer request to share gossip).

Where is help to moderate and ensure your words are encouraging? The ultimate help comes from having a new heart and allowing the Lord to transform your words. Practice keeping short accounts with yourself and know how to approach someone you've wronged with your words to ask them for forgiveness.

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(Spiritual soap – I John 1:8-10)
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Pray and ask the Lord for wisdom and strength. Always remember: What you say, may not seem important at the time, but what you say is your testimony to others. It can wound or it can change another's life.

Types of Words to Avoid

Careless	Vain	Meaningless
Idle gossip	Contemptuous	Caustic
Purposefully hateful	Carnal	Filthy
Blasphemous	Immoral	Arrogant
Angry	Petty	Hostile

NOTE: Did you know that every one of the Ten Commandments can be broken by using words alone!

Bill McCartney, who established the Christian group, the Promisekeepers said, ‘The measure of a man is in his words. Are they true? Can he back them up? In the final analysis what else do we offer people? Can you back up your words? Do you live them out?”

Additional helpful Scriptures

Reference	My Personal application
Genesis 1:1
Numbers 20:7-13
Joshua 1:8
Job 19:2,
Job 40:3-4
Psalm 19:14
Psalm 34:1-3
Psalm 141:3
Psalm 106:33
Proverbs 1:19
Proverbs 8:21
Proverbs 17:27-28
Proverbs 18:21
Proverbs 25:11
Isaiah 6:5
Matthew 6:5-7
Matthew 15:17-19
Matthew 16:21-23
Luke 6:45
Luke 22:54-62
John 1:1
Galatians 5:16-24
Ephesian 4:29-30
Colossians 3:17 –
II Timothy 3:3
James 1:19-27
James 4:13-15
I Peter 2:1
I Peter 5:7

YouTube Videos for further consideration

1. James 3:1-12 Power of the Tongue - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4deK_Gy4vQ
2. Taming the Tongue - Pastor Jack Graham - James 3:1-12: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gdY4xrh_so
3. The Power of Words - Bruce Downes The Catholic Guy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZXPkB7Yv54
4. Controlling the Body's Strongest Muscle - Charles R. Swindoll – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkTBtr9bnzQ
5. Francis Chan - Choose Your Words Wisely - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak4JKzMb2t4

Intro Statement of Faith

Why "Especially His"? It comes from a closing statement in the WeakDay Devotions that I have been writing nearly every morning since 1999. Each day I close with this:

"Take care with love, especially His"

Although it is shared with many others around the world now, it seems each day's entry is written specifically for me and for what I am experiencing because I am, as the closing says, "especially His".

Over my lifetime I have been writing and teaching Bible-based studies and wanted a way for these teachings to reach a wider audience -- and hopefully be my legacy to a future generation. We all benefit from fellowship and good teaching and motivation that comes through prayer and reading our Bibles!

On this site you will find a variety of Bible-based and Christ-focused materials. My prayer is that they will help you grow and help you as you help others grow.

Modern-day Evangelism

Something amazing I learned as a young follower of Jesus Christ was that most of the efforts of modern day evangelism have little lasting effect, other than exposing an increasing number of people to God's Word. And as it says in Isaiah 55:11:

"So Shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it."

Yet, many are not ready, have hard hearts, are surrounded by influencing family or peers and they slink away into the warmth and darkness of unexpected despair.

We Need Ways

I do not minimise the value of canned methods or fancy printed tracts or little gimmicks like colourful beads strung on a leather bracelet or origami-folded coloured cards. We all need to have a way to share our faith in a way we are comfortable using.

I myself, was brought to the Cross through a tract called "Peace With God" published by the Billy Grahame Evangelistic Organisation, and I have trained in most of the methodologies for sharing my faith with another. I even wrote one that focuses on how Jesus evangelised and is based on the four Gospels.

But while being discipled under a wonderful Navigator couple (Don and Elaine Lanier) I also learned a statistic that makes so much sense. It goes like this:

"If each one of us, won one person per year to Christ, and we spent that one year discipling them in the basics, every person in the world would hear the Gospel message of Salvation in just thirty-three years."

Earmarked from the Beginning

Our lives are drawn to deciding to or not to follow Jesus from the moment we are conceived. This journey is as unique as our DNA (yes I do know about identical twins).

The journey after we come to understand the grace of the Father is furthermore unique until we die and begin eternity with our heavenly Father.

Statement of Faith

There is more to come, but want you to know just the core basics of my beliefs.

1. I believe God made man in His image and loves him and desires fellowship with him (Genesis 1:26-27, I John 4:10, John 3:16).

2. I believe there is no other way to Eternal Salvation than through knowing I am helpless against my sin nature and choice of sin. (Romans 5:6-8; 6:23).

3. There is nothing I can do to be acceptable in Heaven (Romans 3:20).

4. The only possibility is to accept the freely-offered gift of Jesus Christ paying the price for my sins by His death and resurrection. (I Corinthians 15:3-6; John 14:6).

5. I believe that the gift of Salvation is just that a gift and it is a gift by grace alone (Ephesians 2:8-9) and because this is a gift of grace, there is nothing I can do to make God love me more than He does once I accepted His salvation and there is nothing I can do to make God love me less.

6. That my salvation is not transitory according to my behaviour and that He holds me firmly in the palm of His hand (John 10:29).

7. That from the moment of Salvation, my life is a personal journey of growth that He has designed just for me (Psalm 139).

8. That the Bible is His Word to help me grow daily. II Timothy 3:16. (The translation I use for all quotes, unless otherwise specified, is The New American Standard Bible, ©The Lockman Foundation.)