It was our OCC "Women's Sweet Night" last night, hosted at Sheryl's home and it was indeed a precious time of fellowship. We were about a dozen ladies and the evening passed sweetly and quickly! Sheryl really took a great deal of effort with making her own meringue cookies and serving cheesecake and a variety of other treats.
We had a gift exchange/game and everyone went home with something very nice. I must say it was rather funny because the game involved one guest choosing a present, unwrapping it and then the next person could either take a new gift or "steal" the gift of someone who had opened one already. Unfortunately, being a group of Christian women we were all hesitant to "steal" from each other :) However, Julie soon changed the definition to exchanging gifts and we were alright with that.
I brought my new point and shoot camera and unfortunately am still getting used to how it runs so I only have a few nice photos of our time together, forgive me Ladies!
Thank you to Sheryl for all the effort you put into this event and we are looking forward to another next month, to be announced in the future.
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I was asked to share a word at our event and so I am going to share it with you here today:
MEEKNESS is not WEAKNESS!
Matthew 5:5
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Meekness is certainly not something which is upheld in today's society and it’s no wonder because it is one of the "fruits of the spirit" and therefore essential for us to model as followers of Christ. The enemy knows his kingdom cannot prevail against God's people as long as we are led by the Spirit of God, so the enemy is going to do his best to keep us distracted from developing the very traits we need, in order to mentor as true women of Faith. What we hear through today's media is very SELF-centered and self-serving. We are told "I'm worth it" and we are invited to keep focus on ME and what I am entitled to and how the world should relate to MYSELF. But the bible tells us that we are to live our lives through how we relate to OTHERS. In Philippians 2:7 we are shown that Jesus himself was meek - that He made Himself of no reputation. In other words He didn't put emphasis on Himself or what He could do, but on God.
The worlds take on meekness IS weakness. The Biblical take on meekness is strength in the Lord. "Meek", in the Koine Greek, (which is one of the primary languages of the New Testament), means, "To be under the master's control". So, no matter what we do as Christians we are to be controlled by God. We are not to BE CONTROLLERS - of ourselves, nor others. We are encouraged to be weak, but only in God - not to man. A meek Christian is one who is totally dependent on the Holy Spirit in all he or she does. We should live our lives according to the will of God and through this we become towers of strength in and through HIM. We are instructed to be humble minded, possessing a gentle, and of quiet disposition. We shouldn't think we are higher than, or more important than others. Having the character of meekness means we should show a tendency to consider the needs of others irrespectively of what our own needs may be. The meek work to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger, being blameless, harmless and without reproach in the middle of a crooked and perverted nation. We are to shine as lights in the darkened, arrogant, self-seeking, selfish world of the spiritually blinded.
There are biblical women who modeled meekness which served them to garner great power and strength, for example we see Esther 2:8 "The girl pleased him & won his favor." Yes, she had 12 months of beauty treatments as did all the other virgins brought before the king, but she had to get the king to LIKE her too, to win his favor. Ruth also was meek and trusted in the council of Naomi who she knew to be a Godly woman.
I believe that many of us might confuse meekness with weakness, but consider that Jesus, though he was meek could also get good and angry when need be - for example when He went into the house of prayer and knocked the tables over. He being wasn't a rude there, and was still meek in heart even though He was pushed to take measures to get his point across that what people were doing was WRONG!
And how does this relate to our lives today? It means we should normally handle people and situations with dignity, patience, submissive spirits, being compliant, gentle and kind. In a society which is loud, demanding and in-your-face, our meekness will shine our light for Jesus in a way that is like a beacon in the darkness. It means we will invest in others to build trust and respect. Respect and trust encourages others to desire to surrender authority to us because we are genuine and they value our counsel. Then when we do occasionally use forcefulness, whether it is through our actions or words, others LISTEN and take heed because it’s not a standard of our behavior. They know that something REALLY must be wrong. We don't abuse our meekness.
I've seen this in my own marriage countless times. A prime example is something my husband told me a long time ago. He said "Honey, if you would like something from me, if instead of getting angry and yelling -- (yes, being REAL here I confess that I used to resorted to yelling at times) -- if you put your arms around me and gently ASK, there's not much I could ever deny you!" I also admire a dear friend who joins me to pray about our marriages - we do it in meekness, sometimes never mentioning specific needs, and coming from a standpoint of the Lord changing US and how we handle these situations rather than changing our spouses. I'm fortunate to have a friend who is a mom to several kids and has a really busy life who 0rchestrates their schedule and situations with grace, patience and gentleness - giving time and engaging each family member with genuine interest before choosing how to handle it. The way she sorts it all out and allots everyone their orders in such a caring way is a true ministry to me. And I see meekness modeled through the senior women in my life, who have had MUCH more life experience in than I have for they offer wise counsel in meekness when they might by authority of seniority TELL me how to handle situations.
Meekness says "I need others - Lord, I need YOU. I CAN'T do it myself" Weakness, on the other hand causes us to look pretty silly sometimes because when we are weak we give into the self-centered "Me" way of thinking. For example, we might give in to being pushy, loud and demanding on a regular basis because we've heard "The squeaky wheel gets the grease!" Which is true sometimes, only that's a temporary fix because it creates the sort of person who gets served only because we do anything just to get rid of them.
One thing I've personally observed about being meek is when we model it, it IS visible. Whenever I've been meek my husband recognizes it and I in turn recognize and admire it in the Godly women in my life. Now is the time for us women to be meek but not weak. We need to claim authority on every level of our families and in the world. We need to set the high standard of honor wherever we have influence - in our homes, at work and in Church. We need to be strong and stand firm and at the same time to be meek in our dealings with others that we should show the presence of God in us.
I'll leave you with a quote from a very dear friend of mine, Eileen Bowden, who at 90 years old shared this bit of wisdom and I think it models meekness in relationships: "Don't be too bossy. Look into the other person's point of view as well as your own. and see if you can mingle the two with the best of your ability."
The worlds take on meekness IS weakness. The Biblical take on meekness is strength in the Lord. "Meek", in the Koine Greek, (which is one of the primary languages of the New Testament), means, "To be under the master's control". So, no matter what we do as Christians we are to be controlled by God. We are not to BE CONTROLLERS - of ourselves, nor others. We are encouraged to be weak, but only in God - not to man. A meek Christian is one who is totally dependent on the Holy Spirit in all he or she does. We should live our lives according to the will of God and through this we become towers of strength in and through HIM. We are instructed to be humble minded, possessing a gentle, and of quiet disposition. We shouldn't think we are higher than, or more important than others. Having the character of meekness means we should show a tendency to consider the needs of others irrespectively of what our own needs may be. The meek work to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger, being blameless, harmless and without reproach in the middle of a crooked and perverted nation. We are to shine as lights in the darkened, arrogant, self-seeking, selfish world of the spiritually blinded.
There are biblical women who modeled meekness which served them to garner great power and strength, for example we see Esther 2:8 "The girl pleased him & won his favor." Yes, she had 12 months of beauty treatments as did all the other virgins brought before the king, but she had to get the king to LIKE her too, to win his favor. Ruth also was meek and trusted in the council of Naomi who she knew to be a Godly woman.
I believe that many of us might confuse meekness with weakness, but consider that Jesus, though he was meek could also get good and angry when need be - for example when He went into the house of prayer and knocked the tables over. He being wasn't a rude there, and was still meek in heart even though He was pushed to take measures to get his point across that what people were doing was WRONG!
And how does this relate to our lives today? It means we should normally handle people and situations with dignity, patience, submissive spirits, being compliant, gentle and kind. In a society which is loud, demanding and in-your-face, our meekness will shine our light for Jesus in a way that is like a beacon in the darkness. It means we will invest in others to build trust and respect. Respect and trust encourages others to desire to surrender authority to us because we are genuine and they value our counsel. Then when we do occasionally use forcefulness, whether it is through our actions or words, others LISTEN and take heed because it’s not a standard of our behavior. They know that something REALLY must be wrong. We don't abuse our meekness.
I've seen this in my own marriage countless times. A prime example is something my husband told me a long time ago. He said "Honey, if you would like something from me, if instead of getting angry and yelling -- (yes, being REAL here I confess that I used to resorted to yelling at times) -- if you put your arms around me and gently ASK, there's not much I could ever deny you!" I also admire a dear friend who joins me to pray about our marriages - we do it in meekness, sometimes never mentioning specific needs, and coming from a standpoint of the Lord changing US and how we handle these situations rather than changing our spouses. I'm fortunate to have a friend who is a mom to several kids and has a really busy life who 0rchestrates their schedule and situations with grace, patience and gentleness - giving time and engaging each family member with genuine interest before choosing how to handle it. The way she sorts it all out and allots everyone their orders in such a caring way is a true ministry to me. And I see meekness modeled through the senior women in my life, who have had MUCH more life experience in than I have for they offer wise counsel in meekness when they might by authority of seniority TELL me how to handle situations.
Meekness says "I need others - Lord, I need YOU. I CAN'T do it myself" Weakness, on the other hand causes us to look pretty silly sometimes because when we are weak we give into the self-centered "Me" way of thinking. For example, we might give in to being pushy, loud and demanding on a regular basis because we've heard "The squeaky wheel gets the grease!" Which is true sometimes, only that's a temporary fix because it creates the sort of person who gets served only because we do anything just to get rid of them.
One thing I've personally observed about being meek is when we model it, it IS visible. Whenever I've been meek my husband recognizes it and I in turn recognize and admire it in the Godly women in my life. Now is the time for us women to be meek but not weak. We need to claim authority on every level of our families and in the world. We need to set the high standard of honor wherever we have influence - in our homes, at work and in Church. We need to be strong and stand firm and at the same time to be meek in our dealings with others that we should show the presence of God in us.
I'll leave you with a quote from a very dear friend of mine, Eileen Bowden, who at 90 years old shared this bit of wisdom and I think it models meekness in relationships: "Don't be too bossy. Look into the other person's point of view as well as your own. and see if you can mingle the two with the best of your ability."
*****
EVENTS:
Prayer at Kaye's
Every Tuesday - 10:00 a.m.
7806 Gravenstein
Every Tuesday - 10:00 a.m.
7806 Gravenstein
Friday Night Open Worship
Every Friday - 7:00
Osoyoos Christian Centre
42 Finch, Osoyoos
For more info: 250-495-2550
Osoyoos Christian Centre
42 Finch, Osoyoos
For more info: 250-495-2550
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