Quiet Beauty

 A gentle and quiet spirit pleases the Lord...in fact, in I Peter 3:4 it says these attributes are precious to Him.  How amazing to know what pleases the Lord!!  

But what does this mean?  That only the soft-spoken individual is captured in this statement?  A spirit that is gentle and quiet can be a part of a boisterous and open personality - thankfully for me, as I'm not exactly soft when I speak!  

So what does this mean?

Gentleness can be defined by a compassionate, patient and loving heart and is intrinsic to our relationships to those around us.  We are told to 'let your gentleness be evident to all, the Lord your God is near." (Phil 4:5) This is an internal response to the needs of others around us that in turn allows them to see God's love through us.  

A quiet spirit can be described as an internal state that reflects our relationship to the Lord.  

A quiet spirit is listening...  trusting...  it isn't shaken by external situations... 

In I Kings 19:11-13 Elijah goes to meet with God.  There was a great and powerful wind, an earthquake and a fire.  But God didn't show Himself in those things - instead He showed Himself in a still, small voice.  It is amazing how often God uses the small and the insignificant to bring about His purposes!  And it makes sense that He sees beauty in something the world wouldn't notice.

Honestly, in the world today, a gentle and quiet spirit seems weak.  If we were asked to round out this description we would probably add the word 'timid', 'meek', or 'shy'.  They seem to fit somehow.

Not God...going back to I Peter 3 He challenges our preconceptions by adding the word 'fearless'!

Now all of a sudden we see something incredibly different...gentle, quiet and fearless...it brings to mind a ninja!  What a turn-around!  God knows our heart, He knows what we are like inside.  He values the things that are unseen because they show the substance of who we are.  And the substance belongs to Christ.  

So how do we cultivate this type of beauty in ourselves?  

Consider the moments where you interact with others...is God's love evident in what you say and do?  

Consider moments of stress or problems, are you trusting God through them?  

Consider moments where you are afraid...do you push on, not letting fear control you?

Living Stones

 In the Old Testament Nehemiah organized the restoration of Jerusalem.  Each volunteer that helped had a two-fold job.  They needed to build up their section of the city and they had to protect it.  

Today, we as Christians have the same responsibilities.  

In I Peter 2:5 we are told that we are like living stones that are being built up as a spiritual house.  All built on the foundation of Jesus, the author and finisher of our Faith.  Our belief in Jesus is worked out in action that are steps to building up a living testament to God's glory through our lives.  We now have a unified purpose to build up our lives in a way that glorifies God.  As Christians, all of us need to encourage each other.  We aren't in competition, we are working together to glorify God, each building side-by-side and providing motivation to spur each other on.  

The process of how to build is given to us throughout the New Testament.  Everywhere you look we are told how to live for God, pleasing Him with our actions, our thoughts and the way we love (Col. 3:12-17, I Thess. 5:14-22, James 3:13,17, I Peter 4:7-11, II Peter 1:5-8 are just a few examples).  Let's help each other build well.   

Our second responsibility is to protect what we've built.  We protect our faith by trusting God, by standing firm in our Faith.  We are told to retain the standard (2 Tim. 1:13).  Over and over, the Bible tells us to defend our faith by holding fast.  Why is this important?  It shows that we believe God is greater than what we are going through, what we see around us.  It means that no matter what comes we are able to look past it to the One thing that is always secure - God's Love for us.  

Today is Good Friday.  A day where God showed us just how far He was willing to go to show us His love for us.  Jesus died to save us, each one of us.  His sacrifice gave us a chance to truly live.  Have we truly understood that sacrifice?  Have we learned how to build up our lives for God?  Do we help each other build well? Have we protected what has been built?