The Fruits of The Spirit: Gentleness

"Gentleness"

When i first read this. What could gentleness possibly be in here for... After looking at dictionary.com, i think i have a more interesting view on it.

Gentleness talked about staying calm, being tamed. And this reminds me of a bible verse.

⁸The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. - Psalm 103:8

This states THE LORD. not us. But we as Christ followers have to follow his example. Christ. God. Jesus is the greatest example we can follow. Our lives are dedicated to him, committed, to live out his light, his love, and his life. Just to side track a little, i had a little poof of "omg-madness", dont know why that came to mind first. Anyways. Friday, my mentor, and my pastor, HM, shared his top ten moments of the year with the fellowship. And he talked about baptism. Are you baptized yet? Baptism does NOT equate to salvation, but its a time of public proclamation to everyone about your complete dedication to Christ. If you're a Christian, not baptized, consider this next great step of faith. His sharing hit me hard as a reminder. our lives are completely committed to him. So no matter what you are struggling through, continue to truck through it for the Lord. Second, today during worship, i realized another astonishing thing. In this big blue room we were in. We all came together. As Christ followers, all struggling differently, individually, worshipping God. We've come together for support, for encouragement, and for unity. Thats amazing isnt it? We are alone in our struggles. We have another 400 people in that room to share with, and a 123091823092183 people to share with in this world. We are not alone.

Anyways, back to my topic. Gentleness. Calm. Tamed. We have to be collected. When we talk to others, confrontation, encouragement, keep yourself collected. We speak in love. We teach in love. We live in love. Its hard sometimes to tell someone that you dont like what they're doing or if they're doing something wrong because you're scared of risking the relationship, or anything, but learn to speak out of love. Its hard. Tell me about it. very important. Make sure they know that you're speaking out of love. or they'll take it the wrong way. Speak kindly, with a heart wanting to help them.

I guess you can say, also be gentle with stuff, and with people. For instance, taking care of a baby. You have to be so gentle with it. Holding its head up, giving it warmth and love. Being gentle while feeding him/her. You dont just slam them on the table, and act aggressively towards him/her. But know, not just for babies. For people as well. We want to be loved, want to be accepted, but we cant do that without gentleness.

²⁴And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil,²⁵correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, ²⁶and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. - 2 Timothy 2:24-26

verse of the day: Titus 3:2

² to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.

PRAYER REQUEST: Heading out the Quebec for missions July2-11. Pray for safety, loving humble hearts, and the warming of the children's hearts to accept Christ!