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Find Strength in Meekness

Posted by Mario Arindaeng on

Articles

One of the many qualities our culture encourages young people to develop is strength. Physically, academically, and socially, teenagers are urged to try to come out on top. Those who seem too meek or gentle are viewed as pushovers and told to stand up for themselves.

Yet the Bible has a different message about strength—not only about how to show it but also where to find it. Psalm 73:26 (NIV) says, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Jesus spoke often about the blessings of gentleness and servanthood. In fact, Jesus himself “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45, NIV).

In our noisy, “me-first” world, meek people display peace, calmness, and caring. They don’t have an overinflated view of themselves but instead rely on God’s grace. In Live Large. Be Different. Shine Bright. (Simply Youth Ministry), Doug Fields and Joshua Griffin write that meek people are slow to speak, put other people first, and serve in small and large ways. Yet meekness shouldn’t be equated with weakness, they write. Instead, meek people accept their status before God and “realize that the beautiful, sensitive, humble quality of meekness comes from knowing that God has the power and love to make you his new creation.”

Tips

In 99 Thoughts on Jesus-Centered Living (Simply Youth Ministry), Rick Lawrence offers strategies for living like—and for—Jesus:

    • Practice congruence. A congruent life means that what you say is who you are, in every environment. It’s evident from your choices and priorities.
    • Live “The Progression.” Following this will change your life: Get to know Jesus well, because the more you know him, the more you’ll love him, and the more you love him, the more you’ll want to follow him, and the more you follow him, the more you’ll become like him, and the more you become like him, the more you become yourself. • Realize that nothing is beneath prayer. God wants to be involved in every aspect of your life, so don’t think anything is too small for his concern and consultation.
    • Offer ridiculous love for your enemies. Jesus said it’s basically a no-brainer to love the people who love you. The real evidence that you follow him is that you love people who don’t particularly love you.
    • Practice extreme generosity. Give with no requirement that you receive anything in return.
    • Armor up! Find strength from God by suiting up in his armor. God offers you protection against harm. Every day, simply ask Jesus to “dress you” before you leave your bedroom for the day.

Questions to Ask

    • How would you define the following words: strength, weakness, gentleness, meekness?
    • How does your relationship with God empower you?
    • In what ways have you found strength through serving?

     

    The View

    In The Jesus Survey (Baker Books), Mike Nappa discovered that young Christians find strength through core beliefs:

     

      • 94% of Confident Christian Teens strongly agreed with this statement: “I’m 100% certain Jesus has answered one or more of my prayers—and I can prove it.”
      • 86% of Confident Christian Teens strongly agreed with this statement: “I’m 100% certain that the Holy Spirit is present and active in my life today—and I have proof that this is true.”
      • 86% of Confident Christian Teens strongly agreed with this statement: “I’m 100% certain that the Holy Spirit is present and active in my life today—and I have proof that this is true.”

    Power Under Control

    Expert Insights for Parents of Teenagers | By Brent Carl

    Power under Control

    When I was asked to fill in and preach during a “Fruit of the Spirit” sermon series, I was excited until I discovered my topic was gentleness. As a guy who loves sports of all kinds—especially contact sports that require a certain level of aggression—I had a hard time seeing how gentleness was going to apply in my own life, let alone be able to share it authentically with the audience.

    So I prayed that God would help me understand gentleness by living it. Turns out I was going at it all wrong. I thought of meekness as weakness and of gentleness as downright wimpyness.

    My mind went back to when I coached an eighth-grade football player named Joseph. Despite his intimidating 6' 4", 245-pound size, the boy couldn’t tackle. Joseph’s problem was that he didn’t want to hurt anyone. He never did get the concept of tackling.

    I moved away but then returned four years later for Homecoming. I was amazed at the play of the left defensive end. He was about 6' 8" and 290 pounds, quick as lightning and extremely powerful.

    I asked a fan sitting next to me who that was. To my surprise, he replied, “That’s Joseph. He’s gotten a tad better, hasn’t he?” Indeed. He was now a force to be reckoned with. The guy added, “You know what’s funny? Joseph is the nicest guy in the world off the field, and even when he puts on the equipment, he doesn’t go out to hurt anyone In fact, when he tackles someone, he picks them up, dusts them off, asks if they’re okay, and apologizes if he hurts them. He is power under control!”

    That’s it right there: power under control. All the power that exists in the person of God is available to us, his children. He wants us to learn to use it his way, not our way. I still don’t have gentleness all figured out, but God expects me to approach him for guidance with this and every area of life.

    Bible Focus | 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 ESV

    But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

    Media Reviews

    MAINSTREAM MUSIC

    Kenny Chesney

    Background

    Chesney, who’s been around since 1994, is one of country music’s biggest names. Of his 15 albums, 14 have been certified gold or higher. He’s sort of the Jimmy Buffett of country music, touring each summer with themes of having fun and hanging out on a beach. Chesney’s charity work includes cancer fundraising and Farm Aid.

    Albums

    Life on a Rock (2013), Lucky Old Sun (2008), No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problems (2002)

    What Chesney Says

    The song “Happy on the Hey Now” was inspired by a friend’s death. Chesney says death “has a way of stopping you in your tracks, grounding you in ways you didn’t see coming.” He adds, “It changed me. It made me realize I had to appreciate the experiences life has to offer. Life doesn’t stand still.”

    Explore

    His music is available on Spotify, Google Play, Pandora, and other music services.

    Disclaimer: This review is not intended to endorse this artist, but rather to keep parents informed. 

    CHRISTIAN MUSIC

    Skillet

    Skillet

    Background

    Although this rock band has been around since 1996, they’re still one of the most popular Christian acts around. Because they’ve toured with big names in the secular and Christian markets, they’ve been ranked as one of the hardest-working bands. Skillet has received two Grammy nominations, and Awake went double-platinum.

    Albums

    Rise (2013), Awake (2009), Collide (2003)

    What Skillet Says

    Lead singer John Cooper, the only band member who’s been around since the beginning, says, “You’ve got to follow your heart and do what you feel called to do. You can’t measure success by how many records you sell. You’ve got to measure it by if you’re doing what you’re called to do and giving it everything you’ve got.”

    Explore

    All of Skillet’s albums are available on services such as Spotify, Pandora, and Google Play.

    POPULAR MOVIE

    Star Trek: Into Darkness

    Genre: Action, Adventure  

    Rating: PG-13

    Synopsis: After the crew of the Enterprise find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction.

    Our Take: Parents will latch onto the film's themes of loyalty to family, and the sacrifices that sometimes go along with that. Others may pluck a more political message from the film—an oblique critique of the United States' long war on terror and some of the controversial means we've used to fight it.

    Christians thinking along spiritual lines may respond to the messages in this movie in even different ways than that, varying reactions which may be exactly what Abrams is stretching for amid the myriad explosions and fistfights. As I said, the questions at play here are not easy to answer, even with the help of the kind of divine guidance that's so noticeably absent in this new and dark universe Kirk so rashly and readily warps his way into.

    Read the Full Review

    HOST A MOVIE NIGHT

    Apollo 13

    A Movie Night is a golden opportunity for parents and children to have a meaningful, biblically based discussion about one of the better films coming out of Hollywood. It's also the term used for the downloadable curricula PluggedIn Online has created to help you accomplish that.

    "Movie Nights for Teens," encourages parents and adolescents to explore deeper issues with the help of more challenging, mature-minded films. These Movie Nights are more dialogue-oriented and intended for older children (13 and up), but the goals remain the same: Have fun, enrich the parent/child relationship and help children learn to analyze media from a Christian perspective. 

    Check out Movie Nights

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