To Meekly Go Where Only the Bold Dare to Tread

"But the meek shall inherit the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity." 

 Psalm 37:11

"When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness."         Acts 4:31

The bible, it seems, is full of contradictions at times...one minute calling for faithful followers to be meek and then later proclaiming that God's presence upon His followers evokes boldness.  So which is it? Are we to be meek or bold?  The answer is "YES"


We tend to be a people of extremes, going through scripture and picking out the things that resonate most with us - either because they are easy for us to do or easy for us to stand against. Therefore, there is a tendency to read scripture with blinders on...only seeing the portions we wish to see.


In ministry I find myself running around putting out fires that I didn't start, watching others walk away to leave me standing in the smoldering ruins of a dream destroyed, praying I have enough resources to rebuild.  It occurs to me that most of those fires are caused when church leaders read scriptures with one eye closed...missing out on important guidelines of our faith.  For example, there are some leaders who proceed with much boldness, which, according to Acts, is a great thing to have.  And yet, they become more like a steamroller or a wrecking ball - moving so boldly that anyone in their way is knocked aside or  trampled.  There are other leaders who proceed with an attitude of meekness, much like the Psalm calls for. And yet, they move so timidly that they must be taken by the hand and led every step by someone else.  They don't dare to move on their own and so others get frustrated when progress is slow or so much assistance is needed to get the job done.


Does the Bible contradict itself? No, in this instance I do not believe it does. I believe the lesson of that Scripture brings to us is that we are called to be well-rounded individuals who are not extremists, but instead, are balanced and strive to be the best of every-thing we can be.  


What the church needs is more meek folk who will walk boldly and more bold folk who will walk meekly! If we could only accomplish that I believe most of our internal bickering and snipping would come to an end.  It really is simple...think about someone other than yourself and serve the Lord your God with all your heart and soul.  Hmmm, haven't we heard that somewhere before?


Imagine with me a church full of people who meekly go where only the bold dare to tread...a church where, with gentleness, kindness and compassion, folks walk boldly into the land proclaiming Christ to the lost.  Just imagine...

What Time Is It?

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:6-8

Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Nuclear meltdowns, mass death: It always bring the same comment - "We are in the end times!" or "The end of the world is upon us." Suddenly, folks who haven't willingly cracked a bible in years are apocalyptic experts and want to quote Revelation and proclaim they know the end has come. We seem to forget that there have been mass deaths, earthquakes, tsunamis, and Nuclear meltdowns before. Of course, what is happening is frightening and perhaps even unprecedented in terms of natural disasters. But are we really to glean from it that we are living out the last days?

Interestingly, I have been leading a bible study on Revelation which some believe give us clues to the "end of times" but I am also studying the book of Acts to prepare for an upcoming sermon series. I am enjoying how the two books compliment one another so well.

As I began to read Acts today I was particularly struck by the passage I have printed above. Times really haven't changed much have they? Jesus' followers then, and now, are still begging to know what time it is. Is it time for Jesus to come? Is it time for the end of times? I am always amazed that folks spend so much time and energy trying to pinpoint the TIME of the event instead of contemplating the event itself - or even reading the sentence of scripture that comes after the query. Is it time? Jesus says, "It is not for you to know the times or periods..." Why is it when we hear this response we act like the unstoppable 3 year old asking his dad why the sky is blue. Why daddy? Because it is son. But why? Because God made it that way. But why?... You get the idea. We ask the question, Jesus gives a straight forward, reasonable answer and we just pretend we didn't hear it.

Not only do we ignore his answer - we don't bother to listen to his correction. What Jesus goes on to say is, you asked the wrong question. Our question shouldn't be "What time is it?" but instead, "What do I do with my time?"

Jesus is a great teacher, he tells us clearly enough. The power of the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be my witnesses to the ends of the earth! Wow!! How exciting and what a great promise and mission for us Christians. We have all we need to provide acts and words of witness all over world! We have the power to be the hands and feet of Jesus - the teacher and training of disciples - the heart and soul of Christ's church for ALL people to the ends of the earth! But too many of us are still sitting in our pew staring at the clock..."What time is it again?"

The way I see it I'm not going to get any reward if I win the pool by predicting the end of the world. The reward I have been promised, (we all have been promised), is based upon how I love God and love my neighbor...in other words, the kind of witness I am. I have the power of the Holy Spirit upon me to make that happen - how can I fail? Evidently its easy enough - I just refuse to listen.