I do not believe that Jesus’s fury was exactly because some form of trading was going on at the temple area. I believe Jesus’s extreme display of anger was because of the misplaced priorities displayed regularly by the temple-attendees.
First Timothy chapter 6 is an admonition from Apostle Paul to shun ungodliness which is often expressed as strife, disputes, contentions, evil desires and pride. To rather pursue and embrace righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.
Godliness with Contentment is great gain (1 Timothy 6:6).
Servants are to honor and respect their masters; whether believing or unbelieving. Teachers are to teach wholesome doctrines that are in accordance with godliness.
Verse 12 of 1 Timothy 12 is not just an admonition; it is a command. A command to fight the good fight of faith, laying hold on eternal life.
“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”
I Timothy 6:12 NKJV
My interest is on ‘lay hold on eternal life’.
To ‘lay hold of’ means to clench, cling to, clutch, catch, grasp, seize, to take and hold something, to understand something.
Eternal life means everlasting life, never ending life, never perishing, life more abundantly, continuous life, endless life.
If you have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, you have eternal life (John 3:15-16). And the purpose of this life is to keep you in the covenant, in constant uninterrupted fellowship with God (1 John 1:1-3, John 6:54-58), to keep you safe from the Destroyer (John 10:28); safe to live and enjoy all that pertains to life and godliness available to you through Christ Jesus (2 Peter 1:3).
Ungodliness and evil desires are evil, and they emanate from the evil One whose sole agenda is to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10).
It is unlikely to be clinging, clenching, holding fast, grasping or holding firmly to eternal life (in fellowship and total surrender to God) and to still be drowned in strife, disputes, contentions, perdition, quarrels and all forms of ungodliness.
And because this life is endless and continuous, those who have it and remain fully plugged into it, can live perpetually in godliness and contentment, away from all expressions of evil.
It also is very unlikely that you’ll die before you are ready if you keep confessing and muttering “I have life and life more abundantly, God’s life, Zoe life, ….. the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the grave is in me and continually pumps life to every part of my body”.
“We have to fight to keep our faith. Try as hard as you can to win that fight. Take hold of eternal life. It is the life you were chosen to have when you confessed your faith in Jesus—that wonderful truth that you spoke so openly and that so many people heard.“
1 Timothy 6:12 ERV
Happy Monday…
Have a most blessed week
Love Always ❤
There is a strong connection between humility and submission. Submission requires subordination, subjection, obedience, yielding which are all expressions of humility. To successfully submit to an authority, humility is needed. I believe that unlike humility which we are expected to express towards God and all men, submission is contextual.
The 2 drivers for expressing humility in our relationships; the fear of the Lord (relating to God) and walking in agape (relating with others).
“For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”
I Peter 2:25 NKJV
“Like a good shepherd, he takes care of his people. He gathers them like lambs in his arms. He holds them close, while their mothers walk beside him.“
Isaiah 40:11 ERV
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.”
John 10:11, 14 NKJV
“Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep.”
Psalms 121:4 NKJV
“The Lord is my shepherd. I will always have everything I need. He gives me green pastures to lie in. He leads me by calm pools of water. He restores my strength. He leads me on right paths to show that he is good.”
Psalms 23:1-3 ERV
“Even if I walk through a valley as dark as the grave, I will not be afraid of any danger, because you are with me. Your rod and staff comfort me.“
Psalms 23:4 ERV
“The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night.”
Psalms 121:6 NKJV
“You prepared a meal for me in front of my enemies. You welcomed me as an honored guest. My cup is full and spilling over.“
Psalms 23:5 ERV
“Your goodness and mercy will be with me all my life, and I will live in the Lord’s house a long, long time.“
Psalms 23:6 ERV
I have a Good Shepherd. He is the Shepherd and Overseer of my soul. He never sleeps nor slumbers. He ensures that I have everything that I need. I am kept safe in Him. I am protected from the scorching sun, the moon provides me light in darkness.
Thank You Lord.
Humility is often misunderstood. If someone asked you a direct question; say, ‘Elyse, are you humble?‘ what would your response be? Yes/No/Not Sure/I think so/ etc…. 🙂 Now that is something to consider….
Early this year, I said to one of my ‘elders’ … ‘I admire your humility, that is something I’ll be learning from you this year‘.
Honestly, that sounded really good to me, but even as I said it, I wasn’t really sure what it meant. Truth? there were aspects of this person’s life that one may not really judge as ‘humble’.
So here I am, desiring to learn humility and yet not fully understanding what humility truly means…
Hey, it’s Friday!!!
Welcome to a brand new study series on my blog; Bible Perspectives on Humility. I trust God that this series will be refreshing, exciting, instructive, …and humbling.
In this study series, among other things we will look at;
Definitions of humility (dictionary and biblical), false humility, relationship between humility and obedience, who to be humble to, benefits of being humble, results of prideful living.
Humility is a virtue every Christian should strive for. Three immediate benefits of combining humility with the fear of the Lord are riches, honor and a long life (Proverbs 2:24).
“True humility and fear of the Lord lead to riches, honor, and long life.” Proverbs 22:4. NLT
In Mathew 11:29 Jesus admonishes us to be lowly in heart, just as He is. According to Jesus, this manner of living will helps keep our soul at rest (….I will think that is because you do not have anything to prove to anyone).
“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:29 NKJV
A lowly person is someone who is humble in manner and spirit. This suggests that humility is more of the state of the mind more than an outward demeanor.
In Philippians 2:5, Paul, citing Jesus as an example shows that humility when done properly, does lead to elevation or exaltation.
“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-11
So, humility is a noble trait, as having a lowly estimation of oneself leads to elevation, exaltation, riches, honor and long life.
I already love humility! But what exactly is it?
Humility is the quality of having a modest or low view of one’s importance. It is meekness, lowliness and absence of self. Humble people appreciate little things, they respect others and are open to other viewpoints and ideas, they keep their success, accomplishments and achievements in perspective, they acknowledge their mistakes and limitations, they take responsibility for their actions, they listen more and talk less, they do not go around saying they are humble.
Some synonyms for humility are; modesty, meekness, lowliness, submissiveness, diffidence.
Some antonyms for humility include; pride, self-importance, arrogance, haughtiness, etc
So, what do you think? How do you score based on this dictionary definition of humility? Poor/Fair/Good/Excellent? 🙂
One important thing to clarify at this point is that having a low view of oneself should never be interpreted as being a pauper, a beggar, an unimportant or irrelevant person. To humble oneself does not mean to have low self esteem neither does it mean to suffer from rejection or insecurity. There is liberty/freedom where the Spirit of The Lord is.
Every child of God has been bought by the precious priceless blood of Jesus Christ, and as such is royalty, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own ‘peculiar people’. You are like a Lamp on a Lampstand.
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”
I Peter 2:9 NKJV
Humility is a state of the mind, and not just an outward demeanor. Someone can be outwardly humble and yet arrogant and prideful in their thoughts and actions as shown by their decisions and choices.
It is also important to note that this dictionary definition of humility essentially focuses on a view of oneself relative to others. And depending on how you look at it, this definition may seem somewhat tilted more towards describing a group of persons with some form of real or perceived achievement, accomplishment, worth, value, etc, who inspite of that, are humble (…just an observation).
Question: Can a poor person be arrogant? Can an uneducated person be prideful? Can someone without any significant worth, talent or achievement (by the world’s standard and ranking) be arrogant?
I leave you with these thoughts. In the next part, we consider Bible meanings of humility.
‘I BELIEVE’ is All Jesus ever looked for in order to heal (John 9:35, Mark 11:24, James 2:19, John 11:26, etc).
A budget is a guide. Start with what you can come up with and refine it over time. A poor budget is better than no budget at all. So don’t wait for a perfect one.
While it may seem like our momentary subconscious negligence of the all-time workings of grace in us is a bad thing, we can actually rejoice with the realization that we are all-time champions
If only we can like Martha identify the areas of our Christian faith that need strengthening. Can we like Martha be sincere and honest about the pressure points in our faith walk? If only we can be humble and cry out to the Lord; ‘Lord help my unbelief!’, the Master will not condemn us, but He will most eagerly stoop down and help us up.
