Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. James 3:13

I pray that you were strengthened and encourage with your local church on the Lord’s Day. Oh, give thanks to the Lord for He is good. As you go about your week, be reminded of the goodness of the Lord and tell others your thankfulness for His goodness. In the world of get and gain, there doesn’t seem much room for lowliness and meekness. The strength of humanity is to survive and conquer. Yet, for the child of God who is devoted to the Lord, strength is in lowliness and meekness. Lowliness is the servant’s position before the Lord, for we kneel in His presence. And meekness is the servant’s mindset to trust and depend on the Lord, for He is our strength. The scripture passage reminds us that meekness is wise. The one who is meek is humble in their conduct. They are considerate to others in their conversation. By their conduct and conversation, the meek “shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.” Meekness is a discipline learned through submission, surrender, and trust. Meekness begins when we put our trust in God, as we commit our way to Him. The child of God must come to Him by faith and trust His word by “casting all your cares upon Him, for He careth for you” (1 Pet 5:7). Trust Him and forsake unto Him all our anxieties, frustrations, plans, relationships, jobs, and even our health, and wait patiently for His care. With quiet confidence we wait and are slow to speak and quick to listen (Jam 1:19) that we may lean on God and learn of Him. Meekness is learned. It counts the corrective blows of a friend as precious (Prov 27:6). And when we must speak, we speak from deep conviction of our own frailty and weakness to sin, as humble and meek who are utterly dependence on the grace of God (Gal 6:1). Dear friend, the quietness and openness of meekness is very beautiful, yet it is also very painful as we learn to submit our vulnerability to the Lord. Meekness goes against all our sinful nature. By faith we can lean on God and trust His care for us as His children. My friend, God cares for you, and a storehouse of blessings await those who faithfully trust Him in lowliness and meekness for “blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Mt 5:5). My friend, will you trust God with your cares and wait patiently for Him to care for you? While you wait, call to Him, check in with Him regularly, for He wants to hear your cries and He knows your troubles (Ps 37:14). God is faithful beyond what we can ask or think (Eph 3:20) that we may learn the “meekness of wisdom.” Father, thank You for Your love and Your desire that we learn meekness through Your grace. Help me to wait quietly and confidently as You work in me the spirit of meekness. In the blessed Name of Jesus. Amen.

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for He is faithful that promised. Heb 10:23

Do you know someone you consider as faithful? Someone who you can count on in the good times, and the bad. Whether things are rough or smooth. Someone who follows through. Someone whose word is good in the small things as well as the major ones. Mother Teresa said, “Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.“ Those who are faithful project a strength of character that others find trustworthy, dependable, true, and reliable. The scripture passage reminds us to “hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering.” To “hold fast” requires strength. Strength not of ourselves, but by the strength that God supplies. Faith is a gift from God. God is the source of faith, and the spiritual gift of faithfulness originates from God. We may try our best to be faithful, but more times than often we fail. We fail in our word and promises. But God is faithful, and great is His faithfulness to those believe and trust Him. Even when we falter in faith, or in times when we stumble and fall, even “if we are faithless, He remains faithful” (2 Tim 2:13). God is faithful to care for us, to lead us, and to love us. “He is faithful that promised” is God. The promise of the Father is the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:33). The Holy Spirit works in the life of the believer to grow and produce the fruit of faithfulness. Faithfulness to God means that we trust that He will care for us, we follow where He leads, and we love Him in return. Faithfulness is evidence of our faith in God that we may bear the fruit of God. Dear friend, it is in those moments of fear, adversity, turmoil, pain, disease, or any other unpleasant circumstances that we often result back to take matters into our own hands. It is in those times that we can hear the word of God say, “some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God” (Ps 20:7). Trust God’s faithfulness to strengthen you and work “to your good” (Deut 10:12-13). My friend, will you be faithful to God with the small things in your life? If so, He will grow your faith to produce the fruit of faithfulness through your life. God promises to give us strength when we need it (Is 40: 29-31). Father thank You for Your love and faithfulness. Help me when I am weak, and when I am weary, and strengthen me that I may not wonder but walk in faithfulness with You. In the blessed Name of Jesus. Amen.

Oh, how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee; which Thou hast wrought for them that trust in Thee before the sons of men! Ps 31:19

God is good all the time and all the time God is good. This is a common phrase used among God’s people to encourage worship to God. Many might agree that God is good in many ways, but would they agree that He is good all the time? What about when Christians suffer lost, endure acute sickness and illness, suffer financial problems, unemployment, or even suffer wayward children who dishonor parents and family? Is it possible that God’s goodness is at work even in circumstance like these? So, what is goodness? The Bible describes goodness in terms of holy, pure, and righteous. God is holy, pure, and righteous. All that He does is holy, pure, and righteous. God’s holiness, purity, and righteousness are absolute. God is absolutely good. So, what is goodness? Goodness is godliness and God’s goodness is “great.” The scripture passage reminds us “how great is Thy goodness.” God’s goodness is so great that it is “laid up” and awaits “them that fear Thee.” God is ready to pour out His goodness upon those who will recognize His goodness. He says to those who fear and trust Him to try His goodness. In the manner of our giving and generosity he declares that He will “open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Mal 3:10). He will overflow into the lives of those who fear and trust Him with His goodness. In the manner of grace, He fills and flows in the hearts of those who fear and trust Him like sap. The natural man of himself is like a dead branch. He can only think of himself and self-pleasures. But by faith, he is grafted into the True Vine that the sap of the Holy Spirit flows new life in him to bear the fruit of God’s goodness. The child of God who once was sour now is made sweet, who once was bitter now blossoms as a lily of hope, and who once was broken is made whole. The branch that was dead is now “made alive” in Christ (Eph 2:10) to “bear fruit to God” (Rom 7:4). Dear friend, the goodness of God fills all His creation (Ps 33:5) and abundantly poured out to those who fear and trust Him. Do you know His goodness? Do you trust “that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose” (Rom 8:28) no matter the circumstance. God is good. He is absolutely good. And His goodness is great! My friend, if you experience goodness in your life, give God the praise and glory because He is the Source of all goodness (Jam 1:17). God is good and He is good all the time. Father thank You for Your love and goodness. You are worthy of all praise. In the blessed Name of Jesus. Amen.