Promise for Today - A Teachable Spirit

A woman of gentle grace gets respect. 

Proverbs 11:16 (MSG)

No matter where you want to be a leader—in church, government, business, home, school, or your community—you first have to be gentle. The Message paraphrase says, “A woman of gentle grace gets respect” (Proverbs 11:16)—and that’s true for men too. Gentleness leads to respect, and no one can truly lead without being respected. Gentleness is a prerequisite to leadership. 

Jesus was “gentle and humble in heart” (Matthew 11:29 NIV). He was strong in every way. He could make arrogant leaders speechless and overturn tables in the temple. But he never lost his temper. He kept his strength under control. He was gentle.

Other than Jesus, Moses is one of the few people in the Bible described as deeply humble—the kind of humility that shows up as gentleness. You probably think of Moses as a strong leader. He took on Pharaoh, the most powerful man in the world at the time, and demanded that Pharaoh let God’s people go. Moses had nothing but God on his side—and that was enough for him. But before Moses was a leader, Moses was gentle.

Here’s what the Bible says about Moses: “Now the man Moses was very humble (gentle, kind, devoid of self-righteousness), more than any man who was on the face of the earth” (Numbers 12:3 AMP). But it’s likely that gentleness didn’t come naturally for Moses. His persistent sin was uncontrolled anger; he had a violent temper, and he had trouble managing it.

One time Moses got so angry that he killed an Egyptian. Another time, when Moses came down from the mountain after receiving the Ten Commandments, he found the Hebrew people worshiping an idol. He was so angry that he threw down the Ten Commandments and broke them. And anger kept Moses from entering the Promised Land.

So how could the guy who had a lifelong problem with anger be the only one in the Bible besides Jesus who is called gentle? Because Moses was teachable. When people spoke to him about areas of his life that needed changing, it didn’t make him angry. Instead, he learned from them. Because he was gentle,  that gentleness earned him respect. And that respect made him a leader.

Maybe you struggle with anger like Moses. Or maybe you’re too submissive, or impatient, or lazy. Whatever you struggle with, choose to have a gentle, teachable spirit. You’ll find that your humble gentleness earns you the respect of the people around you.

Talk It Over

What gentle leaders do you know?

Do you think gentleness is an admirable quality? Why?

What does it mean to have a teachable spirit? In what specific area can you ask God to develop that kind of spirit in you?

- by Pastor Rick

*********************************

Prayer:

Father, 

    Thank You for the gift of life and the wisdom You freely offer. Soften our hearts to receive correction without pride, and open our minds to learn from every experience You place before us. Help us to listen more than we speak, to seek understanding before giving an answer, and to value truth over our own opinions. Remove any stubbornness that blinds us, and replace it with humility, patience, and discernment. Guide us to mentors, friends, and moments that shape us for Your purpose. May our spirits remain teachable, so that we grow in wisdom, walk in love, and reflect Your grace in all we do.  In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

2026 Lenten Season - Day 36 - Holy Anger Then and Now

We continue the tradition of 40 days of Lent-related devotionals (46 counting the Sundays).
Sharing "Journey to the Cross" by Paul David Tripp.
***********************************************************************

Scripture records the anger of Jesus in the temple to point to who he is and to clarify our values.

And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”
Matthew 21:12-13

How quickly the emotion of the drama of Jesus’s last journey changes! After the adoring crowds, the story takes a radical turn. This is another one of those messianic vignettes that we think we understand, but need to examine more closely. We see here the holy anger of Jesus more than at almost any other moment in his life. Do you know why he was so angry? Is it only about commerce in the temple?  Why does he call the sellers thieves? What is the zeal that consumed him in this moment? Why did he overturn those tables? What can we learn from our Savior’s holy anger? How can his zeal become our hope? These are the questions begging to be answered as we consider this moment in Jesus’s journey to the cross.

Jesus enters Jerusalem and takes no time to bask in the glory of the adoring crowds along the way. He knows he is on a mission of saving grace, and he knows how far that grace will extend. He knows that what is happening in the temple is not only a violation of his Father’s house, of promises made to  Abraham, but also of what he came to earth to accomplish. Without care for what people will think of him, he is driven by righteous values and holy anger to act on behalf of those unable to act for themselves.

Consider this meditation.

The temple highlighted your holy zeal;
what was there exposed your loving heart.
More than an institution,
more than a historic place,
more than a religious edifice,
more than a place of public worship—
it was your Father’s house.
Anger filled your heart—
holy, righteous, grace-infused wrath.
The place for the Gentiles now a house of commerce.
Sales tables replaced praying places.
Animal sounds replaced sounds of supplication.
This hallowed place, now a den of robbers.
Market thieves had stolen the Gentiles’ only place.
Sellers violated your covenant plan.
Merchants robbed your place of its glory.
This place of divine love, now a place of human greed.
No love for you.
No sympathy for the displaced.
No submission to your will.
No care for your saving plan.
Out of love for your Father, compassion for those excluded,
commitment to promises made to Abraham,
you overturned the plan of those who stained the Father’s house,
declaring the zeal of your heart, your holy mission, your eternal position.
This zeal, then and now, my hope.
Your anger, then and now, my security.
Your promises, then and now, my rest.
Your grace, then and now, my life.
For I know you will remain zealous, act in holy anger, and overturn the final table,
and I will dwell safe in your Father’s house forever.

GOING DEEPER
Reflection Questions

1. What was Jesus angry about? What were the moneychangers doing wrong?

2. What fills your heart with righteous anger? Where do you see modern-day moneychangers, and what are you called to do about it?

3. It’s easy to put ourselves on Jesus’s side here, but how might you be guilty of some of the same sins as the moneychangers?

Read Mark 11:15–19 and Luke 19:45– 48.

Jesus Clears the Temple

Mark 11:15-19  New Living Translation

15 When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, 16 and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace. 

17 He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”
18 When the leading priests and teachers of religious law heard what Jesus had done, they began planning how to kill him. But they were afraid of him because the people were so amazed at his teaching.
19 That evening Jesus and the disciples left the city.

Luke 19:45-48  New Living Translation
45 Then Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people selling animals for sacrifices. 46 He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”
47 After that, he taught daily in the Temple, but the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the other leaders of the people began planning how to kill him. 48 But they could think of nothing, because all the people hung on every word he said.

Unoffendable by Brant Hansen

Today's inspiration comes from: Unoffendable by Brant Hansen
***************************************************

When you are angry, do not sin, and be sure to stop being angry by the end of the day. 

Ephesians 4:26 NCV

So, overall, how does Scripture, which is well acquainted with injustice, describe anger? Take a look at some verses from the New Living Translation.

Anger is described as “fierce” and “cruel” in Genesis 49:7. It’s “burning” in Exodus 11:8. In the same book, it’s also described as a “blazing fury,” and if you’re not careful, it can “blaze against you” (Exodus 15:7; Exodus 22:24).

In Leviticus 26, anger is something given “full vent” and equated with “hostility” (v. 28). In Deuteronomy 7, it is associated with the words “burn” and “destroy” (v. 4). In 1 Samuel 20, we see an anger that “boil[s] with rage” (v. 30). Anger “will not be quenched,” according to 2 Kings 22:17. In 2 Samuel 6, it “bursts out” (v. 8); in Job 4, it “blasts” (v. 9); and in Job 16, God Himself, in anger, “tears” and “pierces” (v. 9).

Anger is terrifying and fierce in Psalm 2:5. It’s burning and consuming in Psalm 69:24, then smoldering intensely in Psalm 74.

In Isaiah 9:12, it’s associated with a fist poised to strike. In chapter 30, it’s demonstrated with flames, cloudbursts, thunderstorms, and hailstones (v. 30). In Isaiah 63:3, it tramples.

It doesn’t exactly chill out in Lamentations. The words “engulfed” and “slaughtered” are used in chapter 3 (v. 43)...

...The Bible directs us to get rid of anger (Ephesians 4:31; Colossians 3:8), but our idea of “righteous anger” turns that directive on its head: we ...actually pat ourselves on the back for being offended and embracing anger.

And all that boiling, piercing, corrosive power becomes part of our lives—and destroys us.

We cling to our self-righteousness and can’t possibly imagine giving it up. We think it’s how we’re supposed to live. But our Father is holding out another way of living, entirely. He’s saying it’s far more valuable. He knows. He made us. He knows we can live better this way. We’ll be under less stress. We’ll be able to live in the moment. We won’t be constantly offended, perpetually nursing hurts. He’s telling us to hand over the idea that we know things we don’t about ourselves and others, and simply be humble.

I’ve found myself thinking — even if I don’t say it out loud — that part of my job as a Christian is assessing where people stand. Therefore, if I didn’t try to make this assessment about others, I wasn’t taking Christianity seriously enough, or something. I don’t know what I was thinking.

What a sweet, sweet relief to not have to do this.

Jesus had to point out to seemingly upstanding religious leaders that some prostitutes were closer to the Kingdom of God than they were. Would you or I have known that?

Last night, I talked with a new friend of mine who shared that he’s always seemingly been angry. “I spend half of my life with anger,” he said. “I’ve always lost a tremendous amount of sleep because of it.”

Life is better when we admit what we don’t know, realize our own moral status before God, and give up our made-up Right to Be Offended.

 God knows how we’re wired. He tells us to forgive and to get rid of anger. People made in His image would do well to listen. It means everything, not just for us, but for those around us.

We think we want a right to “righteous anger.” It takes a tremendous amount of humility, an extraordinary “dying to self” to hand over this desire, this job, this obsession, to God. But He made us, and He knows how we operate best. He says to hand it over.

And He’s promising something of value that no one else — and literally, no other religion — promises. He’s promising a release from the constant evaluation, never-ending striving, and relentless assessment of where we, and everyone else, stand.

He’s promising a better way of life. He’s holding it out to us, saying, “Hand over the garbage;” and He means it, because He loves us, and He has something better to offer.

He’s offering peace.

Prayer: 

Beloved Jesus, lead me to someone today who needs to hear Your story of love and forgiveness.

**************************************************************************

The King's Counsel

But when David’s ambassadors arrived in the land of Ammon, the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun, their master, “Do you really think these men are coming here to honor your father? No! David has sent them to spy out the city so they can come in and conquer it!” So Hanun seized David’s ambassadors and shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their robes at the buttocks, and sent them back to David in shame.
2nd Samuel 10:2c-4 NLT

David had only attempted to return the loyalty of King Nahash - one king to another - to offer condolences at the time of his death, but David's actions were egregiously misinterpreted.

Hanun's council of commanders gave him the wrong counsel. When he realized how angry David was, Hanun became more defensive and set himself for battle. He even went so far as to hire 43,000 additional men to fight. Forty-three thousand! And that was only for the first defensive round. They hired still more for the next battle - one in which 40,700 of Hanun's warriors were killed.

I wonder what would have happened if Hanun had admitted his mistake in following the wrong counsel, humbled himself to David and made restitution to those he had shamed, then tried to seek peace...  I'm inclined to believe that David would have forgiven him because David would have sought the counsel of God. After all, he often liked to show and share the kindnesses of God. 

How often do we misinterpret someone's actions toward us, seek ungodly counsel, then get angry and vindictive? How long do we carry a grudge or some form of unforgiveness? Do we "hire" others to be angry with us?

Whose counsel will you follow?

Prayer:

Father,
          We choose to walk in forgiveness rather than bear the wrath of unforgiveness. Open our hearts to hear and follow only the counsel from the King of kings. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen