Maturity and Strong Love

           I will start off by saying that God is testing me in my maturity that I have gained over the past few years and the strong love I have for people along with it. I've been put in a situation without my knowing about it before that I am having to have professional maturity along with personal maturity. I am also finding myself having strong love for things too. I don't want to share a lot and give away way I am writing this but I think God is going to grow me in that at least this Fall. I will say there are times that I wish I could get back at certain people and say things that I think needs to be said but I am holding back because of self control and the maturity I have, not to mention the love I have for them too.
           God has a sense of humor. He taught me about the Fruit of the Spirits and how listening and seeing and loving in a community is very important. I will tell you that God does not use the sermons just for church or small groups. He uses them in real life too and I don't feel like I need to be in a small group to use them right now. God is doing work through me at my job and towards my friends in different ways. I will tell you all a little about how I am using maturity and strong love right now at this moment in my life.
           At a job it is important to be mature, no matter what the situation is, right? It could be with a co-worker or a parent or even a child depending on where you are working. It could even be with a friend or someone you don't even know. It is hard when you are having to be mature in 3 of those different situations at the same time because it is like your mind has to change from one person to another. When I say change, I am not meaning changing as a different person but for the situation. I mean I act like a child with the children but I don't act like a child around their parents or my co-workers and I don't act like I am talking to parents when I am actually talking to my friends. Maturity is knowing when to change and at what time. You don't want to talk like you all are friends with a parent even if you are while at work because it needs to stay professional because you have other co-workers around you.
           There are also times you might want to get back at a friend for something they did to you a long or short time ago but that is not what a friend does. That is where the strong love comes into play. You don't act like a jerk because you want payback. You and your friend needs to work it out if you both are truly friends. If you are in my situation, where you are just aquentiences, then it won't help you get closer if that is what you want. You just have to let certain things go like I have done lately. Trust me, I have thought of ways to get back at people but it just lights the flames more. It never puts them out. Wanting to get back at them is what starts all this fighting, it is strong love that saves us all. As I am writing this, I am lituatlly thinking like everyday actions and Jesus. He is the One Strong Love and as Christians we should show the same kind of that love.
              It is called sacrifice, even if it is sacrificing our feelings, sleep (like I am now), popularity, or friendships for awhile.  That is what True, Strong Love and being mature is all about. I love the song by TobyMac and it just came on while I was writing this, "Lose My Soul". The link is below. That is what we need to do sometimes.

"We are clay in God's Hands. Help me to stay that way through all of life's commands because they chip and pull at me and everything little thing I make up my mind to be like I am going to be a father who is in the mix, husband who stays "true", and artist who raises above." 

            We are human and can't do all those things without the help of God. We shouldn't want to gain the whole world and lose our soul. Just listen to the song while reading this entry again or at least thinking about what I have said here. Maturity and Strong Love goes together and that is the only way we can and should live on this earth. If you love strong enough, then you wouldn't want to do anything that could mess up a friendship or a relationships. You would want to work things out instead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coHKdhAZ9hU

Fear of God

         Some people might think this: "Is it really good to have the Fear of God in you?" My personal answer for myself is, "Yes." Why? You might ask. It is because if I didn't have the Fear of God in me nothing would get done. It is the Fear and drives and challenges me to do things I wouldn't do otherwise. Fear of God means: "reverential awe, especially toward God." Other words are: respect, awe, and reverence.
          It is that tugging on my heart when I need to ask that certain question or talk to this certain person. The thing could also be good but it keeps us waiting a little longer for that good thing. It is like I can see the future yet I need to stay away from it for a little longer. Right now, the Fear of God does have a place in my life and that place is dating and marriage. I want that so bad yet the more I think about it the more I am scared.
          Will I ever find "the one"? If I do, will I be ready or will I just find excuse after excuse not to be ready? I want it to happen but yet it could feel like it is happening too fast. I want to enjoy the time in between. I always want something to happen that will bring two people closer together. Yet I am scared and fearful if that does happen.
           The Fear of God can go either way. Is that why marriage takes two people? Two people that for sure know they want to be with each other. We have so much to think of and to pursue towards God and for God. Are we scared because we respect God so much that we don't want to mess things up? 

           I know this is a short entry but I want to keep it as simple as I can. This subject can be confusing at times. The shorter, the better. 

"Basically that it is okay to have the fear of God. We aren't perfect people nor can we be. It takes knowing that it will always take two to tango. We can't do anything in this world without God and His timing."-From a friend about this entery. 

The View from Underneath-By: Proverbs 31 Ministries

This came at the perfect time for me. Much needed!

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THE VIEW FROM UNDERNEATH

WHITNEY CAPPS

DAY: 21 | PLAN: SUFFERING AND SOVEREIGNTY

Today’s Reading: Job 21 

Job 21:7-8 (NIV) “Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power? They see their children established around them, their offspring before their eyes.”

One of my favorite memories as a little girl was watching my grandmother cross-stitch. I remember the first time I watched her nimble fingers stitch a mess of x’s into a masterpiece. She always sat in her recliner, legs curled under her, leaning toward the light of the table lamp. I usually sat on the floor at her feet looking at the underside of her work-in-progress. 

We had a little game where I would try to guess what she was making. But the underside was such a mess! Was it a basket of flowers? A bowl of fruit? A hummingbird or a hippo? Who knew? From my perspective it was an indistinguishable mishmash of string and knots. But what was utter confusion to me was perfectly known to her. She was looking at her work of art from the front. I was only looking at the back.

The continuing arguments between Job and his friends remind me of that game I used to play with my grandmother, trying to guess what she was stitching. Job and his companions are trying to guess God’s plan. Job’s friends are sure that God would never allow unjust circumstances to fall on a just man. The circumstances mean Job must be unjust.

Here in Job 21, Job looks at the real-life circumstances of people who are far from God; they are dismissive and defiant yet they continue to prosper. Job argues that the wicked see their children prosper, their homes safe and their lives free from calamity. From Job’s perspective the wicked are often spared the kind of heartache and grief he has experienced.

And in the middle of his argument Job says, “Can anyone teach knowledge to God, since he judges even the highest?” (Job 21:22). Such truth. Knowledge comes from God; we don’t tell Him anything He doesn’t already know. If only Job and his friends had stopped there. This is the defining truth that could have changed the conversation and let them see the hope of the masterpiece God was working on.

I think what Job is saying is that God knows exactly what He’s doing. Whether wicked or good people, whether blessed or afflicted circumstances, God is in control. He has a plan that we simply can’t see from our perspective. God has knowledge. God imparts wisdom. God judges rightly. In our suffering, God is doing something.

We know this truth and believe this truth most of the time. But in the midst of suffering it’s easy to forget. In addition to forgetting that truth, suffering makes us desperate to know exactly what God is doing. What is the big picture He’s working on? Is my life still a masterpiece, or is it just a mess. 

Suffering isn’t at all like the game I played with my grandmother. We aren’t just passing the time trying to guess what God is up to. We are often sad, lonely, hurting and afraid. But our best guesses won’t make that pain go away. In fact, if we get the picture wrong or begin to doubt that there’s a masterpiece in the making, we can hurt even more. 

You may be looking at your life as a jumble of frayed thread and messy knots. But there is a patient hand with tender, nimble fingers stitching the masterpiece of your life. You can trust Him. Don’t judge the brilliance of His artistry from the wrong side of the fabric. 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I often forget that I only know in part. You know in full, and You know me fully. You know my beginning and my end and everything in between. Please remind me of my limited perspective. When I need it, and according to Your purpose, may I have a glimpse of Your plan? And even when I can’t see what You are doing clearly, help me trust Your artistry. In Jesus’ name, amen.

See What is Important-A Poem

See What is Important 


       It takes a lot of situations and things

 to see what is really important in life. It 

could be one thing while we think it is the

 other. Sometimes we have to ask the question:

"What is really important?" Some people 

might think money. The more money we have,

 the more things we can buy and that makes 

us happy.

Other people might think it is their career. 

They have be be in the highest position 

possible to make a difference. They could

spend all their time making the money but

forgetting who they truly are. They could 

also be trying to be someone that they are

not just trying to impress the boss so that 

they can get that higher position or more

people to like them.

Other people might think that only where

they live is important. Another thing that

could be important to a person is their race.

They could think that the nicer and bigger 

the house is the more friends they will 

get. They might also think that they can 

only like certain of a certain kind but 

that isn't true at all.  None of these things

are true. 

They are all lies that are told to 

us in one way or another. Those things might seem 

to be important but we need

to look past those things and other things. We 

need to get down to the point of the matter, which

is the person. We can keeping caring about what

that person is doing but we need to look deeper.

We need to look at the person and care and pray 

for them, not what they are doing. When you pray 

for what they are doing, it is only their actions for 

the company or other people that are changing. 

It is not who they are changing as a person, if 

that is what you want. If you want them to change 

and be challenged and grow as a person, then

you need to pray for the person. 

When you learn that, you can make all the 

difference in the world. You need to love 

the person first, not the world in which they

are in. I know my opinion doesn't count 

because everyone as their own but here is 

mine anyways. I think that the world would

be a lot better of a place if we start caring for 

the person and not for the things of this world. 

That is what is important and we all need 

to start seeing it. 

Written By: Tiffney Wilson 

Written On: August 25th, 2017

The Great American Solar Eclipse

          Yesterday was a day for the history books and science books. It was the Great American Solar Eclipse of 2017. It was so big that the schools got involved with it and people stepped out of their offices to watch it too. The schools brought solar glasses for every child so they could experience it. It started at 11:45 and the peak time was 1:15 here in Bentonville, AR. It ended at about 2:00. I couldn't see it because my glasses were in the mail. I got them after work yesterday. It was going to be full up by St. Joe, MO so that would have been neat to see in a way but I would have hate fighting the crowds. It is funny, though, because that is probably the one time that St. Joe has been or ever will be really busy.
           I did get to see it on the ground and I even took pictures of them to remember the day. The pictures on here are only 2 out of the 10 I took. But the real thing didn't happen until afterwards, the realization of why God did it at the time He did. Days before, people were talking about how with everything going on it could be the end of times. Then I talked to my mom last night on the phone, she saw places on Facebook and news that mentioned the eclipse was a way to bring the world together again
             It was through God's Creation and something He could only do that He did it. I found this verse today on the internet and I think it explains this eclipse and God's Creation perfectly. It is Romans 8:39.  Here it is:

"39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

-The summary of that verse is: "Nothing in all creation can separate us from God's Love. 

          God's Creations are just amazing and there is nothing that compare to them! It could be a solar eclipse, lightning during a rainstorm, fog on the ground, or a rainbow but they are all the same beautiful Creation because they are made by Our True Love. 

           I will also say that it got a little darker and cooler as the time went on. It felt really good at peak time. I think the temperature dropped about 5 to 10 degrees. You could even hear the some crickets out like it was night time. I had a friend say that they heard some of the birds and animals would change their calls and things like that but I was in the city so I didn't hear any of that. It was just amazing how fast it happened. I will have to admit too that the children were a bit crazy when they first got out of school because they just got done looking at it but it didn't take them long tim calm down about it. 

          My children loved the glasses that they got from the school. I even let them take them outside again when we went after school even though it was over. Some of the kids kept looking through them and thought the sun was neat by itself. I mean even lesson plans were made just for this espilce. No one could even guess how many people were watching it while it happened. I just know a lot of pictures were taken off it and glasses were made for it. If you didn't have the glasses, there were ways to block and look at it all over the internet. I even did an art craft with my after school kids. The craft was where the kids colored a piece of paper all black and then cut out a sun out of yellow paper. Next, they color a moon black and cut it out. Last, they glued the moon on the sun or paper wherever they wanted it to go. 

             I hope that I can remember yesterday. That is why I am trying to writing everything I can remember right now. I want to look back at this entry and remember and maybe tell my future children about it too because it was neat. In a time of needing to be put back together, God knew what the world needed and He gave it to us. The other funny thing was it was during lunch time and break here in AR, where everyone could go out and see if not all of it, at least part of it. 

                             

Listen. See. Love.

Living as One


What can I bring to the situation that I am in now?

    -This is a new prayer of mine, whether it is about certain people or things or just in general. It is a good place to start.


Go to the "Who", not the "Why".


Luke 7:36-39 (ESV)- 
       
              "36 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. 37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.”


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Listen.
   -First step that you need to do to become one with a person or close is to listen. Listening could mean the world to someone. I love to listen to people and what is going on in their lives. I am the kind of person that loves to have deep talks and think deep. It has always been me but yet I really have to know the person and trust them first to be able to get deep with them. I also have to have things in common with them so we can at least start talking to each other. If we take the time to listen, we can solve most of the problems in this world. We are just too busy in today's world we forget that. 


See. 
  -Second step that you need to do to become one with a person or close is to see who that person really is. After you listen to that person, you can see who they really are. You can see who they are because you have listened to their stories and saw how they live. Also, when you see a person, you have been around them for sometime and now how they live at act around certain people and things. You honestly SEE how they live and act out. It helps you to understand the person more because seeing is believing, especially in this case. 


Love.
     
     -Third step that you need to do to because one with a person or close is to LOVE. This is my favorite step and the most important one after you do the last two things. Once you have listened to their stories about who they are and see that they are true, then you can Love on them if you wish. Of course, Love is always a choice for a person. It might not get returned from the other person but that shouldn't stop us from loving them, the way we want and know we ought to. You might even love through actions because their stories or you watching them but bring something to mind that you can help them with. You might also be able to support them for a long time without them knowing how you truly feel about them. Sometimes that is what love is. You just stay in a certain chapter of their life and never more onto the next one because the is where the Love is needed. 

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       I love these 3 words and I love the sermon that was behind them. The chapter and verses that were used to described them were perfect too. In a time and place like today's world, we need to be reminded of these 3 simple things/actions. 
       I am going to ask a "who" question and then a "why" question. I want whoever reads this entry to ask themselves these questions too. Here they are:

-Who do we really need to and should follow? The president, Certain groups, the Devil, or God? 


-Why are we so caught up in our differences? Aren't we suppose to Love each other no matter what?


             I know these questions are a long shot for some people but they are questions we need to be asking ourselves. Coming from a mixed extended family, I don't care what their race is or beliefs are. I am just going to love them like a family and like God intended for us and I hope they can tell that I do. It isn't my job to question their life or choices. It is just my job to be there if they ever need anything.
      I know my pastor didn't mean for this sermon to go this way. He was just trying to get us all excited for a new Fall Community/small groups since it is that time of year again.He was trying to get people to sign up for the groups but I took it a whole other way. I took it to heart and the world today. I know I could try a lot better to love and not judge people, even if they want to judge me. Pay back is never the answer. 

     

The Bible Tells Me So

             I am going to try something new with this entry. I have shared this video through YouTube and I want to see if my entry will also be shared with it. The entry might be a short one because of the experiment but I am hoping I can get the point across. If this one works I might be doing more of these link ones because I like telling people what certain songs mean to me.

             I came up with the title first because of a sermon that was given at my parents' church back in July. Yes, I am now just getting to write about it. It was a sermon about how the simple and easy things  like the Bible and prayer were an important part of the Christian life. I wrote down this one quote during the sermon and I hope it makes sense. I think I got it all but not for sure. It was, "Essentials unity, In nonessentials freedom, in everything love." The verses the pastor used were 1 Timothy 4:1-10.

Other quotes from him was,

            "The Bible is good enough" and "The problem is with us not the Bible. We haven't dug deep enough yet." The Bible verses from those quotes are 2 Timothy 4:1-7 and Titus 1:5-2:1.

            I heard this song this past month and it went prefect with the sermon that I just wrote about. The song is called, "I Wanna Go Back". It is about how life was simple when we are younger and believe everything about the Bible and what God can do. We have no problems. We are free and so forth but then we grow up and let go. We grow apart from God because we get too know it all and do things ourselves or at least try. We forget the little things that we were taught in our childhood. It is funny how that happens and I can so relate to it. The song has a pretty good beat to it too.

            The little things like how all you have to do is pray and believe. The Bible is true and you have to do is study deeper. The song reminds me that we, as adults, make things so hard and confusing on ourselves when really they aren't that hard at all. We try to fit into the world, when really we were never meant to fit in here. We take things away from God that He could handle perfectly if we just leave them in His Hands. We need to go back to the time where things were simpler and believable. We don't need to try and keep up with with world. I think it is a good song too because it shows and compares perfectly, childhood and adult life.

           As children, we had these thoughts about how we could do and be anything with God's Love but we all know that those dreams fade and reality starts setting in when we grow up as adults. We have these pictures of God bigger then the world, when we are little children. We can and are able to think like that because nothing bad had ever happened but then we grow up and see a bigger and bader world and bad thoughts start filling our minds.

            This song reminded me of that sermon because my pastor even used the song "Jesus Loves Me" as an example of how the simple things are important in our lives. I was thinking that when I have children someday, I am going to drill that simple song into their minds and hearts so when they are having a hard time they can remember the simplest of things.

Psalm 23

Psalm 23New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,[a]
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

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              As I sit here, reading these verses, I'm just thinking about my future. It should remind me that the Lord is beside me and at the same time leading me to where He wants me to be. During the hardest times in my life, God has been there are will continue to be there. He will be with me all the time. There are days I might not feel like He is or days I feel like giving up because I have no idea where my life is going but I know I can't. There might be times that I just want to do some big change right away but I have to have the Lord on my side or it won't work. He will comfort me in those hard times. 
              God is there before I am. He know what is ahead for me and will keep me safe. I will have His Love all the days of my life. I just need to remember that God will guide me to the right thing. I need to trust Him and follow Him. I should not be scared of the future. I should embrace Him and the plan He has for me and just go for it but I am scared. I don't know what to think about it. All of my plans have changed since I was a little girl. None of them have came true. It is better but it is just harder. I know God is trying to teach me things but those things are so hard when I can't see why I am learning those things. I am a visual person and that can mess things up in a way.
               I just have to remember these verses and to rest in Him. Just have to remember that God can and will refresh my soul and life. 

Children Will Absorb Your Actions to Things

How do you get the children from focusing on the alters to focus on the fun of the sport of hunting itself?


"It all comes from the person that is taking the child hunting."-A Friend of Mine


The reaction you have to any deer is the reaction that is being absorbed by the child. Children model what grow ups do. We hate to admit it sometimes but it is true.


Trophy deer?

Doe?


Start least and go more. They will like things better.



I like the word "Absorbed". Prefect way to describe children.


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                 It is the first day of the school year and I thought this would be a perfect entry a day like today. I got the the above from a friend of mine about 2 or 3 weeks ago. My friend was talking about how children enjoy hunting and how it grows in them. He was talking about it because one of his viewers ask the first question that I put above. Then he answered it with the next line. My friend also used the word "absorbed" to describe children and I love that word used in that way. Knowing how children are wired and being a child development major myself there is no better way to describe children then by that word. Here is what that word means: "to involve the full attention of; to engross or engage wholly." 
                   If you get the child involved in things at school, that child will absorb and learn more then if he was just sitting there. I am a firm believer in doing a lot of hands on activities because that is the way I am and grew up. The more you involve a child in things, the more you will get their full attention during it because not only is it fun but it is fulfilling too. I always like to see the children engage wholly in an activity whether it is a gym game or an art activity. If you, as an adult, are fully engaged and involved in it so the children will be too. Since the children are so engage and given their full attention to that subject, they see everything that goes on during that certain time. Yes, they will see the actions of the person they are hunting with and will learn to react that same way because they think it is okay since a grown up did it.
                  Children absorb more then any of us adults could think of. Not only can they pick up on our words and actions but they can pick up every little movement we make. When we are trying to hold in our anger or we do something when we are not around or so we think they are not around, they will pick up and absorb that too. We might even make a smart alike joke or a rude but funny comment and they will pick up on that and do it to their friends. I even heard of a story that a little girl went and told something that a teacher said and the teacher had to be talked to about it because it scared the parents.
                   My favorite part about children is that they are so absorbent until the age of 5 and we all can agree on that part. That is when they really get to learning things and even feelings. It is a joke that goes around saying that "be careful how you act around babies because they will grow up to do the same exact thing." It is true! Another fact about children are that their absorbentness does not shut down until they get middle school or jr. high aged. They are absorbing everything you do for those 12 years. How can you be on the look out for 12 years? How can you be so careful for 12 years especially if you have more then one child?
                 I like something else that my friend said in that video of his. He said or maybe just came across to me as, "Start with the least and the bigger things get, the better." That is what I got from the hunting perspective that my friend gave. Start with a doe and then go up to a big buck. It is like that with anything in life, when you really think about it. The child starts out with knowing nothing but then as they grow, they get all of this knowledge and life just gets better for them of that is how it is suppose to go anyways. Sometimes it doesn't always happen that way.
                I put a YouTube link on here that you can copy and paste and it is just one of my favorite country songs. The song is called "Watching You" by Rodney Atkins. It is my favorite because it is about what a son/child can learn from his daddy. To be honest, this song is the father figure that I want for my future children. It also shows that children will really absorb things from their parents and teachers. It shows how much a child can be like their parent if they want to be. One last thing I want to say and remind people of. I always heard the saying, "Children are like Sponges" and it is true the more I spend time with them, I see that. Anyways, here is just something to think about on the first day back to school for parents and teachers.

Parents-Just know they can absorb what they see from you and other people that they are around and hopefully will absorb some knowledge this year.

Teachers-Just a reminder that you may not see what they are absorbing but they are always absorbing something, whether a new concept to how you are treating them.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uzK3VwzraM

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“Children are sponges, soaking up every verbal and nonverbal interaction.”

― Asa Don Brown

Fruit of the Spirit: Gentleness

                       "Our brand is the Fruit of the Spirit."


        -Counterfeit= weakness, social sweetness


        -Definition of Gentleness: Strength under control of the good of others.


        -Gentleness= essential quality of spiritual leadership

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        -1 Kings 19:11-13-NIV

                    -"11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

-God came to His People during this time as a Gentle Wind.

         -Acts 2:1-4-NIV

                  -"2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them."

-God came to His People during this time as a violent wind.

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-For Elders in the Church:


         -1 Timothy 3:2-3-NASB

                     -"2 An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not addicted to wine [b]or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money."

-For Pastors in the Church: 


         -2 Timothy 2:24-25-ESV

                       -"24 And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth"


-For Believers in the Church:


         -Titus 3:1-2-NIV

                      -"3 Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, 2 to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone."

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         -1 Peter 3:15-ESV

                       -"15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect"




         -1 Thess 2:6-7-ESV

                      -"6 Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. 7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children."



         -Gal. 6:1-ESV

                      -"6 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted."




          -Isaiah 40:10-12

                         -"10 

Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
    and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
    and his recompense before him.
11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
    he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
    and gently lead those that are with young.

12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
    and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure
    and weighed the mountains in scales
    and the hills in a balance?"

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          -Matthew 11:27-30-NASB

                          -"27 All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

28 “Come to Me, all [a]who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

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-How to Cultivate Gentleness


             -Humility
                      -Eph. 4:1-2-NASB
                             
                               -"4 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love."

                      -"A humble heart is a gentle life."- Mark 


            -Empathy 
                    -Gal. 6:1-NIV

                                -"6 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted."