We are compelled by God’s LOVE and the FREEDOM offered in Jesus to infuse our relationships with the mind of Christ. As the Spirit of God directs our life, we take on the CHARACTER of the Spirit. This Fall we will ask God to INFUSE in us the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control of Christ through the Holy Spirit!
Listen to Infuse GENTLENESS
October 20, 2013 | Pastor Brad Murphy
Galatians 5:22-24, Philippians 4:2-7, Matthew 18:15-35
Join-Up in Gentleness
Monty Roberts learned that the way to train a horse was through violence and dominance. As a boy he watched his dad tame many wild horses. But as Monty grew up he wondered if there wasn’t a better way. After years of observing horses in the wild, Monty developed a gentle method of taming called Join Up®. His process leads a horse to become a Willing Partner with its rider instead of fearful subject of their rider. Through his gentle and loving method many horse lovers have come to enjoy riding their Willing Partner better than any horse tamed another way.
A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
– Proverbs 15:1
Throughout the Bible God reveals through His humility and gentleness the lesson that Monty learned isn’t just true of horses, but of people too. Saint Paul instructs the church to “Let your gentleness be known to all. The Lord is near.”
Through this lesson, Join-Up in Gentleness, we learn to allow the Spirit of God to infuse the character of Christ’s gentleness into our daily lives. Gentleness is an outer garment that believers wear in every relationship. It isn’t meant to be an inner garment that only those who are closest to us experience, it should be the first thing people experience when they meet us.
Let your Gentleness be known to all. The Lord is near.
– Colossians 3:12