THE MEEK ARE NOT WEAK; THEY WILL INHERIT THE EARTH!

SCRIPTURE:
You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. Surely you heard of Him 
and were taught in Him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You 
were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old 
self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in 
the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like 
God in true righteousness and holiness. 
(Ephesians 4:20-24)

MEDITATION:
Before his conversion, Paul was far from being meek.
He proudly and brutally apprehended great numbers of Christians 
with the intent to destroy them.
He was bigoted, selfish, self-centered 
and praised by others for his efforts.

But when he wrote his warm and affectionate letter 
to the churches of Galatia, he said, among other things, 
“The fruit of the Spirit includes love, kindness, goodness and gentleness.”
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, 
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 
(Galatians 5:22-23)

Paul became a person of meekness; 
which was something God-given and not something man-made. 
It is not our nature to be meek. 
On the contrary, it is our nature to be proud and haughty. 
That is why the new birth is so essential to each of us.
 
We can understand why Jesus frankly and pointedly said not only to Nicodemus, 
but to every one of us as well, “You must be born again.”
You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 
(John 3:7)
Just like Paul, our meekness begins when we are reborn. 
Being reborn is confirmed by a change in our nature.

The reborn “meek” Paul was still a person of strength.
Meekness indicates a person is strong and not weak; 
they have strength that is now under the control of the Spirit.
Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” 
(Matthew 5:5)

ACTION:
If you have not experienced a change in your nature, 
then quite possibly you have not been reborn.
You are still living your life with the nature you were born with; 
you have not allowed things like humility, self-control, meekness, etc. 
to develop in your life.
When you are reborn, the Spirit starts changing you 
by replacing your old nature with a new one that is more pleasing to God.

The nature we are born with is not only opposite of the nature of a person 
who is reborn, but it can also include any of the following:
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and 
debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits 
of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, 
orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live 
like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, convict me if I have not been transformed by Your 
Spirit. Make me aware of the fruits of the Spirit that have not become
part of my new nature. Help me to understand the importance of having 
a new nature and how living with this new nature will serve as a witness 
to others that I have surrendered my life to You, Lord Jesus. Father, 
give me the same kind of meekness that Jesus showed.”