The Cooling Stream

Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5)

Meekness is not weakness.

Meekness is an attitude of humility toward God and gentleness toward men, springing from a recognition that God is in control.

It is strength and courage under control, coupled with kindness.

Meekness is an attitude toward God in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting.

We see this in the Lord Jesus Christ who found His delight in doing the will of His Father.

The meekness manifested by the Lord Jesus Christ and commended to the believer is the fruit of power.

The Lord Jesus Christ was meek because He had the infinite resources of God at His command.

He could have called angels from heaven to prevent His crucifixion.

The Lord Jesus Christ told His weary, burdened followers, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matt. 11:29).

The Lord Jesus Christ is the perfect model of meekness.

As a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:23), meekness is a virtue that should characterize the Christian.

And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”(Matthew 8:2)

Here we have a leper who didn't hesitant to interrupt Jesus with his needs.

His disease made him desperate.

He had been ostracized from society and was in emotional distress.

He saw the Lord Jesus Christ busy with great multitudes.

But he made his way through the crowd to talk with Him.

He came and worshipped Him.

He approached the Lord Jesus Christ in worship, with trust in His power, and with humility, acknowledging that the choice to help belonged to the Lord Jesus Christ.

He said, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."

In compassion, the Lord Jesus Christ touched him, though he was "untouchable" by the standards of the Jewish law.

The leper was cleansed immediately.

Like the leper, we don't need to hesitate to approach the Lord Jesus Christ with our desire for His help.

Let us go to Him in humility and worship.

Let us have confidence in His power.

Let us trust in Him; He will make the best choices for us.

Let us surrender to His will.

We are sons of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The law is no longer our tutor.

God the Holy Spirit is now our tutor.

He gives us the faith to believe in Christ Jesus.

He tutors us all through our life.

Salvation is from faith to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We are all baptized into Christ.

We died together with Him.

We live together with Him.

Our commitment is to put on Christ.

We are one in Christ.

There is now no distinction between the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians.

There is now no distinction between the free men and those who are servants or slaves.

There is now no domination of the men over the women.

In Christ Jesus, we are one body.

We are one in Christ.

And we are Abraham's seed.

And we are heirs according to the promise.

All of grace.

Not by the works of the law.

But through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, alone!

Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed. (Galatians 2:11)

The apostle Peter came to the Gentile Christians in Antioch.

The apostle Paul confronted the apostle Peter because he was to be blamed.

But when they came, he withdrew and separated himself.

He feared those who insisted on the rite of  circumcision for salvation.

And the rest of the Jewish Christians followed him.

Even Barnabas was led astray with their hypocrisy.

What the apostle Peter did was wrong.

He was not honest about the truth of the Gospel.

He had compromised it with the tradition of men.

By His action, he had led many Christians astray.

Salvation is by grace through faith. 

No more and no less. 

No compromise and no excuse needed!

What we have to do is to be honest about the Gospel of God,

And we insist on explaining the whole truth of God in love!

The apostle Paul confronted Peter before everyone else.

The apostle Peter had shown favoritism toward the Jewish Christians.

He had separated himself from the Gentile Christians.

He had put a stumbling block before the Gentile Christians.

He had exalted the Jewish Christians.

He had compelled the Gentile Christians to live like the Jewish Christians!

Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead), and all the brethren who are with me,

To the churches of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (Galatians 1:1-5)

The letter to the Galatians was written by Paul.

Paul was an apostle. 

The apostle Paul included his brethren in his letter. It is a good practice to emphasise teamwork and unity among Christians.

The letter to the Galatians was a secular letter to the churches in Galatia.

The apostle Paul greeted the Galatian Christians with the grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. All good things come from God, and it is always a good practice to admit our dependence and submission to God.

Galatian 1:3-5 deserves our attention: "our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen".