Tuesday, July 14, 2020

July 14, 2020 … Humbling Life Lessons

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 196 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Charl Folscher singing … Humble King … poignantly singing of how we, as Christians, serve the Sovereign God Who became our Humble King.

Learning from humiliation ... 

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Highlight Passage : … James 4:5-6 [ESV] ...  5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But He gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 
… James quotes from Proverbs 3:34 (see below) to fellow Christians that we must remain humble so as to receive God’s wisdom.
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Highlight Passage [context] : … James 4:4-12 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK
… God teaches, thru James, that God gives His grace to the humble, … not the proud. 
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Reference Passage : … Proverbs 3:34, 11:2, 22:4 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK
… God teaches, thru Solomon, that we must remain humble to receive God’s grace.

Reference Passage : … Isaiah 66:2 [NLT] ...  2 My hands have made both heaven and earth; they and everything in them are mine …  I, the Lord, have spoken! “I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word. 
… God speaks clearly thru the Prophet as to whom He will bless … i.e., the humble ones who reverence His word.

Reference Passage : … Matthew 11:29 [ESV] ...  29 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.  
… For those who desire to be like Christ, He describes Himself as gentle and humble …

Reference Passage : … Ephesians 4:1-2 [ESV] ...  1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,  
… The Apostle Paul charged fellow Christians to walk, in life, with a manner worthy of Christlikeness and that is with humility and gentleness.

Reference Passage : … 1Peter 5:5 -6 [ESV] ...  5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” … 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, … 
… Peter also quotes from Prov 3:34 to show Christians that we must remain humble to receive God’s grace of wisdom.

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, David H Roper, AT THIS LINK  describes a personal public speaking experiencing which was humiliating, yet helped the author to grow as a person.

And if you’ve taken in the linked song and meditated on the Scriptures above, I hope you see - as have I - that we Christians will only receive God’s enabling grace in life when we choose to humble ourselves as did our humble King. My friend, it’s only when we set aside our pride and reverence God’s word that we can receive His empowering grace.

So, … humiliating experiences, like the one described by the ODB author, will ultimately - and very likely - be those which bring us more closely in line with Christlikeness. And I pray that we all can do all we can today to humble ourselves and to serve our humble King Jesus.

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for giving me life lessons which keep me humble enough to receive Your grace.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me, to remain humble enough to receive God’s enabling grace today. Amen

Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries.  If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.</ span>

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