February 8, 2024 … Brought Low and Lifted Up

February 8, 2024 … Brought Low and Lifted Up  

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in this song with lyrics from Jeremy Camp singing … Lay Down My Pride …  powerfully singing of how we Christians must be willing to humbly lay down our pride in order to be lifted up by God to receive God’s enabling grace.      

As in the linked song above ... 

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Highlight Passage: … Proverbs 29:23 [NLT] … 

23 Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor.            

… Solomon teaches how pride bring one low but humility brings honor from God.  

Highlight Passage (in context) …Proverbs 29:18-27 … USE THIS LINK … 

… God’s word, penned by Solomon, on how pride brings humiliation.                                           

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Reference Passage: … Proverbs 11:2, 16:18 [NLT] …   USE THIS LINK … 

… Solomon often warns all believers of avoiding to let pride get in the way of our choices.      

Reference Passage: … Matthew 23:11-12 [NLT] … USE THIS Link …  

11 The greatest among you must be a servant. 12 But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. 

… Jesus teaches the religious leaders - and all of us - to avoid letting our pride get in the way of humbly follow God, our Heavenly Father.  

Reference Passage: … Romans 12:16 [NLT] …  

16 Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!   

… The Apostle Paul charges fellow Christians (that’s us!) to avoid letting our pride get in the way of fellowship with others.  

Reference Passage: … James 4:6  [NLT] …  

6 And He gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say,  “God opposes the proud
 but gives grace to the humble.”  

… James quotes from Solomon in Proverbs 3:34, teaching that God will lift up give His grace to the humble and ignore the prideful.     

Reference Passage: … 1John 2:15-17 [NLT] …   USE THIS LINK …

…The Apostle John warns fellow Christians to avoid prideful and worldly pursuits, teaching that such prideful pursuits will lead to death where those who choose to humbly follow the Lord will live forever.    

My Devotional Journal: Today’s Our Daily Bread  Author , Marvin Williams -  AT THIS LINK -  tells of a prideful young runner in Norway challenging Karsten Warholm, the world record holder in the 400 meter hurdles, to a race.  And after Warholm defeated the prideful young man soundly, the young man had the excuse of getting a poor start and wanted a rematch.         

This story was the ODB illustration of how we can be - and often are - humiliated when we let our pride lead our choices in life. So often in God’s word, … see Scriptures above … the Lord’s spokesmen, … even Jesus Himself, … warn God’s people to avoid letting our pride get in the way of humbly choosing to follow our Lord and His Spirit by humbling ourselves to receive God’s enabling grace.   The question from the ODB entry is … what will lead us today … our pride or our humility? Personally, I choose the latter, … how about you?       

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for lifting me up when I humbly choose to follow You, … my LORD!       

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray. again today, that all reading here will join me, … to avoid letting our pride get in the way of following You, dear Lord!      Amen  

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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.