Study from God’s Word… Luke, Chapters 13 – 18 and Matthew 20: 1-16 … Passage for Reflection: Luke 16: 13 … NIV “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
My Journal for Today: If you take the time to read/study the chapters in Luke and from Matthew 20 from today’s study of the New Testament, you have to come to the inescapable conclusion that our time here on earth is limited; as well as the message that, during the time we have, we somehow must understand, receive, and apply the truths being taught by Jesus in these passages, which were directed primarily to the Pharisees, who where were lost in themselves. There is story after story in these passages, Jesus’ parables, which espoused God’s kingdom values; and the Pharisees just could not – or rather chose not to – humble themselves to the place of being able to believe what Jesus was telling them and warning them.
Jesus didn’t hate the Pharisees. He loved them … enough to give them the stark truth; but they simply could not – or would not – set their pride aside and receive God’s truth in humility. Jesus, and later His Disciples and Apostles, told the people, especially the religious leaders, to humble themselves; and His message was that the first will be last and the last will be first. And we heard the Lord espouse the truth that man can’t worship and serve God and money.
My friends, do we get it? Or are we, like the Pharisees, mired in pride and selfishness, … unwilling to hear or receive the repeated cries from Jesus in the New Testament for us to get our act together before it’s too late. There will be a day when it truly is too late. And those of us who know the truth and have received it in humility must be in prayer, doggedly and persistently, for those we know who have rejected God’s message of repentance and grace. We must do all we can to share the Gospel truth Jesus was communicating to the lost in His day so that the lost in our day can hear the truth of hope and salvation.
Oh, how I pray that all who read here have received this wonderful news with a humble and contrite heart; and I pray that all of us who have are sharing this news with all we can in our world and in our day.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, help us to spread the truth of the Gospel in our time. Amen
Showing posts with label humilty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label humilty. Show all posts
Sunday, November 07, 2010
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
2009 – Day 293.Oct 21 – Humble Reliance
2nd Passage for Study: Acts 9: 28 – 31 [NKJV] ... 28 So he [Paul] was with them [Christ’s disciples] at Jerusalem, coming in and going out. 29 And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him. 30 When the brethren found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus. 31 Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.
My Journal for Today: Today we have a lesson repeated by my devotional teacher, Chuck Swindoll, in his book, Great Days with the Great Lives; and it’s a lesson which Swindoll has taught from every one of the great character studies he has undertaken. Joseph, Moses, David, Elijah, Esther, Job, and now Paul; they all had to learn this lesson, which is that HUMILITY is the key to unlocking God’s treasure chest of grace. And if you’ve been following all these daily devotional entries with me, we’ve seen that each of these great characters in the Bible had to learn the humility lesson by going through some pretty tough lessons plans from the Master Teacher, … God!
Oh, how I desire to be humble; but I must admit that I know, from these character studies, and from my own experience, that it is far less painful if we can learn God’s priority on humility by CHOOSING to accept the principle that God’s grace is sufficient and that we must CHOOSE to receive God’s grace if we are to be able to handle the challenges of life with God’s power to replace our own weakness (see that lesson in 2nd Cor. 12: 9), a teaching which the Apostle Paul taught to the Corinthian backsliders, which came right out of his own experiences.
My friend, how many times have I said this in my morning devotional? “We will choose to humbly receive God’s grace or He will humble us to a place in life we simply will have to reach out to receive that grace!” That’s what Saul, who became Paul, learned in today’s scenario; … that he needed to rely on other leaders in the church and to go where those leaders – and God – told Paul to go. As you read today, they sent him to Tarsus; and he had to lay low for a period of time, letting God’s plan for His church unfold. That assignment might seem, on the surface, to be a curious one. To be sent to his home town and to have to stay in the background; wow, that just wasn’t in the M.O. of this former Jewish leader. However, he did it; and because he did, God used the time to teach Paul and to build up the church with Paul sitting back and watching others come to the fore to get that plan accomplished.
Are we trying hard to run ahead of God’s planning and His purpose? Would we like to be out there in the limelight, being a leader in the church, rather than having to sit back and learn lessons from God? Well, my friend, perhaps that is God’s plan for you; but take it from a disciple who’s been led to become a discipler of others? We have to follow God first before we can become a leader of others. If we’re to move to at the frontlines in battle, leading others into the fray, we first have to learn to follow other leaders and walk the walk of faith, IN HUMILITY, before we will ever lead with effectiveness.
Paul was able to write the book of Romans and to travel the known world as God’s evangelist to the Gentiles because he learned how to humbly follow God’s plan and to accept God’s timing. Paul became a leader of others, like the Corinthian church (see 1st Cor. 11: 1) or the young Pastor, Timothy, (see all of 2nd Timothy) because He had learned to HUMBLY follow Christ and then to HUMBLY accept the mantle of leadership.
Let’s get it straight, dear ones. We must learn that obedience follows humility; and it is God’s blessing, from His grace, which results from obedience. So, when we’re led to follow our Lord, may we choose to follow – in surrender and humility - and then, if it’s God’s plan, we may someday be chosen to lead others into a deeper, more fruitful relationship with our Lord.
My Prayer for Today: Oh, Lord, help me learn to be humble; and then may I choose to BE humble so that You can give me the grace I need to lead others. Amen
My Journal for Today: Today we have a lesson repeated by my devotional teacher, Chuck Swindoll, in his book, Great Days with the Great Lives; and it’s a lesson which Swindoll has taught from every one of the great character studies he has undertaken. Joseph, Moses, David, Elijah, Esther, Job, and now Paul; they all had to learn this lesson, which is that HUMILITY is the key to unlocking God’s treasure chest of grace. And if you’ve been following all these daily devotional entries with me, we’ve seen that each of these great characters in the Bible had to learn the humility lesson by going through some pretty tough lessons plans from the Master Teacher, … God!
Oh, how I desire to be humble; but I must admit that I know, from these character studies, and from my own experience, that it is far less painful if we can learn God’s priority on humility by CHOOSING to accept the principle that God’s grace is sufficient and that we must CHOOSE to receive God’s grace if we are to be able to handle the challenges of life with God’s power to replace our own weakness (see that lesson in 2nd Cor. 12: 9), a teaching which the Apostle Paul taught to the Corinthian backsliders, which came right out of his own experiences.
My friend, how many times have I said this in my morning devotional? “We will choose to humbly receive God’s grace or He will humble us to a place in life we simply will have to reach out to receive that grace!” That’s what Saul, who became Paul, learned in today’s scenario; … that he needed to rely on other leaders in the church and to go where those leaders – and God – told Paul to go. As you read today, they sent him to Tarsus; and he had to lay low for a period of time, letting God’s plan for His church unfold. That assignment might seem, on the surface, to be a curious one. To be sent to his home town and to have to stay in the background; wow, that just wasn’t in the M.O. of this former Jewish leader. However, he did it; and because he did, God used the time to teach Paul and to build up the church with Paul sitting back and watching others come to the fore to get that plan accomplished.
Are we trying hard to run ahead of God’s planning and His purpose? Would we like to be out there in the limelight, being a leader in the church, rather than having to sit back and learn lessons from God? Well, my friend, perhaps that is God’s plan for you; but take it from a disciple who’s been led to become a discipler of others? We have to follow God first before we can become a leader of others. If we’re to move to at the frontlines in battle, leading others into the fray, we first have to learn to follow other leaders and walk the walk of faith, IN HUMILITY, before we will ever lead with effectiveness.
Paul was able to write the book of Romans and to travel the known world as God’s evangelist to the Gentiles because he learned how to humbly follow God’s plan and to accept God’s timing. Paul became a leader of others, like the Corinthian church (see 1st Cor. 11: 1) or the young Pastor, Timothy, (see all of 2nd Timothy) because He had learned to HUMBLY follow Christ and then to HUMBLY accept the mantle of leadership.
Let’s get it straight, dear ones. We must learn that obedience follows humility; and it is God’s blessing, from His grace, which results from obedience. So, when we’re led to follow our Lord, may we choose to follow – in surrender and humility - and then, if it’s God’s plan, we may someday be chosen to lead others into a deeper, more fruitful relationship with our Lord.
My Prayer for Today: Oh, Lord, help me learn to be humble; and then may I choose to BE humble so that You can give me the grace I need to lead others. Amen
Friday, July 10, 2009
2009 – Day 190.July 10 – Ask and Trust
2009 – Day 190.July 10 – Ask and Trust
Passage of the Day: Esther 2: 12 - 18 … Linked for study …
My Journal for Today: Today in my devotional from his book, Great Days with the Great Lives, Chuck Swindoll points out two things which are essential to becoming the man or woman God has purposed for our lives; and we see these two unfolding in the life of Esther in today’s highlight passage.
The two are to ask and to trust; and like many things about our relationship with God and His transformational power in our lives, the formula is pretty simple; but in the out working, it is far from easy. Ask and trust sounds so simple, doesn’t it? However, when it comes to surrendering to God’s design for our lives (i.e., asking the Lord to reshape us into His image – see 1st Pet. 5: 7) and then trusting God totally with the reshaping process (found in Rom. 8: 28 and 1st Cor. 10: 13), this process, which was illustrated by Esther, is so, so difficult because it requires human surrender and super-human strength, both of which are fashioned by Godly grace, not by human power.
Esther grew to the place where she had favor in the eyes of King Xerxes because she was willing to put herself totally in the hands of God, seen in the preparation of the King’s Eunuch. This Christian ability, which is essential in discipleship, is AVAILABILITY. We cannot become usable for God unless we’re available for Him to do what it takes to transform us into His own image. And that was Esther as she surrendered to Mordecai’s charge and the Eunuch’s preparation. We will never become God’s servant unless we’re willing to ask (in surrender) for His will to be done.
Then, the second ability which must be fostered in the life of the Christian is that of VULNERABILITY; and this is the process of trusting God that He will do whatever it takes to bring us to a place where we can be used BY Him FOR Him. Esther was willing and able to humble herself, again with an attitude of surrender, into the reshaping hands of Her God; and because of this, God poured His transformational grace into this young heroine. My dear one, as we know from God’s word (see Prov. 3: 34 or James 4: 6 or 1st Peter 5: 6, “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
We cannot and will not become all God needs for us to be for His purpose, if we resist - in pride - the molding process of the Master. As we’ve noted in past days, looking at Esther, it takes Christlike humility and meekness, to ask and trust God to do HIS THING in our lives … to reshape us into exactly what HE needs for us to be to glorify HIM in all we do. And as we see in Esther’s life, when we humbly ask God and meekly trust Him, His grace is poured into our lives and we can be used for His glory.
Today, I plan to ask God to do whatever it takes to reshape me for service. Will you join me?
Today, and from here on, I plan to trust that God is going to do whatever He deems necessary to remake me into His image. Are you with me?
And as God’s perfect timing would have it for me in my devotional time with God this morning, with my earphones on, listening to Christian praise songs on my Ipod, a song began playing at exactly this moment in my journaling. It was an Alisa Dishong rendering of the old hymn, I Surrender All. You can hear a rather crude version, and read the lyrics by going to this website – linked . What a great way for my Lord to make His point for me. May my Lord be praised!
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I know Your grace can only come when I surrender. So, here I am; … reshape me … use me. Amen
Passage of the Day: Esther 2: 12 - 18 … Linked for study …
My Journal for Today: Today in my devotional from his book, Great Days with the Great Lives, Chuck Swindoll points out two things which are essential to becoming the man or woman God has purposed for our lives; and we see these two unfolding in the life of Esther in today’s highlight passage.
The two are to ask and to trust; and like many things about our relationship with God and His transformational power in our lives, the formula is pretty simple; but in the out working, it is far from easy. Ask and trust sounds so simple, doesn’t it? However, when it comes to surrendering to God’s design for our lives (i.e., asking the Lord to reshape us into His image – see 1st Pet. 5: 7) and then trusting God totally with the reshaping process (found in Rom. 8: 28 and 1st Cor. 10: 13), this process, which was illustrated by Esther, is so, so difficult because it requires human surrender and super-human strength, both of which are fashioned by Godly grace, not by human power.
Esther grew to the place where she had favor in the eyes of King Xerxes because she was willing to put herself totally in the hands of God, seen in the preparation of the King’s Eunuch. This Christian ability, which is essential in discipleship, is AVAILABILITY. We cannot become usable for God unless we’re available for Him to do what it takes to transform us into His own image. And that was Esther as she surrendered to Mordecai’s charge and the Eunuch’s preparation. We will never become God’s servant unless we’re willing to ask (in surrender) for His will to be done.
Then, the second ability which must be fostered in the life of the Christian is that of VULNERABILITY; and this is the process of trusting God that He will do whatever it takes to bring us to a place where we can be used BY Him FOR Him. Esther was willing and able to humble herself, again with an attitude of surrender, into the reshaping hands of Her God; and because of this, God poured His transformational grace into this young heroine. My dear one, as we know from God’s word (see Prov. 3: 34 or James 4: 6 or 1st Peter 5: 6, “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
We cannot and will not become all God needs for us to be for His purpose, if we resist - in pride - the molding process of the Master. As we’ve noted in past days, looking at Esther, it takes Christlike humility and meekness, to ask and trust God to do HIS THING in our lives … to reshape us into exactly what HE needs for us to be to glorify HIM in all we do. And as we see in Esther’s life, when we humbly ask God and meekly trust Him, His grace is poured into our lives and we can be used for His glory.
Today, I plan to ask God to do whatever it takes to reshape me for service. Will you join me?
Today, and from here on, I plan to trust that God is going to do whatever He deems necessary to remake me into His image. Are you with me?
And as God’s perfect timing would have it for me in my devotional time with God this morning, with my earphones on, listening to Christian praise songs on my Ipod, a song began playing at exactly this moment in my journaling. It was an Alisa Dishong rendering of the old hymn, I Surrender All. You can hear a rather crude version, and read the lyrics by going to this website – linked . What a great way for my Lord to make His point for me. May my Lord be praised!
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I know Your grace can only come when I surrender. So, here I am; … reshape me … use me. Amen
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