Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ... Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Tim McGraw singing … Humble and Kind … poignantly singing of how we, as disciples of Christ, should be like Him … humble and kind.
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Highlight Verse[s]: James 1:21 [NLT] ... 21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.
… God, thru James, shows us that we receive the power to deal with temptation and trials thru the same kind of humility Christ had from His heavenly father.
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Highlight Passage [context]: James 1:2-5, 12-21 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… James, Jesus’ brother on earth, shows fellow Christians how to deal with the trials and temptations which come from persecution and tribulation in our lives.
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Reference Passage : … Matthew 11:29 [NLT] … 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
… In Scripture, Jesus only used two characteristics to verbally describe Himself - being “humble and kind,” just as Tim McGraw sings in the linked song.
Reference Passage : … Luke 9:23 [NLT] … 23 Then He said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.
… Jesus pointed to our ability to humbly surrender self to Him as Lord and Savior to be able to handle the crosses [i.e., trials/temptations] we must bare daily.
Reference Passage : … 1 Corinthians 10:13 [NLT] ... 13 The temptations [also translated “trials, tests, or troubles”] in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation [or “trial”] to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted [or “tested”], He will show you a way out so that you can endure.
… Paul shows fellow Christians that God is ALWAYS faithful to give us His grace to deal with the temptations and trials of life.
Reference Passage : … Philippians 2:5-11 [NLT] ... USE THIS LINK …
… Paul helps fellow Christians realize that Jesus humbly set aside His glory and majesty, surrendering to die on a cross, to fulfill His Father’s plan to save mankind from our sin. And Paul exhorts all Christian to have that same humility [see v. 5].
Reference Passage : … 1Peter 5:5-6 [NLT] ... USE THIS LINK …
… Peter quotes Solomon (see Prov. 3:34) to show fellow Christians that we can never receive God’s empowering grace thru pride … only thru humility.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Monica LaRose, uses the teachings of a 15th century Monk to show us how we deal with the temptations of life, getting God’s empowering grace thru humility and patience. … The ODB author wrote: Fifteenth-century monk Thomas à Kempis, in the beloved classic The Imitation of Christ, offers a perspective on temptation that might be a bit surprising. Instead of focusing on the pain and difficulties temptation can lead to, he writes, “[temptations] are useful because they can make us humble, they can cleanse us, and they can teach us.” Kempis explains, “The key to victory is true humility and patience; in them we overcome the enemy.”
If you were asked, “how do we best deal with temptations[?],” how would you, as a Christian, respond? And some might correctly say, “Like Jesus!” And I would heartily agree. We get our power to deal with the tough issues in life by doing what Jesus said in Luke 9:23 … by denying our selfish ways (that’s “humility”) and taking up our cross daily (that’s “patience”) and following Jesus (that’s “surrender”). And Jesus certainly showed us the way, didn’t He (see Phil. 2:6-11); … the very Son of God, setting aside His glory, becoming human, and even humbly dying on the cross to save mankind.
And that’s what Tim McGraw pleads with us to do in the linked song, doesn’t he? The question is … will we let our pride get in the way of God giving us - today - the power we need to deal with life by humbly and patiently surrendering to receive our Lord’s empowering grace? I pray not!!
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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for faithfully giving me Your grace to help me carry my crosses today.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me, … to humbly surrender and take in the grace/power to deal with the crosses of life 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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