March 13, 2012 … The Red Flag of Blessing

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Deuteronomy, Chapters 8-10 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Deuteronomy 8: 10-14: … [Beware the Good Times!] … 10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

My Journal for Today: As I was reading through my directed chronological read in God’s word this morning [Chapters 8-10 of Deuteronomy], there were a number of lessons about which I could blog. However, the issue of being aware of blessing struck me as the one on which I should journal because it’s a matter which hangs me up frequently; and that is why I’m calling this entry “The Red Flag of Blessing.”

In all of Deuteronomy 8 (upon which you can study/meditate by the link above), Moses is trying to get God’s people to remember that God takes His children through the tough times to prepare them for the good times. And Moses clearly reminds his people that as God took them through all those years in the wilderness, the Lord provided everything they needed … even though the times seemed so hard. But one warning God lays out through Moses can be found in the highlight passage I’ve copied above from Deut. 8: 10-14; and that has to do with watching out for what is produced when we are led through life when “the good times roll.”

In our culture, and especially our Christian culture, we have a tendency to think of “blessings” as all the warm and fuzzies and goodies which come during those “good times” in life. It’s when we feel “blessed” by abundance, good health, and well being. But when we’re in times of privation, problems, or pain, it’s very hard to feel and acknowledge that we’re being BLESSED by those hard times.

So, as Christians do we really take to heart what Moses writes about for God’s people in Deuteronomy 8; and in our internalization of these truths, as well as passages in God’s New Testament, for example Romans 8: 28, do we see the tough times as times of “blessing?”

AND … when we’re being blessed by the warm and fuzzy times, when God is allowing us to see “the good times roll,” are we duly grateful, openly expressing our thanks to God for all of what is easy to see as “blessings?” … No, … I think Moses nails it in the section of Scripture which I’ve emboldened and underlined above in Deut. 8: 12-14. When the good times roll, with our deceitful hearts (see Jer. 17: 9), we have a tendency to default to becoming prideful; and we generally think we – our SELVES – have created the good times rather than acknowledging Jehovah Jireh, our Lord and Provider.

Hence, I call attention to the “RED FLAG OF BLESSING;” and I hope we can take heed from the teachings of Deuteronomy 8, … that the tough times teach us humility and the good times call for that humility to recognize – with gratitude – from Whom all “blessings” flow – good times and bad.

And in that regard may I link you to a wonderful song, written and performed by Laura Story, whose personal witness is found in the lyrics. Here’s the link: … and then I want you to hear Laura’s story at this link. And when you hear Laura Story’s song and witness about “blessings,” you will see that she has experienced the “blessings” of the tough times as well as the gratitude for seeing God’s “blessings” in the good times.

I pray that we all can see the truth and believe Paul’s words in Romans 8: 28 and live in all the “blessings” of this life – the tough times and the good times as the Prophet Moses wrote about for us in Deuteronomy 8.

My Prayer Today: … Thank you for all your “blessings,” Lord … the good times and the tough times. Amen

February 2, 2012 … God In the Humility Business

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Exodus, Chapters 10-12 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Exodus 12: 31-32 … 51-52: … [Broken and Believing] ... 31 During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested.32 Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me."
… 50 All the Israelites did just what the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. 51 And on that very day the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions.

My Journal for Today: Reading through Chapters 10-12 of Exodus in my chronological Bible reading plan this morning, I was struck by how deep was the pride of Pharaoh and how patient, yet relentless, was God in doing what it took to show Pharaoh that his pride was the only human element which kept God from getting what the Lord desired – i.e., freedom for His people, the children of God’s covenant promise.

My friend, … do we get this message? God is God; and we are not!! And the only way God is going to prevail in our lives – giving us the blessings of His promises – will only happen when (or IF) we’re willing to yield to His will in humility. Perhaps you remember that little saying my friend, Loretta, who’s now with the Lord, used to say to my wife and me. We called it “Loretta 1: 1,” and she would say, “First obedience, … then the blessing.” And to me, that’s the simple – but very hard to learn – lesson from today’s reading. At least it’s tough for this chronically prideful heart to learn this lesson, which all too often has to be broken by God’s humility training in life. How many times have I had to redo God’s humility lessons, teaching me that it’s so much better – and less painful – for me to CHOOSE, on the front end, to be humble, receiving God’s enlightening, enabling, and empowering grace, freely offered by God to allow me to find and carry out His will for my life? And when I do humble myself, freely and willingly, God is so willing to pour out His grace into my life.

HOWEVER, when, like Pharaoh, I buck up an attitude of pridefulness, thinking, in my mind, “Hey, God, I can handle this one (whatever the life circumstance might be),” I’m in for troubles, testing, and all the tribulations God will have bring into my life before I can get God’s lessons of Prov. 3: 34, James 4: 4-6, and 1st Peter 5: 5-7 [and I really hope, if you don’t have these passages memorized, you will go to them and meditate on them].

Unfortunately, Pharaoh never had the benefit of having learned those lessons, which I have so freely available to me from God’s word (and His truth). But Pharaoh learned – the hard way – that God is seriously into the humility business; and the Egyptian king finally moved from brokenness to belief – through all those plagues and problems – learning to be humble and yield to God’s way and His will.

I hope we all – you and me – learn this lesson from God’s truth and we CHOOSE to obey God’s will and His way, which we most often get from His word, BEFORE we have to be humbled by God’s lessons of trials, tribulations, and temptations, … all those fires of life God often has to use to get our attention and to purify us for His purposes in life. I don’t know about you, my dear one; … but I plan to get in on that obedience business as early and as often as I can so that I can receive – willingly – God’s blessings for my life.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, the more I know of Your will for my life from Your word, I will walk humbly and obediently in Your way. Amen

January 11, 2012 … Learning to Be Humble

Passage of the Day: Chapter/Verse Reference: Job, Chapters 29-31 … To study these chapters, go to this link -
Job 29: … [Job, reflecting on his past – desiring to have it back again]
4 Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house,
5 when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me,
6 when my path was drenched with cream and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil.
Job 30: … [Job is a broken man]
14They come at me from all directions. They rush upon me when I am down. 15I live in terror now. They hold me in contempt, and my prosperity has vanished as a cloud before a strong wind.
16“And now my heart is broken. Depression haunts my days. 17My weary nights are filled with pain as though something were relentlessly gnawing at my bones. 18With a strong hand, God grabs my garment. He grips me by the collar of my tunic. 19He has thrown me into the mud. I have become as dust and ashes.
20“I cry to you, O God, but You don’t answer me. I stand before You, and You don’t bother to look. 21You have become cruel toward me. You persecute me with Your great power.
Job 31: … [Job recognizes his position before God]
1 “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman.
2 For what is our lot from God above, our heritage from the Almighty on high?
3 Is it not ruin for the wicked, disaster for those who do wrong?
4 Does He not see my ways and count my every step?
- - -
24 “If I have put my trust in gold or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security,’
25 if I have rejoiced over my great wealth, the fortune my hands had gained,
26 if I have regarded the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor,
27 so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand offered them a kiss of homage,
28 then these also would be sins to be judged, for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.

My Journal for Today: Today’s study in the life of Job from Chapters 29-31 in the Book by his name are Job’s reflections on his life in the midst of the fog of confusion and despair in which he finds himself. And if you want the full force of the lesson God is teaching Job to help him see how pridefulness is easily a fault of those who try so hard to walk the walk of righteousness, these chapters certainly teach us the challenges of having to rely on God to teach us how to be humble.

If you take the time to read through these chapters, as I have today, you will likely – as I have definitely – find Job’s reflections to be very revealing and self convicting. Job here is looking back over his life and reflecting on where he was, longing for the “old days” when he was a respected Elder in his community. And he now sees that he’s totally broken, having lost all respect from the young in his community and culture. And he also sees that past glories, past goodness, and past greatness are not where God desires for our life to be centered.

Job is beginning to get the picture God is painting for him about life, the likely purpose why God has allowed Satan to enter Job’s life and to bring him down to this place in life where Job was forced to look UP at God and see His Lord for Whom He really was/is. And this is dangerous precipice of pride we climb toward when we are walking – as was Job – the walk of Godly pursuits. Job did “have it all.” He was living “the good life;” and he was able to command the respect of everyone around him. But we see that God wanted Job to see his dependence on God and to humbly pursue their relationship rather than to rely on worldly goods or to rely on the respect of other men. God was giving Job a lesson in humility, one which Job apparently was not able to learn on his own; but God was – at this point in Job’s life – the Rabbi Job needed to learn eternally valuable lessons in humility. And in these three chapters, Job comes from reflecting on his past goodness to see that all that he is – or ever was – was in God’s hands.

Oh, how I pray that I can learn this lesson intentionally and with voluntary humility rather that having to be placed in the forge of God’s fire for purification as He molds me into my Savior’s image. It is said – about the Christian – that God will either reward our humility or He will teach us to be humble, like Jesus, by the lessons of trial and fire. Job apparently had to learn this lesson the hard way. I pray I can learn it by my own desires to choose to humbly seek out my relationship with my Lord.

My Prayer Today: Oh, my God, I recognize how dangerous is my prayer for humility. But I humbly pray that I can learn to CHOOSE humility rather than have to walk through the fire – Your fire - to learn the lessons of how to be humble like my Lord. Amen

December 23, 2011 … Responding to Christ’s Exaltation

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 10 - 11 [see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

My Journal for Today: Today’s passage, and John MacArthur’s teachings on the Phil. 2: 10 – 11 passage in today’s Strength for Today entry, point to the inevitable response that all created beings ultimately will have before the throne of the risen and exalted “Lord,” and that is to humbly “bow” in worship. The Apostle Paul’s declaration of this truth here as well in Romans 14: 11 where Paul quotes from Isaiah 45:23, writing “It is written: 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.' “ Paul’s forceful statement and quote from Scripture exempts NO ONE!

The subjunctive mood, involving the phrase “every knee should bow” means that such worship WILL take place at some point in God’s future plan for mankind as prophesied first by God through Isaiah (again 45: 23) . Some will have done so voluntarily, as has yours truly. However, some – and many more unfortunately – will come before the glorified and exalted Christ, bowing in stark terror to recognize His Lordship, realizing that God’s wrath awaits their rejection or willful apathy of Christ during their lives. And sadly these latter souls may have known Jesus as a historical figure or as a man if they were privileged to have seen Him walk on this earth. Some may have even recognized Him as the Savior of all mankind. However, unless they have acknowledged Christ as their “Lord” during their lifetime [as we’ve been studying here the past few days], their bowing in worship at His second coming will have been too late to receive the grace of His salvation.

That’s why Paul exhorts in Phil. 2: 5 – 11 for all believers to take on the humility of Christlikeness by choice while living, worshipping Christ as “Lord” in life so that the believer can receive His saving grace, serve the Lord in life [see Romans 12: 1], and worship The LORD forever in Heaven. Prayerfully, reading this, you know - that you know that you know - that you’ve humbly received Christ as Savior AND Lord. As I wrote yesterday … if you haven’t done so, DO IT NOW, so that when that time comes in glory you will be counted among those who humbly received the salvation offered by our Lord.

Yes, you guessed it by now – there’s even more Christology to come. Stay tuned!

My Prayer Today: Lord, I will humbly declare it again and often – You are my Lord! Amen

December 10, 2011 … The Humility of Christ

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 8b [ NIV - see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!

My Journal for Today: As Christians, all of us aspire to grow in Christlikeness. In the Phil. 2 passage from which we’ve been studying this month, verse 5 says that our attitudes as Christians should be the same as that of our Lord. So, as individuals, and collectively as the Body of Christ, we should be doing all we can to capture and live with the attitude of Christ. And here in this wondrous passage, the Apostle Paul tells believers that the #1 attitude to which we ought to aspire is that of HUMILITY; and I’m here to tell you that this is one of the toughest lessons I have to learn as a disciple of our Lord.

You may already know that humility, along with meekness, are the only two adjectives Jesus ever used to describe Himself (see Matt. 11: 29); and we learn from passages like 1st Peter 5: 6 and James 4: 6, as well as Prov. 3: 34, that God honors humility by pouring His grace into those who humble themselves in obedience to God or His word. However, when it comes to the Phil. 2: 8 comparison test, all too often I come up short with my ego exhibiting pride, falling way short of the humility modeled so perfectly by my Savior.

And what a model of humility we have in Jesus, especially as He fulfilled all of the Old Testament prophesies concerning His passion and death on the cross. He was totally humbled to the will of His Father by dying on “the tree,” the most ignominious and humiliating form of capital punishment ever devised by man, and one which was hated by the Jews (see Deut. 21: 22 - 23). During all of His unjust trials before His crucifixion, He spoke not a word; and we see our Lord totally surrendered to the will of His Heavenly Father … that He be would become the Lamb of God to save ME! Me, of all people; but that was our Lord’s humble mission in life, … to serve me, and you, and all who would receive His humble and graceful act of atonement … that we might have eternal life. Is that not THE model of humility?

And now, in His word, I read from the inspiration of His Spirit, that I am to have His humility (again Phil. 2: 5); and Christ’s own words from Luke 9: 23 with regard to discipleship ring in my heart/mind as well … that I am to deny my self … and follow Him. So, the lessons of life in this regard continue; and I will enter my thoughts here today, doing all I can to humble myself to my Lord and to others. It’s a daunting task; but it is one I must learn and live.

So, I (we) move on … and there’s more to come. Yes, you’re getting it by now; … stay tuned!

My Prayer Today: It is my humble prayer, Lord. Again I pray, Lord, help me to be humble! Amen

May 5, 2011 … Trials’ Lessons: Humility

Passage of the Day: 2nd Corinthians 12: 7 - 9 … 7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But He [Jesus] said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

My Journal for Today: “Why all the problems, Lord?” … Ever voice such a prayer? Maybe you haven’t voiced it … but maybe you have felt like that and questioned God’s motives in engineering or allowing the difficulties/circumstances in your life. Right now in my life, I really identify with Paul’s painful “thorn” in today’s passage, because I’m going through rehab following a full hip replacement; and it’s a humbling experience – to say the least. Perhaps you’ve had some physical and/or emotional pain which has humbled you in your life.

The answer to our quandary or attitude block about the physical/emotional/spiritual pain which God allows in our lives just might be found in the passage that is our focus today. The Apostle Paul obviously had a special relationship with the Lord, especially having been blessed by personal confrontation and/or visitation from Jesus as well as some vision unto heaven. You can read of some type of a personal tour of heaven in 2nd Cor. 12: 1 – 4 …

SCRIPTURE: 2nd Cor. 12: 1 – 4 ... I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. 3 And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— 4 was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell.

Note that it is highly likely, according to scholars, that “the man” to whom Paul refers in this passage in the third person is himself. And I think it’s easy to see that the Apostle is trying to show his readers (and that would include you and me) that mountain-top spiritual experiences tend to make one prideful. And Paul, in today’s passage, shows that God had to “take him (Paul) down a notch” in the realm of personal humility so that He (God) could bless Paul with His grace. And Paul finally got it … even after praying diligently that God lift the “thorn” from his own flesh (whatever that condition was).

We all have “thorns” in our life. Some are physical maladies like I’m going through presently; others might be emotional, habitual, or circumstantial; but as believers, we must know that God is in those circumstances or that “thorn,” whatever it must be. God has said as much in His word – that He would never forsake us (see both the OT – Deut. 31: 6 – and the NT – Heb. 13: 5). And like Paul, it’s okay to pray fervently to God for the deliverance of the pain or anguish of any malady, trial, or situation. Jesus did that in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before He was to have the thorn of all thorns visited upon Him on the cross. But it may be the case, as it was for Paul and Jesus, that God will not see fit to lift the thorn which causes us so much pain. And if it is to help us be humble enough to receive His grace, it is well worth the agony of that “thorn” to be able to receive God’s grace and His strength in our weakness.

As I’ve stated in the past, this highlighted passage of scripture today is one of my “favorites,” both personally and for use in ministry. I think all Christians would agree that we desire to have all of God’s grace that He’s willing to pour into our lives – even if we don’t deserve it. And from this passage, as well as others like James 4: 6 and 1st Peter 5: 6 [from Prov. 3: 34] , we know that “… God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Therefore, even if it takes God allowing Satan to perpetrate pain upon us to keep us humble, as was Paul’s challenge, it is worth it so that we might have access to God’s amazing seeking, saving, and sanctifying grace! Actually, wasn’t the entire book of Job, the oldest book in the Bible, about this subject?

All of this substantiates the truth of Paul’s wondrous claim in Romans 8: 28 … that all things do work together for good for those who are “the called” according to Christ’s purpose; and I pray that I will always be able to see God’s grace awaiting me in the challenges which beset me – and those for you as well. I certainly needed to re-learn this lesson today; … how about you?

My Prayer Today: Lord, I beg You to pour Your grace into my life, especially into my weaknesses so that Your strength will be seen by all. Amen

March 31, 2011 … The Summation of Humility

Passage of the Day: Romans 13: 8 … Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.

My Journal for Today: For an entire month, with the help of John MacArthur’s devotional book, Strength for Today, I’ve been studying and journaling my own devotionals on the topic of “humility,” which has immense implications for the Christian believer. This is the fifth time I’ve been through MacArthur’s devotional series for March on the topic of humility, and there is much I have learned, much I have applied, and still much I need to apply. I can only hope and pray that I’ve been able to convey, for anyone who might read this series from MacArthur or myself, some of those implications.

If you’ve been with me, we’ve learned - or over-learned - that we, as Christians, must follow the very strong exhortation to have an attitude like our Lord’s, as we read in Phil. 2: 5 …

SCRIPTURE: Phil.2: 5 ... Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.

Of course, that means we need to hold humility high in our walk toward Christlikeness because we saw that humility was one of the only two qualities, along with meekness, which Christ described Himself (see Matt. 11: 29).

SCRIPTURE: Matt. 11: 29 ... Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle [i.e., “meek”] and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Furthermore, as Christians we also know that the extent of a Christian’s humility can ultimately be seen in the outpouring of love, or lack thereof, which a believer expresses toward others. See 1stJohn 3: 16 …

SCRIPTURE: 1st John 3: 16 ... This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

And as we also read in that verse, as well as Phil. 2: 6 – 11, Christ was our example and model of humility; and His humility, even unto death on a cross for each and every one of us, becomes the goal of every disciple (more specifically Phil. 2: 5 – 8 - I charge you to look that passage up and meditate deeply on it).

However, we are challenged – even at times debilitated - by the spiritual DNA of our own hearts (see Jeremiah 17: 9), which is wicked and self deceptive. And so, when we see a Christian exhibiting Christlike humility in their loved expressed for all, especially our enemies as Christ commanded, we know that expression of love must be from God (see Eph. 4: 32).

SCRIPTURE: Eph. 4: 32 ... Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

“God-love,” as we could call the love that emanates from humility, turns away from the flesh (see Gal. 5: 13) and demonstrates our surrender to God’s Spirit, which is love personified. And when we can/do surrender completely to God’s Spirit, He can pour Himself, i.e., through His enabling/empowering grace, into our lives as we love others as Christ loved us (see John 14: 21 and Romans 5: 5).

This is the humility which was modeled by Jesus (again Phil. 2: 5 – 8); and it is the humility that we who are in Christ must treasure and to which we must aspire. Yes, it is to this Christlike humility I aspire; and I’ve got a way to go to get there.

My Prayer Today: Oh Lord, help me to be humble and reflect Your love in my life. Please shine Your light clearly on my path ahead so that I can truly deny myself and HUMBLY follow You. Amen

Blogger’s Note: To any who have been following along with me this month – or maybe you’ve just gotten here today, I ask: What is God’s Spirit convicting you to do [pursuing Christlikeness is always a choice!] to develop the humility which reflects Christ and honors God rather than succumbing to the pride which is our human default? Perhaps God is leading you to have a more disciplined devotional life. Maybe He is calling you to a more intimate and abiding prayer life. Or … what about your service to His kingdom? I don’t know where/how you need to decrease pride and increase humility in your life. But now would be a good time to take whatever conviction you’re feeling and turn it into action for God’s glory. If you agree, I’d really love to read a response to my journal entry today via reply here, or on Facebook, or even an email to willieb13@rocketmail.com. Hope to “hear” from you. … wrb

March 27, 2011 … One More Enemy of Humility: Selfish Ambition

Passage of the Day: Matthew 20: 20 - 22 - [see underlined] 20 Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of Him. 21"What is it you want?" he asked. She said, "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in Your kingdom." 22 "You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said to them. "Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?" …"We can," they answered. My Journal for Today: The “Power Play” of James and John with their mother, which we revealed yesterday is an example of yet another enemy of Christlike humility for the human heart which is desperately wicked (as we know of from Jer. 17: 9). Salome, the mother of her “sons of thunder,” was using nothing but selfish ambition, edging for position with the One they perceived as their Messiah; and this is an interaction with Christ, from which we should learn about our own discipleship. First, this maneuver, using relationships for an insider edge, showed how impulsive and immature in their faith these first cousins of Jesus were at the time of this incident. At this stage, as Disciples, these two really didn’t have a clue about what it takes to be a leader in God’s kingdom; and that is surrender and suffering, which are both behavioral outgrowths of humility. It also reveals their pridefulness, which is just the opposite of what they would later learn it would take to become the leaders they ultimately became in God’s kingdom (i.e., humility and meekness). Had they known all of that, I’m sure they would have put the brakes on their mom intervening on their behalf and they would have trusted their Lord to help them become the servant-leader disciples they would become by following their Messiah in surrender. We now know from history and the New Testament, that James and John learned these lessons of life. James, whom we know from historical accounts, was also known of as “James, the Greater” and was the first martyred Apostle [44 AD], who was one of the prime movers in leading the peoples of Spain to the Gospel. His brother John, of course, much later penned his “Revelation” from exile on Patmos (probably some time between 68 – 95AD). But at this stage of their discipleship, as we see these biological brothers in today’s passage, both of these men needed a lot more seasoning as believers and followers of Christ to come to the place where they could become leaders in God’s kingdom. And we should take heart, or at least take pause, from this lesson in discipleship. We should be asking ourselves if we’ve grown in the faith to be in full surrender to God’s Spirit and our Lord. Are we humble and meek of attitude as charged by God through Paul in Phil. 2: 5? Are we ready to be used for God’s kingdom as followers of Christ as He commanded in Luke 9: 23? Are we ready to be an intentional servant first and an anointed leader thereafter, if God has such leadership in His plan as He most certainly did for James and John? I’ll leave that inventory for you; and I’m doing it even as I type this. But it is uplifting for me to know that two such impetuous and impulsively selfish characters such as the “sons of thunder” could become dynamically used for God’s glory when they chose and developed humility and meekness in their character. It points me in the direction of total surrender so that I might move from a focus on self to one focused on the Savior. I’m not there yet; but I pray that that is my direction. My Prayer Today: Prepare me, Lord, for what lies ahead in Your plan/purpose for me. Amen

March 24, 2011 … Jesus’ Humility In Death

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 8 - ... And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!

My Journal for Today: My entry today will be brief … very much to the point. As I read today’s passage, I’m led to reflect on Mel Gibson’s account of Christ’s Passion in the movie he directed, attempting to give us some degree of insight into those hours on the day of Christ’s death on the cross. Though I’m sure it was even worse than Gibson portrayed it, that movie drove home – at least for me - the horrible humiliation to which Jesus exposed Himself, being led unjustly by man, but purposely by God, the Father, to the cruelest form of execution ever devised by mankind – the Roman form of crucifixion. It was God’s Lamb being led to the slaughter as a sacrificial offering for the sins of mankind; and it was my sin [and yours] which nailed our Lord to that cross.

What our Lord, Jesus Christ, endured – unjustly – should be the ultimate eye-opener for all believers when it comes to the essence of what humility is all about and what our Messiah endured, as the suffering servant, the “man of many sorrows,” which had been prophesied in Is. 52: 13-14 and all of Isaiah 53 … [Please go, with the links provided, and read these citations!].

Just a few years ago about this time, we were memorializing my earthly father, Bob Berry, at his funeral. In the latter months of his life, my Dad suffered much physical – and likely emotional – agony. Yet, as many came by at the funeral to express their condolences to my sister, myself, and the rest of the family, they commented on how our father held on to an attitude of grace right to the end in spite of the myriad of physical ailments he had endured in the last two years of his life. And that attitude was stamped indelibly for me some years before (in 1988 to be exact) when at 72 years of age, my Dad prayed to receive Christ as his Savior/Lord. Up to that time, my father had been a very self-centered man, often feeling sorry for himself, given life’s circumstances, which had been rough for him. But after Christ came into his life, his Christ-like humility was displayed readily – especially in those latter years when physical maladies drove him to reside in a nursing home. With all he went through, my Dad held to the hope of 1st Cor. 15: 37 – 54 [also linked here for your meditation] … that one day he would have a new body and be lifted up by His Lord to glory. We talked of it often as I visited my dad in that nursing home; and my earthly father became a living and dying example for me of God’s grace being poured into his soul by the humility with which my father lived out in his later life.

Those are models of humility I will always have in my life … first my Lord, as today’s verse declares, who humbly died for my sins … and then my earthly father, who humbly dealt with so many physical maladies with grace and dignity in the face of so much personal humility. I’m blessed to have been shown the way to humility with such vivid examples so that I may see and live it in my own life.

My Prayer Today: Lord, may I always walk in Your shoes when it comes to humility. Amen

March 21, 2011 … The Humility of Jesus’ Kenosis

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 7 - [see underlined verse] 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but [Jesus] made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

My Journal for Today: I know why Jesus said that He came to us as the Son of God. He expressed that in God’s Temple by reciting, from God’s word in Isaiah 61: 1 – 2, the prophesy of the Messiah coming to do what was written in the Old Testament [see Luke 4: 17 – 21] …

SCRIPTURE: Luke 4: 17-21 … 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him [Jesus]. Unrolling it, He found the place where it is written: 18 "The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." 20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21 and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

Now, … even though I know this in my head, I believe and understand what was happening in that passage and from today’s verse, in my heart I don’t think I’ll ever be able to comprehend the “WHY” behind the Second Person of the Trinity being willing to empty Himself of His majesty and become that very special Babe in Bethlehem … so that all the prophesies concerning Him, as Messiah, would be fulfilled and He would become the Lamb of God Who saved mankind from sin. This act of God’s Son, by the way, is sometimes referred to as the doctrine of “kenosis,” which is from the Greek verb “keno,” which means to make something of value null and void.

Today’s verse (Phil. 2: 7) is one place in Scripture where that verb is used; and “kenosis” a gross understatement of what Christ’s incarnation was all about. The theological doctrine, as MacArthur teaches this morning, called “the kenosis,” was the Greek reference for Christ emptying Himself of His glory/majesty for … ME (and you, of course). And don’t you just stand in awe of what today’s verse describes. And since we’ve been discussing HUMILITY this month, in this verse we see what is probably the most powerful example of Christ’s infinitely humble nature as can every be found in the Bible, save the Cross and Christ’s Passion, of course. And, if we are to aspire to Christlike humility, this is the model we must use as our example … our beacon of hope to be like our Lord, as exhorted in Phil. 2: 5.

We certainly need a model or a target of humility, falling so short of God’s glory as humans in our sinfulness (see Rom. 3: 23). We know that Jesus, Himself, called His disciples (and all believers) to be empty of self as we follow Him (see Luke 9: 23 - have you got that one memorized yet – if not, today should be the day to do that little self-emptying task for Christ – because it’s the first day of Spring – a day where something new from God should come alive!!!). Christ, of course, would never call us toward any course of action, in His Name, if we could not, with His grace, be able to do what He commands (besides 1st Cor. 10: 13 and 2nd Cor. 12: 9, see the Great Commission in Matt. 28: 19 – 20). When He calls us, His promise is to be, not only with us (Heb. 13: 5) but ahead of us (see Deut. 31: 8). Therefore, we can fulfill Paul’s exhortation to be humble like Christ (again, Phil. 2: 5); and Christ’s magnificent example points the way for us.

My Prayer Today: Fill my emptiness with Your fullness, O Lord! Amen

March 18, 2011 … Placing Others Above Self

Passage of the Day: [NIV] Philippians 2: 3 - Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

Note the NASB version - Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; …

My Journal for Today: I’ve added the NASB version of Phil. 2: 3 above as well as the NIV because this translation defines “humility” as “humility of the mind,” emphasizing the attitudinal quality we’ve been discussing in depth this month. The Apostle Paul had a real challenge in describing this quality to his Christian readers his epistle in the 1st century. According to John MacArthur in Strength for Today, these 1st century believers in Philippi were influenced heavily by the Greek culture of the day; and the Greeks thought of humility as an attitude only for slaves. So, using any term to describe “humility” to Greek minds in those days would have been considered as an extreme term of derision. Therefore, to discuss the concept of “humility of the mind” (see NASB version above), Paul invented a new Greek term, a compound word, “tapienophronsune,” because his readers in that culture would have never responded constructively to the common Greek term for humility, “tapeinos.” This latter term would have referred to slaves graveling in lowliness before their masters. So, Paul compounded this word for “lowliness” with the Greek word for “heart” or “mind” to produce what is translated in the KJV of Phil. 2: 3 as “lowliness of mind.” Paul was trying to help the Christians at Philippi to be able to put the concept of Christlike humility into some operational context where they would understand the importance of this attitude quality of Christlikeness without dismissing it as a “slave-like” attitude.

Paul, of course, fully understood how difficult it was for anyone to wrestle with pride and a deceitful heart [as you probably know from Jer. 17: 9]. One can read Paul’s story, reported by Luke in Acts 9, or his self described struggles with pride and sin in Romans 7, verses 14 - 24. So, Paul empathized with the readers of his epistle to the Philippians, as well he would with believers even now, as to how difficult it was or is to develop the Christlike mindset of humility that would allow believers to develop unity in Christ’s Church, which they (we) would need to confront the world and walk with worthiness as Christians (again revisit Ephesians 4: 1 – 4).

To bring the good news of the Gospel to a world which puts “humility” down, which is as true today as much as it was in the 1st century, is very difficult. We know that one cannot receive Christ as Savior and Lord without an attitude of humility. So, it behooves all of us, who follow Christ and His Great Commission (in Matt. 28: 19 - 20), to keep on being as humble as we can to receive the enabling grace we will need to bring the Gospel to a lost world.

My Prayer Today: Help me, Lord, to think of others before self. Amen

March 17, 2011 … Threats to Humility: Selfishness and Conceit

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 3 - 4 - Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

My Journal for Today: Well, here we have our premise for the month stated very clearly in another way by an Apostle who was languishing in prison when he wrote this, totally humbled before God, yet exhorting believers to learn what he had learned in life – that the only way to live in God’s kingdom is to humble ourselves before God and others. The Apostle Paul realized how common it was (is) for Christians to succumb to the very human drives of selfishness or conceit, setting aside humility, and thereby forfeiting God’s grace in their endeavors. That’s why he was so forcefully exhorting the church at Philippi (and us too!) to avoid such self-directed agendas, which he knew would lead to factionalism and divisiveness within the church – which, in turn, he knew would destroy the unity about which he wrote to others in the church at Ephesus (Eph. 4: 3 - 6). He also warned the church at Corinth in this way (1st Cor. 3: 3); and he told the Galatians (see Galatians 5: 16) how imperative it was to bring selfishness under control.

But do we in the church of today understand and apply that repetitive exhortation? Do we get it?! I think not! Unfortunately, there is far too much factionalism and denominational pride standing in the way of God’s Church being able to use the presence and power of God through His unlimited gift of grace in today’s world. Oh, if we – the Church - could simply live as God dictated to us in today’s verse.

As John MacArthur points out in Strength for Today, it is not wrong for believers or God’s church to have agendas and/or plans as long as the attitudes behind these plans are motivated by humility and a consideration for all involved; … hence, the pronouncement of Phil. 2: 3 – 4. If this were to be the case in God’s church and for individual believers, God would be lifted up by the humility of those who mimic His attitude, which just happens to be the subject of Paul’s charge in the very next verse (see Phil. 2: 5). However, when foolish selfishness and/or vain conceit are at the heart of the plans we conceive in life or as His church, we move out on our own; and that was the prospect that Paul was trying to help the Philippians (and us) to avoid.

Prayerfully we will get the message and then live it the way God intended for us to live.

My Prayer Today: Lord, convict me … direct me … to consider others first in all my plans. Amen

March 15, 2011 … Threats to Humility: Possessions and Position

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 3 - Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit; but with humility of mind, let each of you regard one another as more important than himself.

My Journal for Today: We continue on with a discussion of life issues which promote pride and thereby impede us from a Christlike attitude of humility. And two such issues are possessions and position.

Moses clearly warned God’s people, and thereby all of us, against the pride that grows out of achievement and accumulation, when he wrote in Deut. 8: 17 – 18 …

SCRIPTURE: Deut. 8: 17-18 … You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth, …

I think we all know that the pride which can come along with the accumulation of wealth/power often goes hand-in-glove with class-related pride. I know that on more than one occasion, even after I became a Christian, on several occasions, I became convicted of thinking of myself as “better than” someone else just because of where I lived or because of those with whom I associated. But, in these instances, God has helped me to confess of this sinful pride and repent to pursue a more Christlike humility. What about you? Have you ever had to turn around from prideful selfishness or vain conceit?

But we have a model, the perfect model of just the opposite, in the life and ministry of our Lord, Jesus, … a life devoted to humble ministry to the poor, … a life totally devoid of class-related pride. And Christ’s most ardent and righteous anger was directed at religious leaders who loved to flaunt their position/power (see Matt. 23: 5 – 7).

SCRIPTURE: Matt. 23: 5-7 … [Jesus] "Everything they [the religious leaders] do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; 6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7 they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them 'Rabbi.' "

The advertising industry today tries to get us to buy into the world’s siren call to have more … or to be the best we can be … or to build our self-image. But God’s anger is severe, as we read above, against such attributes [see also Isaiah 3: 16 – 26 - linked here]; and the Holy Spirit, through John taught us to avoid the pride of life which comes from the lust of the flesh and the eyes (see 1st John 2: 15-17) … because nothing eternal comes from these pride-driven attitudes.

My Prayer Today: Keep me, Lord, from the pride of life as seen in this world. Amen

March 14, 2011 … Threats to Humility: Strength and Boasting

Passage of the Day: Ephesians 4: 1 – 2 - 1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

My Journal for Today: Okay, are we getting the message? … Again from Paul’s oft repeated passage in Ephesians 4, we again read of God’s exhortation toward humility. But Paul wasn’t the only New Testament writer with this pronouncement. We read the same from other church leaders in 1st Peter 5: 5,6 and James 4: 4 – 8 … that our attitude of humility is the key to the sanctifying grace that comes from a believer’s relationship with Christ. Certainly when we have three different early church Apostles or leaders exhorting from the power and inspiration of the Holy Spirit and teaching the same lesson, we ought to tune in and apply this repeated lesson to our lives as Christians, don’t you think? And with that in mind, John MacArthur from his devotional book, Strength for Today, begins a brief series here today toward the end of his month of lessons on the attitudes of Christ, teaching about the most common threats to our humility … i.e., those areas where pride, the antithesis of humility, either creeps or crashes into our hearts/minds, giving Satan a foothold into our life and blunting the Holy Spirit’s expression of Christ in or through our life.

The first of these pride threats is what MacArthur calls “ability pride,” where we, as Christians, are tempted to rely on our own strengths or talents rather than surrendering in all circumstances to the power of God to work in our lives. Let me use myself as an example.

Teaching is one of my spiritual gifts. It’s “easy” for me to teach; and I find great spiritual satisfaction when I’m able to relate Godly or biblical principles to others when God uses me to teach them. However, when I have an opportunity to teach God’s principles and life lessons, it’s very easy for me to get prideful especially when someone tells me afterward, “Good lesson, Bill.” In such an instance if I can’t recognize, and preferably verbalize, that it was God’s grace through His Spirit enabling me to teach HIS lesson through me, I’ve let the enemy win a skirmish in the battles of life. My perspective must always give God His glory when He uses a gift that He gave me and principles which are His to give Him the glory. Though He may have used me; … it’s not about me [!]… it must always be about HIM.

MacArthur reminds us about “verbal pride” as well. It would have been better had the person who encouraged me about my teaching to have said, “Bill, God really used you today to teach me; so let’s both praise Him for that!” We all too often are – or at least I am – willing to let others ingratiate us for some achievement, knowing full well that that God should get the glory.

We’ll be looking in the next days at more of these points about pride; and I need it … for sure!!

My Prayer Today: Help me, Lord, to remain humble to give You the glory! Amen

March 11, 2011 … Understanding Who We Are

Passage of the Day: Ephesians 4: 1 – 2 - 1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

My Journal for Today: This business of HUMILITY must be important for John MacArthur to expose and discuss it so frequently in his devotional book, Strength for Today, repeating discussions of Paul’s exhortation in Eph. 4: 2 so often, last month and then again this month. And I understand the need for the redundancy personally because I struggle so to achieve the level of humility which God seeks for His children through Paul’s writing here. One cannot just declare that he/she is humble; because that would openly reveal pride. It is somewhat of a spiritual “catch-22.” And God is not demanding just “some” humility in today’s verse. No, He seeks “complete” humility.

Ouch! How could I ever get there?

Well, short of glory, I won’t! However, as a believer and a follower of Christ, I can follow Christ’s mandate in Luke 9: 23, seeking after Christlikeness, and choosing to radically pursue His attitude and lifestyle of humility as my goal for living as God’s word commands in Phil. 2: 5. I believe that was what Paul was searching for when he wrote such words as those found in Phil. 3: 13 – 14 or when he recognized his own tendency toward sin in 1st Tim. 1: 15.

SCRIPTURE: Phil. 3: 13-14 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
SCRIPTURE: 1st Tim. 1: 15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners — of whom I am the worst.

Of course, all of us who believe and follow Christ as Lord and Savior still have a sin nature (see Rom. 3: 23); but to the degree that I recognize that reality and press on to the goal of Christlikeness, keeping short accounts of my sin and confessing when I’m convicted by the Holy Spirit (see 1st John 1: 9 and James 5: 16), I can expect that God, the Holy Spirit, is going to fulfill His promise of Phil. 1: 6 … to shape and complete me into the mold of my Lord and Savior. And as long as I keep God, The Son, as my Standard, not comparing myself to others (see 2nd Cor. 10: 12) as it is so easy to do at times, I will always see MY light in the Light of God’s Holiness – an ever humbling mirror for my attitude and way of life.

My Prayer Today: When I seek You, Lord, I am humbled. Amen

March 10, 2011 … Humility On Display

Blogger’s Note: I’m going to do and post two devotional journal entries today [3/9]; because on Ash Wednesday (God's timing), during my normal devotional quiet-time, I will be entering the hospital for a full-hip replacement surgical procedure. So, if you happen to be reading along here on 3/9, I would covet you lifting up a brief prayer for good surgery, no complications, and unfettered rehab; and I dearly thank you if you feel so disposed. If you come by to read this on 3/10, a prayer for the rehab with no infections or problems would be deeply appreciated. Bill Berry

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Passage of the Day: Ephesians 4: 1 – 2 - 1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

My Journal for Today: Well, for those who’ve been following my devotionals this year, here we are back at Ephesians 4, versus 1 and 2; and one which also exhorts Christians to “Be completely humble …” as we “…live a life worthy of the calling you have received [which, of course is Christlikeness].” Like the ancient Romans and Greeks, our culture does not elevate the quality or attitude of humility. In fact in writing Eph. 4: 1-2 in the Greek language, Paul had to make up a compound word for “humility,” … the Greek term “tapienophronsune,” which is a compound concoction from two other Greek words having the meaning of thinking of one’s self as lowly. The Greek language simply didn’t have a word for the attitude of humility, showing how much that culture denigrated or looked down on this human quality. And today we Americans certainly don’t honor humility in our world as much as we do prideful self achievement. During this time of year, the Golden Globes and the Oscar Awards get much attention. And we also have a reality TV show called “The American Idol.” Certainly, all one has to do is look at these media events in our culture to see that humility is not a quality in great demand.

Jesus was/is the ultimate example of a chosen lifestyle of lowliness or humility. He CHOSE to be born a babe in a lowly manger; and it would be good to pause and meditate on my favorite passage about the spirit of Christ’s incarnation. So, from another of Paul’s prison epistles, let me exhort you to read Phil. 2: 5 – 11, which I’ll even post for you to read here …

SCRIPTURE: Phil. 2: 5-11 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Besides God’s choice to set aside His full glory to become a man in the flesh, Jesus owned almost nothing by worldly standards; and He was, by choice, almost totally dependent on others for His sustenance during his three year ministry walk on this earth. We read of Him washing the feet of the Disciples in the upper room (read John 13: 3 – 11), which was His way of teaching His followers about the importance of lowliness of attitude and action [i.e., HUMILITY}. And again I repeat (as I reflected in past devotionals) that the only two adjectives that Jesus was ever quoted as using to describe Himself were “humble” and “meek.” [see Matt. 11: 29]

Note the underlined verse above in Phil. 2: 5 above, where Paul exhorts us all to have the same attitude as that of Christ; and that’s what he’s saying (or rather God is saying) to you and me in today’s passage. So, I must ask myself: … “Just how much does my prevailing attitude mirror that of Christ?” In other words, I must ask these two pointed questions.

Just how humble am I? … AND … Just how meek am I?

And if you’re asking yourself into those same questions as you read this, maybe you’re like me and you have some ways to go to become Christlike in reflecting these two attitudes; and for me, the most difficult is that of HUMILITY.

My Prayer Today: Lord, again I know the risk of this prayer; but help me to be humble. Amen

March 9, 2011 … Honor For The Humble

Passage of the Day: James 4: 10 – Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.

My Journal for Today: Again we read from James, Chapter 4, as you can from Peter in 1st Peter 5: 5 - 6, the importance of the attitude of humility as well as the wonderful promise of God, through these Spirit-inspired writers, to “lift you up” when you humbly come to God, in surrender mode, seeking His favor. And in the presence of God, as Isaiah found himself, how could one not be humbled [see Is. 6: 5].

SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 6:5 [Isaiah, the Prophet] "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

Apparently Isaiah saw some manifestation of God, maybe as did Moses at the burning bush or Jacob when he wrestled with God; but the experience most certainly brought the Prophet to a place of utter humility where he recognized God for Whom Jehovah, God really was – the sovereign, majestic, and glorious Lord. Hence you read Isaiah declaring, “Woe to me!” Jesus’ Disciples had a similar reaction when you read of them humbled to the core in fear in the midst of a horrible storm, then to see Jesus still the waves and quell the wind with a mere wave of His hand [read in Mark 4: 39 - 41].

I had a similar experience when I finally recognized the depths of my own spiritual weakness, after years of seeking to control life on my own. And on that day, April 13th 1983, God so vividly gave me a glimpse of His power that I was brought to a place of utter humility, asking God to reveal Himself to me. And for the rest of my life, over and over again, I’ve been shown who I am and Whose I am by my intentional humility, which puts me in the position to receive what God has in store for me.

But as with Isaiah or the humbled Disciples in the storm, or, for that matter, yours truly coming to Christ for the very first time, our God does not leave the humble believer bowing in awe. No, as Paul reflects in Eph. 2: 4 – 7, God takes the humble sinner and raises him/her into the status of “Saint”; and not only that, He seats us (yes, even a sinner like me) with our Lord, Jesus, on His throne as full heirs of His glory.

SCRIPTURE: Eph.2: 4 - 7 … But because of His great love for us, God, Who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

Now, as the younger generation of today might say, “Is that not awesome, or what?!!”

Yes, it is truly incredible, …but oh, so true. And having experienced this lifting up from utter degradation to the status of a born-again believer, and even more to the role of Elder in my church, as well as an Ordained Minister, I know that the lowering of self in humility before our Savior produces everything He promises – and more - see Ephesians 3: 20.

What a deal, for sure! I pray that you have taken the deal and humbled yourself to Him as well; and I pray that you have seen what I have seen, … i.e., God lifting you up with a glimpse of His glory.

My Prayer Today: Lord, may I never lose my awe of Whom You are and my very real sense of whom I am not. Amen

March 2, 2011 … Coming Under God’s Authority

Passage of the Day: James 4: 7a [highlight verse underlined/bold] … 6 But He gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." [quoted from Prov. 3: 34] 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

My Journal for Today: Okay, moving on to study/discuss the quality of humility, Jesus’ brother, James, has laid it on his readers (i.e., believers in Christ) that the selfless trait of humility is the key to God’s grace. And he almost becomes like a drill sergeant in the military with the strong exhortation in James 4: 7a, “Submit yourselves, then, to God.” I use the military word picture because that’s the contextual Greek that James uses in today’s highlight verse. The term “submit” in this passage is the Greek term “hupotasso,” which was military imagery as to the way soldiers must submit to their commanders. Besides James, the Apostle Paul also used this military imagery, comparing Christians to soldiers in God’s army (two examples …see Phil. 2: 25 and 2nd Tim. 2: 3); and here God, like Paul, James is saying that our humility must be like a soldier who surrenders his allegiance to Christ, as our Commander in Chief, in the “army of God.”

Christ, Himself, took a commander’s tone when He spoke to His disciples in Luke 9: 23, where He spoke clearly the orders we have from Him if we are to follow His leadership; and I really hope you have this command memorized and internalized.

SCRIPTURE: Luke 9: 23 … Then He [Jesus] said to them all [His followers]: "If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”

You may remember that this command became impossible for the rich young ruler (see Mark 10: 17 – 23), who was confronted by Christ’s order to submit and humbly surrender all to God. He could not do so; and because of that, he walked away from Christ [and we assume] never to enter into God’s kingdom. He never received God’s saving grace because he was unwilling to submit (i.e., “hupotasso”) to Christ in humility.

And it all begins with humility; doesn’t it? For many, many years I was unwilling to surrender my ego and self to Christ as my Lord. It was only when I recognized my weaknesses and surrendered my will, humbly in repentance to the Lord as my commander, that I was able to receive His saving grace. Now, as a surrendered soldier in God’s army, as I noted in yesterday’s journal entry, the formula is the same to receive God’s enabling grace to carry the crosses of daily life as well (also besides today’s verse, see Prov. 3: 34, 1st Peter 5: 6, and 2nd Cor. 12: 9).

When I’m in SURRENDER MODE, humbly following Christ as my Commander, God can pour His grace into my life and give me the power to do those things which I’m incapable of doing in my flesh … things like discerning evil … resisting sin … or overcoming my own deceitful heart [see Jer. 17: 9]. I hope you know, as cited above, 2nd Cor. 12: 9 or have it memorized …

SCRIPTURE: 2nd Cor. 12: 9 … But He [Jesus] said to me [Paul], "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

Like it was for the rich young ruler, it’s our choice. We can CHOOSE to deny self, take up His cross daily, and follow Christ ……or NOT! Choosing to surrender self to the Savior is about the wisest choice we can make on a daily, if not momentary, basis. Really, when we choose to do things on our own, in the flesh, we are choosing to march with Satan’s army – his worldly troops. When we choose to obey Christ (again Luke 9: 23), we march behind Him, with Him, and for Him; and we can do all things through Him, Who gives us His strength (you know it! … Phil. 4: 13).

My Prayer Today: You are my Commander in Chief, Lord! Amen

March 1, 2011 … Grace to the Humble

Passage of the Day: James 4: 6 – But He gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." [quoted from Prov. 3: 34]

My Journal for Today: This month I (we) will be looking at one of the most important attitudes a Christian can foster in his life … that of HUMILITY. Why is it so important? Well, come along with me this month as we answer that question, always with the help of John MacArthur in his Strength for Today devotional book.

And today, the first day of March, we begin with the teachings of James, the half-brother of Jesus and a leader of the early church in Jerusalem, … not the Apostle James, who was the brother of the beloved Apostle John. However, even though the author of the Book of James was not the brother of the Apostle John, I’m convinced that James, the New Testament author, and Simon Peter were close. If you read today’s verse and then you read 1st Peter 5: 6, you’ll see that Jesus’ brother and the Apostle John were in total accord with the Old Testament when it came to their opinion on how to unlock God’s treasure chest of sanctifying grace. They both quoted the same verse from the Old Testament in Prov. 3: 34 about this matter, teaching that God’s grace can only come to the humble and that it is withheld from the proud. And so, for the Christian who desires to capture as much of God’s grace as he/she can, growing in Christlikeness, this becomes a key truth – i.e., that humility is the key to God’s grace.

It certainly was the key that unlocked God’s saving grace for me, when, on April 13, 1983, I was finally able/willing to humble myself and receive Christ as my Savior and Lord. For years I had let my pride get in the way of pursuing Christ. But when I finally became humble enough to recognize and repent of my sinfulness, God poured His saving grace into my life. And now, in my discipleship and growth as a Christian, I’ve discovered that this truth ALWAYS applies for God’s enabling grace as well. Pride shuts the door to God’s shower of grace; and humility opens it!

My sinfulness prior to 4/13/83 was immense. I certainly didn’t deserve God’s saving grace; but He offered it anyway (see John 3: 16 and Romans 10: 9 – 13). And when I was able to recognize my sinfulness, repent, and reach out in humility to receive God’s gift of saving grace (Eph. 2: 8 - 9), God’s gift of grace was there for me; and my life has never been the same. Oh, most certainly, I’m still battling my sin nature. All Christians do. However, I now know that as long as I can remain humble before God’s throne of grace, He will pour His enabling grace into my life to help me overcome my sinfulness and to walk in a manner worth of His grace (Eph. 4: 1, 2).

So, if you’re reading this, you must first ask yourself if you’ve humbly come to God and asked for His saving grace. If you have done that and you know that you’re saved, perhaps you desire more of Gods’ enabling grace in your life – the grace that gives you power to overcome your weaknesses (see 2nd Cor. 12: 9). And, if that’s the case, it would behoove you to look at your attitude about living. Are you letting your pride block the treasure of God’s grace which awaits the humble servant who is willing to serve others before self? If you’re willing to live by Luke 9: 23, the words of Jesus to His disciples about being His follower, then you will have all the grace you need to follow our Lord [also see 2nd Peter 1: 3 – 4].

My Prayer Today: It’s a scary prayer, Lord; but help me to be humble! Amen

February 18, 2011 … God’s Sacrificial Love

Passage of the Day: John 3: 16 … For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

My Journal for Today: In John MacArthur’s exposition of God’s character this month in Strength for Today, he has been looking at God’s character of love in the past few days. Yesterday we saw that Godly love is unconditional, yet confrontational (as to our sin). Today, in this very familiar verse spoken by Jesus, which you probably know by heart, we see that God’s love is sacrificial.

In the Old Testament, we read from Isaiah’s prophesy about the Messiah, how our Lord would carry the grief of the world as He sacrificed for all mankind (see Is. 53: 4 [linked]). And the Apostle Paul carried this theme of sacrificial love into his teachings about how we, as Christians, must live and love for others before self (see Gal. 6: 2), thereby fulfilling God’s law of love.

SCRIPTURE: Galatians 6: 2 … Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Every time I read this verse I’m convicted about how lacking in sacrifice my love for others is offered at times and how conditional it can become with my expectations for recompense as I offer to help others. Praise God for His mercy in the face of my self-driven “love!”

Sacrificial love, of course, was always the teaching of Jesus; and He modeled it so convincingly and perfectly for all mankind. He commanded ALL His disciples, not just the original twelve, to love one another, even including our enemies (see Luke 6: 35). And His command of love becomes infinitely tougher when He said to believers that we’re to expect nothing in return. However, in the greatest sacrifice of all, for anyone who receives the free-offering of God’s cross-bearing love, God is willing to give nothing less than the greatest reward of all … Heaven.

Is that not the deal of a lifetime?

I believe that those who really “get this” and demonstrate lives of “living sacrifice” (as Paul wrote about in Rom 12: 1); … to these, I believe, God will bestowed the greatest rewards in Heaven. As Jesus taught, the least shall be the greatest [Matt. 23: 11-12]. So, I’ve got a long way to go when it comes to my love quotient … to choose to be humbled as a servant as I show God’s love to others … prayerfully more today than yesterday and even more tomorrow than today.

My Prayer Today: And so, I pray, Lord that You help me grow in Your love as I choose to love others before self. Amen