“Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways.” (Proverbs 8:32)
“Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies and that seek him with the whole heart. They also do no iniquity: they walk in His ways.” (Psalms 119:1-3) Luke in his gospel, tells us the story of a lady who said to Jesus: “Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.” But Jesus told her: “Yea, rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.” (Luke 11: 27, 28) “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving ourselves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.” (James 1: 22-24) “Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better then sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” (I Samuel 15:22) Who among us wants to be blessed? We all do, yet we continue to look for some mysterious key to obtaining the favor and blessings of God, when all God requires from us is obedience. He desires that His sons listen to His voice and then simply obey Him. When we keep His ways, He will bless us. It is in the favor of God that we find life. (Psalms 30:5) We will never be happy as long as we are outside the will of God.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Check Your Pride
“When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.” (Proverbs 11:2)
A man who is full of pride becomes blind to his own weaknesses. His flaws could be so obvious that they stare him in the face, but he will not notice them. His pride gives him rose-colored glasses so that he sees only his admirable qualities. It is almost as if he is in denial that he possesses any inadequacies at all. The sin of pride, if not arrested, will lead to certain downfalls, and the disgrace will bring deep, humiliating shame. At the heart of pride is arrogance and rebellion, primarily against God. It is placing trust in self, abilities, possessions or setting any idol on the throne of our hearts besides the Lord God Almighty. “The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwelleth in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high: that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord.” (Obadiah 1: 3, 4) The prideful man will lift himself up and refuse to acknowledge his weakness, but a humble man will abase himself before the Lord. A humble man recognizes that his sins will find him out. He knows that his sinful nature must be crucified daily or else it will rise up and bring him shame. A man of humility shows wisdom by giving other godly men permission to hold him accountable to his faith and convictions.
A man who is full of pride becomes blind to his own weaknesses. His flaws could be so obvious that they stare him in the face, but he will not notice them. His pride gives him rose-colored glasses so that he sees only his admirable qualities. It is almost as if he is in denial that he possesses any inadequacies at all. The sin of pride, if not arrested, will lead to certain downfalls, and the disgrace will bring deep, humiliating shame. At the heart of pride is arrogance and rebellion, primarily against God. It is placing trust in self, abilities, possessions or setting any idol on the throne of our hearts besides the Lord God Almighty. “The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwelleth in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high: that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord.” (Obadiah 1: 3, 4) The prideful man will lift himself up and refuse to acknowledge his weakness, but a humble man will abase himself before the Lord. A humble man recognizes that his sins will find him out. He knows that his sinful nature must be crucified daily or else it will rise up and bring him shame. A man of humility shows wisdom by giving other godly men permission to hold him accountable to his faith and convictions.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Don't Give Up
“They that are of a froward heart are abomination to the Lord: but such as are upright in their way are his delight. (Proverbs 11:20)
There have been times when I have become so discouraged in my Christian walk that I have honestly felt like giving up. The enormous chasm between spiritual maturity and my present spiritual condition has often seemed insurmountable. Even when I know God’s will for my life, I find it hard to do. As a perfectionist and prophet-motivated person, I can be extremely hard on myself. I used to wonder if I was an abomination to God because I struggled in so many areas that I felt I should already be walking in victoriously. I thank God that the Apostle Paul did not attempt to gloss over his struggles in order to appear more holy and pious. His honesty has helped many believers. Just knowing that this great man of God struggled with the same worldly temptations that I do, encourages me to go on. Paul was no stranger to spiritual failure. “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.” (Romans 7:19) He experienced weariness, pain and weakness. (II Corinthians 11: 27, 29) He had a thorn in his flesh that buffeted him and kept him humble. During His earthly ministry, Jesus stated that our spirit indeed is willing but our flesh is weak. (Matthew 26:41) I have learned that the world, Satan and my flesh will constantly battle against me- that is the nature of the war in which we have entered. Nevertheless, Jesus has won the victory and delivered us from the penalty of sin and its power over us. We must learn to walk daily in the newness of life. (Romans 6:4)
There have been times when I have become so discouraged in my Christian walk that I have honestly felt like giving up. The enormous chasm between spiritual maturity and my present spiritual condition has often seemed insurmountable. Even when I know God’s will for my life, I find it hard to do. As a perfectionist and prophet-motivated person, I can be extremely hard on myself. I used to wonder if I was an abomination to God because I struggled in so many areas that I felt I should already be walking in victoriously. I thank God that the Apostle Paul did not attempt to gloss over his struggles in order to appear more holy and pious. His honesty has helped many believers. Just knowing that this great man of God struggled with the same worldly temptations that I do, encourages me to go on. Paul was no stranger to spiritual failure. “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.” (Romans 7:19) He experienced weariness, pain and weakness. (II Corinthians 11: 27, 29) He had a thorn in his flesh that buffeted him and kept him humble. During His earthly ministry, Jesus stated that our spirit indeed is willing but our flesh is weak. (Matthew 26:41) I have learned that the world, Satan and my flesh will constantly battle against me- that is the nature of the war in which we have entered. Nevertheless, Jesus has won the victory and delivered us from the penalty of sin and its power over us. We must learn to walk daily in the newness of life. (Romans 6:4)
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