Sharing is Caring

Day 10: ‘You have gone too far!’         “They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, "You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the LORD's assembly?   …   and tomorrow put fire and incense in them before the LORD. The man the LORD chooses will be the one who is holy. You Levites have gone too far!” (Numbers 16:3, 7)           The church is hindering evangelism.   The church is failing to fulfill its role as the light and salt of this dark world.   Instead of showing God's love to the world, jealousy, rivalry, fighting, and disputes are rampant within the church.   The church, which should be reflecting God's holiness, is becoming increasingly worldly.   What could be the cause of such strife within a church that is heading down a worldly path?   I found one answer in today'...

The Word became flesh (8)       [John 1:1-4, 9-14]                       Let me ask the question: When God created Adam and Eve, did God intend for them to be served or to serve? The answer is that God created Adam and Eve for the purpose of serving.   So, Adam and Eve must have served well.   But in Genesis 3, Eve was deceived by the serpent, the most cunning of the wild beasts (Gen. 3:1).   The key to that delusion was “You will be like God”: “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (v. 5).   Why did the serpent, Satan, deceive Eve like this?   The reason is that Satan himself, a fallen angel and an evil angel, wants to be like the Most High God.   Look at Isaiah 14:12-14: “ How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have ...

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-embattled-pastor  

"Those two things were the heartbeat of Simeon’s inner life: growing downward in humility and growing upward in adoring communion with God." "As Simeon grew down in humiliation, he grew upward in worship and joy —  all the way to the end. As he lay dying in October of 1836, a friend sat by his bed and asked what he was thinking of just then. He answered, “I don’t think now; I am enjoying” (Charles Simeon, 172)."   https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/humility-was-his-secret-strength

Pride or Humility "Pride is a deep rooted and a self-preserving sin; and therefore is harder to be killed and rooted up than other sins.   It hinders the discovery of itself.   ...   It will not allow the dinner to see his pride when he is reproved; neither will it allow him to confess it if he see it; nor ... to loathe himself and forsake it.   ...   Even when he recognizes all of the evidences of pride in others, he will not see it in himself. ..."   "Humility is willingness and desire that others should not think of us, or speak of us, or use (i.e., treat) us as greater or wiser or better than we are: that they should give us no more honor, praise or love than is our due."   (Richard Baxter)

Humility and Quietness   Humility and quietness are the fruit of 3 truths: 1. We are absolutely secure in the love that  God has for us in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:38-39). 2. All of our activities in the Lord are significant  because of the resurrection (1 Cor. 15:58). 3. We can take charge of our lives because God  is in control of all things for our good (Rom. 8:28-32). "As we focus our hearts on God - his love,  purpose, and power - inner quietness is ours."   (Mark D. Futato, "The Book of Psalms")

Humility "True humility comes when before God we see ourselves as nothing, have put aside self, and let God be all"   (Andrew Murray).   "It is no great thing to be humble when you are brought low; but to be humble when you are praised is a great and rare achievement" (Bernard of Clairvaux).   "Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish yourself to be" (Thomas A Kempis).

Humility and Trust  "We must never lower the standard of inspiration.    The Word of God stands above the best reason and wisdom of men"   We need humility and trust in reading God's Word: Humility to forsake our own judgment as the final authority, and Trust in God's Word even when we can't understand (James E. Adams).