Scripture
True humility and fear of the LORD lead to riches, honor, and long life.
~Proverbs 22:4, NLT
Quote
Pride is self-centeredness turned wrong side out.
~Max Anders
The essence of sin is found in Isaiah 53:6, All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him [Jesus]. I tell folks that my wife is near to being perfect: she only has one weakness, she wants everything her way. I say that to provoke thought: selfishness in the core of sin and we all have the same weakness–“We want our way.” We want what we want when we want it and we are not beyond acting ugly to get it. Our default setting is one of pride: we choose to put ourselves at the center or first. We do this at the risk of offending God and hurting others. Ultimately, pride destroys the very thing we seek which is glory and self-affirmation. Our prime example is Satan. Satan, alias Lucifer was the angel of light. Some think he was the most beautiful angel in creation. Although it is debated, traditionally we associate music with angels. There is no doubt that God created music and I personally believe that angels sing. Many believe that Satan was the archangel of the musical angels or the praise and worship leader. Like King Saul who became jealous of David, Satan became jealous of Jesus. Satan wanted to be the object of worship; he wanted the glory that Jesus was getting but look what this has cost him. He was kicked out of heaven and cast down to earth. Now he is eternally doomed. His pride cost him the very thing he was seeking. We are never more like Satan than when we seek our own glory.
Obviously we can see the social consequences of pride. Pride is the only disease that makes everyone sick except the person who has it. Pride leads us to an unyielding arrogance and an inflated opinion of ourselves. The greater our pride, the fewer our friends. But why is God so offended by our pride: we are no threat to Him. There is probably more than two reasons, but I will give you two: God hates pride and chooses to break in down in our lives because He loves us and it is our pride that motivates us to live independently of Him. It is suicidal to try to live independently of God. Pride is one of the two trees that is in everyone’s garden. It is something we are going to have to deal with the rest of our lives. When a proud thought enters your mind: stop and rebuke it in Jesus name. When a proud word slips from our lips, repent immediately. There are severe consequences for pride–because it is Antichrist.
- Jim and Karen Tanner go home last night about 9:30 p.m. The last time I checked, Charlie and Ashton had not had the baby, they were still waiting.
- I saw the largest hail yesterday that I’ve ever seen. Our God is an awesome God!
- I’ve attended the Pastor’s conference for four weeks in a row which is a record for me in recent years. The last two have featured missionaries and mission opts. Week before last the presenter was from Wyoming and he did great. I thought to myself: I’m going to sponsor Noah and Sydney, we need someone to check out the work in Wyoming. Charles Penney’s brother, Robert I think, went last year and loved it. You help in VBS but you do not organize or administrate. They have a woman there who does that and she just plugs you in. Robert and his wife stayed in the nursery and loved it. Then yesterday, Michael Browning, from my home community shared about the work in Puerto Rico and I’ve never heard a better presentation in my life. Michael is a former M with IMB experience. He will be leading teams to Puerto Rico in June and July. He also volunteered to lead a church group that wants his services. It is a $750 trip and you will be doing construction work–repairing roofs. He says it is a great trip for January because the weather there is beautiful in January. Puerto in a U.S. Territory so you do not have to have a passport. It a national trip with international flavor. If the LORD were to lay either of these on your heart, Ken Blackwood {Our DOM} has all the info. For those who don’t know: Ken is Keith’s brother. The Puerto trip is $50 less than the Wyoming trip. Air fares into Wyoming are expensive.
- Give thanks to the LORD, He is GOOD!