NOVEMBER 4 READING…JAMES 4
We have all heard of the somewhat humorous story of the man who was recognized and given an award for his humility. The minute he received the award he had to give it back. Faith moves us from pride to humility. Our flesh, the world, and the devil all are at work against us by driving us to be prideful people. Being truly humble before God and others is contrary to everything we find in self, in the world, and from the prince of this world. It takes a willingness on our part to recognize this battle of pride that we all have and submit ourselves to the Lord in every area of our lives. In submission to the Lord, we respond to Him breaking our pride and self-sufficiency, and through this brokenness bring us to the realization of our great need for Him. Pride is the original sin, and is contrary to God in every way. Pride keeps us from rightly coming before the Lord. In Luke 18 Jesus tells a parable about a Pharisee and a publican entering the Temple to pray. The Pharisee was filled with pride, even to the point of thanking God that he was not a sinner like the publican. The publican would not as much as raise his head toward heaven, but in brokenness and humility said, “God be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.” Jesus declared that it was the prayer of the man who was broken and humble that the Lord heard and answered. The prideful Pharisee walked away in his sin, while the humble publican left that place forgiven. Let this be a lesson for us as we take it off the page, and live our lives in genuine faith which will always produce true humility.
It is God, and God alone, that controls our destiny. We fool ourselves when we assume we have control over today, tomorrow, or eternity. As followers of Jesus Christ, we need to believe in Him as Savior, but also believe Him as He gives us direction through His Word, and by His Holy Spirit. God has a great plan for each of our lives. He alone knows what they are, and how best for us to fulfill them. The essence of faith is seen in trust in the Lord as we walk the path of life that He has appointed for us. From the deepest recesses of our being we need to desire that God’s will be fulfilled in our lives. It only makes sense for us to have this desire as we have a good and gracious God, who only does what is best for us. In faith we are responsive to the will of God. As we respond to His will, He leads us to do what is good and right. The choice to do anything other than God’s will is a sin.
Please share your thoughts.
TOMORROW’S READING…JAMES 5
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