Speaking of expecting great things (see my previous post), I have reached over 200 followers here on my site. I want to thank everyone who reads my posts for taking time to consider what is offered here, and I sincerely pray you find what you read to richly bless your spirit and bring you nearer in faith to our merciful God. I am humbled and praise God for the privilege of reaching others with His Word and the grace and hope of our Lord Jesus Christ.
~ apl
“When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom.”
~ Proverbs 11:2
Pride has been the arch nemesis of humanity since the dawn of man. It was pride that made Adam believe he could “be like God“. Sinful willful pride is a hinderance to our prayers and fellowship with God (Job 35:12). And, of course, pride is always the prerequisite for our fall into sin and leads to our ultimate destruction. But the path to true holiness and spiritual life is one of true humility. Godly wisdom is the fruit borne from a life given to God in deference, faith and love. The Lord saves the humble (Ps. 18:27). With pride, man foolishly strives to lift himself. But it is the Lord who lifts the humble. And it is only the humble who find God’s grace.
~ apl
“Bring your life into accord with the Sermon on the Mount and such other New Testament Scriptures as are designed to instruct us in the way of righteousness. An honest man with an open Bible and a pad and pencil is sure to find out what is wrong with him very quickly. I recommend that the self-examination be made on our knees, rising to obey God’s commandments as they are revealed to us from the Word.”
~ A.W. Tozer
“I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant.”
~ Genesis 32:10
This was the sum of Jacob’s prayer when he considered all that the Lord God had done for him. Jacob had been the recipient of his father’s blessing and all the riches and favor of God fell upon him. His prayerful response to this outpouring of God’s benevolence upon his life left him with a keen sense of his own unworthiness of God’s kindness and faithfulness to him. It is when we comprehend with our whole being the true nature of our own unworthiness before God of His kindness and faithfulness to His servants that we come to really understand and truly experience His grace in our humbled life.
~ apl
“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.”
~ Philippians 2:3
Prayer Life Pause: Heavenly Father, grant me a heart of humility which will always cause me to esteem others better than myself. Help me to be like Jesus, who came not to be served, but to love and serve others. In Jesus’ name, amen.
“How many loaves do you have?”
~ Mark 8:5
The Lord Jesus put this question to his disciples on the occasion of feeding the four thousand. Now, Jesus didn’t have to ask the question, and He didn’t actually need any of their loaves of bread in order to miraculously feed the multitude. Yet, in this question, Jesus shows us a valuable lesson: If we are willing to yield all we have to Him, He can do greater things than us with them. The disciples, having seven loaves, gave them all over to Jesus to bless and share in abundance. And out of that giving to Christ, many others were blessed. May we loosely hold on to our possessions in this world . So that if you are asked of God how many or how much you have, you will yield all to Him that He may be glorified through you.
~ apl
Prayer Life Pause: Lord Jesus, take what I have and make it Thine so that everything I am and everything I have can be put to a more glorious and eternal use. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Christ our Lord would so deign,
down to man He humbly came.
To seek and save that which was lost,
and all at such a dear high cost.
Yet love would not let Him stay,
aloft in heav’n while we had strayed.
By faith in Christ now You may rise,
and reach the blessed eternal prize.
~ apl
Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, And His praise in the assembly of saints. Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. Let them praise His name with the dance; Let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp. For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation. Let the saints be joyful in glory; Let them sing aloud on their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand, To execute vengeance on the nations, And punishments on the peoples; To bind their kings with chains, And their nobles with fetters of iron; To execute on them the written judgment – This honor have all His saints. Praise the LORD!
“In trial and weakness and trouble, He seeks to bring us low, until we learn that His grace is all, and to take pleasure in the very thing that brings us and keeps us low. His strength is made perfect in our weakness. His presence filling and satisfying our emptiness, becomes the secret of humility that need never fail. The humble man has learned the secret of abiding gladness. The weaker he feels, the lower he sinks, and the greater his humiliations appear, the more power and the presence of Christ are his portion.”
~ Andrew Murray
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.
~ Mark 10:45 (NKJV)
The life and ministry of the Lord Jesus was to serve others. Jesus came to serve, and to be an example of what it means to live a life serving, loving and helping others. Though Jesus was, and is, God in heaven, in coming to the earth, He took on the form of a servant. He came not with pomp and glory, but as a man in humble life. He practiced self-denial on their account, and for them was about to lay down his life.
Jesus came to us in the form of a servant in order not only to show us the importance of serving others, but also ultimately to give His life for us – the greatest act of sacrifice and servitude. We have to choose this day whom we are going to serve. The Lord or ourselves? Jesus wants us to take on the heart of the servant. To find fulfillment, peace and joy in serving others just as He did during this ministry. Pray to the Lord to grant you a servant’s heart. A pure desire to see the needs of others even above your own. To think and esteem others before yourself. To humble yourself before God and man that you might better others through your acts of service. For, in the final analysis, when we really let our heart dwell upon it, is this not what Christ has already done for you?
~ apl
A Prayer Life 