Humility and Worship

5 Yet they say to each other, ‘Don’t come too close or you will defile me! I am holier than you!’ These people are a stench in my nostrils, an acrid smell that never goes away

Isaiah 65:5 (NLT)

In our churches to day do you ever run into that person who believes they can do no wrong? It’s their church not God’s and whatever they say goes. I have seen in my years many churches that are run in such a manner from either the pastor or the elders. Many of them have split over time and have created more churches. I can’t say if that is good or bad. The mind set the puts these things in to motion come from the disregard for the instruction of God’s word. Too many of individuals believe they can do a better job running the church than the individual God has placed as shepherd and too many shepherds have forgotten its God’s Church not their own. It’s the Holier than Thou mentality that cause such issues. Not selling the anointing that God places on people short but often because we are just Human beings born into sin pride creeps in and we allow it to take over. Jesus taught against such things.

9 Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: 10 “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector.11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer : ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector!12 I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’14 I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Luke 18:9-14 (NLT)

We must always remember God is sovereign He lifts up those He desires to promote and lays waist to those who He opposes. I would much rather serve Him in humility and live within His will than to have Him seeking to destroy me. You see if in the end we all will stand before Him and He will go through the Book of life and if we failed to live according to His word. He will tell you depart from me for I never knew you. We cannot allow our worry of what others think to keep us from the worship due God but it must never be about us in worship it must be about glorifying God.

In closing we have all heard this Proverb:

18 Pride goes before destruction and haughtiness before a fall.

Proverbs 16:18 (NLT)

Have humility in every area of your life especially in worship of God. You never know who it will affect and how it may lead them to the lord. Have a Blessed Day.

How does pride effect your witness?

How does pride affect your witness?

I know this is a hard pill to swallow but Pride prevents us from really reaching our full potential with God. I suffer from this and if you say you don’t I will call you a liar. It is the easiest of sins to slip into and the most destructive. There are two stories from scripture I want to share. The first is a continuation from yesterday’s devotional, it is found in Mark 10:42-45, “⁴² Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. ⁴³ Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” The disciples were just arguing over who was to be the greatest and Jesus rebukes them in this passage. I have to ask what does it mean to you to be a slave; I have spent a lot of time as a slave to money, trying to fit in, wanting the best of everything. In the end I have learned that spending time with those you love is the greatest gift you can ever receive or give. It will also lead more people to Jesus than you can ever imagine if they see His love reflected from you.  When you get together with friends and the talk is about what you have or what you are going to get people become envious and pride will creep in. It can and will cause hurt feelings that interrupt the relationship and undermine a person’s walk with God.

The other story I want to share is found in Luke 18:9-14, “⁹ To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ ¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’¹⁴ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Many times we may find ourselves when dealing with non-Christians coming off as arrogant or prideful. I have seen with my own eyes the trouble that this causes. Especially given the fact we are still human and make mistakes daily. I want to remind you the only difference between myself and a non-Christian is I have entered into a relationship with Jesus and he has forgiven me of my sins. When we start to beat people over the head with the Bible they can see if we are sincere or not.

Don’t allow Pride to keep you from being an effective witness for Jesus. In Proverbs 16:18, “Pride comes before destruction and an arrogant spirit before a fall” God designed us to live in relationship to him and one another. He has told us to pray for one another and carry each other’s burdens not to spread them as gossip. Yes I said it. God has a plan to use each of us and you never know who maybe holding the answer to your prayer. But if you are not willing to share your needs no one else can help you carry it. Praying the Lord bless were ever your shadow falls today.