The more we express our gratitude to God for our blessings,
the more he will bring to our mind other blessings. The more
we are aware of to be grateful for, the happier we become.
– Ezra Taft Benson
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“no personal resolve or effort, however sincere and earnest, can cast out the devil of pride. When Satan casts out Satan, it is only to enter afresh in a mightier, more hidden power. Nothing can avail but this, that the new nature in divine humility be revealed in power to take the place of the old, to become as truly our very nature as that ever was….It is only by the indwelling of Christ in His divine humility that we become truly humble.” Andrew Murray, Humility pg. 30
“We may find professors and ministers, evangelists and workers, missionaries and teachers in whom the gifts of the Spirit are many and manifest, and who are the channels of blessings to multitudes, but of whom, when the testing time comes, or closer intercourse gives fuller knowledge, it is only too painfully manifest that the grace of humility as an abiding characteristic, is scarce to be seen. All tends to confirm the lesson that humility is one of the chief and the highest graces, one of the most difficult of attainment, one to which our first and chiefest efforts ought to be directed, one that only comes in power when the fullness of the Spirit makes us partakers of the indwelling Christ and He lives within us.” Andrew Murray, Humility pg. 28, 29
Men sometimes speak as if humility and meekness would rob us of that which is noble and bold and manlike. Oh, that all would believe that this is the nobility of the kingdom of heaven, that this is the royal spirit that the King of heaven displayed, that this is Godlike, to humble oneself, to become the servant of all!” Andrew Murray, Humility pg 26
Just as water ever seeks and fills the lowest place, so the moment God finds the creature abased and empty, His glory and power flow in to exalt and to bless. He that humbleth himself-that must be our one care-shall be exalted; that is God’s care. By His mighty power and in His great love He will do it.” Andrew Murray, Humility pg 25
Therefore the LORD heard this, and was wroth: so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel;
Because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation:
Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven, Psm. 78:21-23 KJV
If faith is the currency of Heaven, then unbelief is the coinage of Hell.
If faith stirs pleasure within God’s bosom, then unbelief fills His heart with great sorrow.
Psalm 78 indicates His wrath is particularly stirred against nations who have seen God in action or who have a history with God’s miracles and yet refuse faith in their generation for one reason or another.
God has given us great revelation of Himself in our generation. The proliferation of the gospel today is greater than it has ever been in world history. Miracles and testimonies of miracles abound. Yet still the mindset that was in the ancient Israelites tempts us.
Paul the apostle wrote this to the Corinthian Church:
I don’t want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters, about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago. All of them were guided by a cloud that moved ahead of them, and all of them walked through the sea on dry ground. 2 In the cloud and in the sea, all of them were baptized as followers of Moses. 3 All of them ate the same spiritual food,4 and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.
6 These things happened as a warning to us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did, 7 or worship idols as some of them did. As the Scriptures say, “The people celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.” 8 And we must not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did, causing 23,000 of them to die in one day.
9 Nor should we put Christ to the test, as some of them did and then died from snakebites. 10 And don’t grumble as some of them did, and then were destroyed by the angel of death. 11 These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age.
12 If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. 1 Cor. 10:1-12
We stand at a precipice of choice. We know what God has said. We have heard what God has done and is doing. Our choice is to approach His word and the testimony we have heard with an attitude of faith or an attitude of unbelief. On the one hand we have an example of what happened to those who approached the choice in unbelief. On the other we have the example of the 120 who followed Jesus after His ascension.
On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place.2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability…. All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.
43 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. 44 And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. Act 2:1-4, 43-47
I choose the latter and reject the former. How about you?
The paper quilt project. led by artists from Special Touch, C.cada and Cornerstone Prayer Shawl ministry.
“Create all the happiness you are able to create; remove all the misery you are able to remove. Every day will allow you, –will invite you to add something to the pleasure of others, –or to diminish something of their pains.”
― Jeremy Bentham
I am so happy my friends from C.cada chose to come with me and help with the Special Touch REACH NE event last Saturday.
I can remember running down the soccer field with the ball in front of me.
“Left foot”…”right foot”…. “Control it! Don’t lose it Lillie,” I remember thinking to myself.
I noted the girl to my left, a team mate. I saw my friend, Jody, up ahead on the field. I recognized the quarterback of the football team barreling down on me with the look of a wolf hunting its prey. Nothing in me registered alarm. No force of logic made me compare myself to him…quarterback vs flute player…avid sportsman vs reads comics for exercise. None of that crossed my mind until I ran into his massive bulk and found myself flying through the air like a rag doll. Up, up over his head I went and then proving Newton’s law of gravity I came down again.
When I came too, the gym teacher and my friends were standing over me. As I was helped to the side lines I remember Jody asking “What were you thinking?”
“WHAT WAS I THINKING?”
I wish I could say that was the only time in my life which I can look back on using those words; Sadly there are too many “what was I thinking’s” in my life.I suppose that is true of most of us, though. Life hands us many opportunities to make decisions, In our fallen state, we humans often make choices which in hindsight are just plain dumb. These decisions break our bodies, hearts and spirits. Sometimes even after the dust settles and we are helped to the sidelines by caring friends the result of the tumble-toss is not easily forgotten or recovered from.
The good news is that while we may not be able to help ourselves there is someone who can:
“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psm 34:18
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psm 147: 3
Jesus said of himself…“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,” Luke 4:18
Today whatever you are walking through, whether the mess is of your own making or somebody else’s, Jesus can heal and restore that which has become broken. Just go to Him in prayer and ask for the help you need. You will find Him ready and able to help.
“We shall find perfect rest in the one thing He offers us: meekness and lowliness. Humility is to be a salvation.” Andrew Murray, Humility pg. 22
