Tagged: humility

for one who consistently chooses to go lower still.   Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:2 As our small hiking group approached a fork in the rocky mountain path, two of us were distracted, quibbling about mean matters of life. The quiet voice of our leader interrupted the chatter. Surveying ahead, I think we need to go lower. It was then that we noticed the danger of the path we were on and the safer passage available to us. One trail led high and narrow, crumbling with fallen rock, as it clung to the face of a slippery cliff. The other path led low and steady, wide and stable. One of us who was stubborn took… Read More

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry."  Jesus, in Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus' famous words in Matthew 11 have beckoned to me during many a season of exhaustion. But today, as I read them in context, I see a new invitation. There is something else that weighs me down, something that steals my joy and zaps my energy. It's the sin of pride, and like a sneaky lion, it constantly crouches in the periphery of my life,… Read More

Who can tell how often he offends? O cleanse me from my secret faults. Keep your servant also from presumptuous sins, lest they get the dominion over me; so shall I be undefiled, and innocent of great offense. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be always acceptable in your sight, O Lᴏʀᴅ, my rock and my redeemer.   Psalm 19:12-14, The New Coverdale Psalter, from the Book of Common Prayer The speaker that day explained to the roomful of ministry leaders that everyone has a blind side. His next words caused a swell of response: “And your blind side is not blind to others. They will see your faults when you do not.”  The fact that we can do… Read More

But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble." So submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and make your hearts pure, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter into mourning and your joy into despair. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you. James 4:6-10 I used to dread our visits to my old great-aunt's house. Adult conversation about achy knees and cousin Sam's latest romance was utterly boring. So I would sneak away to the raspberry patch and eat sweet berries until my cheeks ran red with… Read More

From that time on Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him: "God forbid, Lord! This must not happen to you!" But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but on man's." Matthew 16:21-23, NET   Peter said, "I have no silver or gold, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, stand up and walk!"… Read More

For Pastor Dave, with gratitude And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. And God will exalt you in due time, if you humble yourselves under his mighty hand by casting all your cares on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:5-7, NET I don't care. This sentence brings to my lively mind a clear picture of a stubborn child, arms crossed, refusing to obey.  Or a weary ministry leader beleaguered by too much caring and not receiving enough care in return.  The child only cares about what he wants; the adult is desperately drawing boundaries to self-protect from any more pain in the challenging task of so much… Read More

In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. Isaiah 11:10   Have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus: who emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant; and. HumbledHimself, becoming obedient even unto death. Wherefore God also highly exalted Him. Philippians 2:5-7 We once had a home on a quiet street with the lines drawn in order and houses neatly separated by tidy fences and carefully sectioned acres. The day we moved there from a series of years living near the Sahara, I lay down in the front yard and laughed for joy until my ribs were sore. Lush, green grass… Read More

I am grateful to the one who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he considered me faithful in putting me into ministry, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor, and an arrogant man. 1 Timothy 1:12-13 If Paul had stopped his sentence after the word ministry, he would have been no different from the Pharisees in their religious pride of position. Yet he continued. …even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor, and an arrogant man. The small phrase even though is a sharp pivot from pride to humility. Ministry is littered with traps that open to a gaping pit of pride. Without even though, even the most gifted minister is vulnerable to falling headlong. However, even though… Read More

But God has chosen the foolish things of the world, the things that are not, to nullify the things that are. 1 Corinthians 1:28 Come and be small, said no one ever. Except, perhaps, one who learned the hard way that less is more, small is truly big, and to lose one's life is to find it. Saul's name meant sought after. One day, he would be called Paul instead. Paul means little. But that would come later, at great cost. Saul used to be the biggest personality in the room. Like a raging bull with all the credentials of ascribed honor behind him, he was an indomitable force in the early days of the church. There are many kinds of honor in the world,… Read More

For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake… 1 Corinthians 4:9-10. The great man of God, Paul the apostle, lived an examined life. A life observed, a life measured, a life exhibited for all to see. In the beginning a murderous persecutor of the Lord’s disciples, he later became God’s chosen instrument to the Gentiles, kings, and children of Israel (see Acts 9). From the beginning, Paul’s life was a spectacle. Great testimonies often are, especially of the sent ones. The Greek term for apostle, from apo = from and stella = send forth, means… Read More