Is it Humility or Dishonor?

{ December 13, 2009 @ 7:36 pm } · { Christian }
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A couple of months ago, I was given the high honor of being asked to come up with something for the stage for Little Drummer Boy. I listened to the arrangement that the choir would be singing, then gave the Worship Pastor my initial ideas. He wanted to run with it. So I brought in several people to help and we came up with a really neat production of Little Drummer Boy. I’m not sure if any of us expected it to go as well as it did, but everyone did a really, really great job. Afterwards the worship pastor congratulated me on everything going well. I’m not really sure what I said. I can’t remember if I acknowledged the compliment or not! I’m really, really terrible at taking a compliment. I know that I should just smile and say “Thank you,” but in the moment I always feel embarrassed and undeserving. I haven’t thought much about it except that people don’t like to have their compliment rebuffed. But recently I read this:

But humility does not deny the evidences of His gracious work in us and through us. To do so would be to dishonor Him as much as to ascribe the cause and results of His working to ourselves.

Jerry Bridges, Transforming Grace

Wow. When someone compliments me on something that He has given or done in me and I am unwilling to accept the compliment, it is the same as saying that it’s not true — denying it. And that brings Him dishonor! So while it is true that I, myself am undeserving of any compliment, He deserves all honor for all His gracious gifts. And if I am to honor Him, then when His work in and through me is acknowledged by another, then I should be grateful for the person’s encouragement. And return the compliment to the God of all grace in praise and worship to Him!

My example was in regard to something pretty obviously from the Lord. But what about a more personal compliment? Such as someone saying, “You look really pretty today.” I say that even that is the grace of God on you. And it may be His radiance shining through you!

With this in mind, I am going to work over the next few weeks on accepting compliments properly. Knowing that I may not deserve the compliment, but that God, in His abundant grace, has chosen to pour some out on me and He deserves all praise and honor.

“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.”

Daniel 4:37 (Emphasis added)


“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

Revelation 4:11

Shepherds, Simeon, & Anna

{ December 10, 2009 @ 11:28 am } · { Uncategorized }
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As I was scanning my bookshelf the other day, I discovered an Elizabeth George book, Living with Passion and Purpose. It is a Bible study on the book of Luke which I had picked up with a couple of other studies, but never got around to doing it. What a perfect time to begin this — just as we are heading into the celebration of Christ’s birth!

Today I looked at chapter 2 of Luke and was struck by how verbal those who encountered Christ (even as a young baby) became. First there were the shepherds.

And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Luke 2:17-18, 20 (Emphasis added)

Then when Jesus was a little more than a month old, Simeon responded with great blessing and prophecy:

he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

Luke 2:28-35 (Emphasis added)

And just moments later the old, dedicated prophetess Anna spoke:

And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Luke 2:38

I know that this is all old info to most believers. I have known these parts of the stories for many years myself, but this is the first time that I’ve turned it back to myself. I have encountered Jesus and He has not left me unchanged. He has given me new life. He has given me freedom. He has shown me His worth, yet I am not as audible about my faith as these. I do love to write and can spend hours writing the Truth, what He is teaching me, how He has worked, etc. But I do not often speak about it. And so I am challenged to allow my faith to become more audible. To be willing to talk to the people I meet about His work, rather than to always stand quietly smiling. There are times and places for that, but in general, I hope to be more like Anna and “speak to all who are waiting for the redemption.” Many people are waiting, searching, and hoping for redemption. If only we would speak more about Him, perhaps they would discover that redemption is here!

I want to finish with George’s final paragraph from the study. It’s really good food for thought:

Think about your heart for a minute. How audible is your passion for Jesus? And how intense is the heat of your love for Him? The presence of the Savior should inspire a fervent reaction in your soul… just like it did in the shepherds, in Simeon, and in Anna. These believers verbalized and shared their passion — and the good news! — with others. Does your passion for the Son of Man show? Is it known by others? Are you, like the shepherds, glorifying and praising God for all that you know and have heard? Are you, like Simeon, blessing God with your every breath for His salvation? And are you, like dear Anna, giving thanks and telling others about the Lord Jesus? Are others hearing of your passion for Christ?

Garments of Grace

{ December 7, 2009 @ 11:17 pm } · { Christian, Self-reflection }
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I’m finally on the last chapter of Transforming Grace. I’ve been on the next to last chapter for some time, but got distracted by life. Tonight, I stopped at a Starbucks, enjoyed a coffee and a pastry, and read some more in the book. This brought me to the final chapter, “Garments of Grace.” It definitely caused me to stop and think.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Colossians 3:12-14

Jerry Bridges states,

Of course, the main thrust of Paul’s teaching in this passage is that we are to clothe ourselves with Christlike virtues, what I call “garments of grace.” But he grounds his exhortation on the grace of God — on the fact that we are chosen by Him, holy in His sight, and dearly loved by Him. It is difficult, perhaps impossible, for us to show compassion or patience to someone else if we are not sure God is patient with us — or worse, if we don’t sense the need for God to be patient with us. So these garments of gracious Christian character can only be put on by those who are consciously experiencing God’s grace in their own lives.

Hold it! I don’t know about you, but I struggle with patience — mostly when it comes to my children. Still, I struggle with it. I very quickly grow impatient with the extreme emotions of our five year old. The strong-willed defiance of our three year old easily sets off my anger. Could it be that I am so proud as to think that I don’t need God to be patient with me?

Now, if you were to ask me that, I would say, “Of course I need God to be patient with me! I’m always messing things up!” But is that what my life says that I believe?

An old friend used to always tell me, “You live what you believe.” He’s right. It’s just like the old chair illustration. I sit in the chair because I believe it will hold me up. If I don’t believe that the chair will hold me, then I won’t sit in it.

We may think that we believe that we need God’s patience, but if we are unwilling to show patience to others, then what do we really believe about our own need for patience? What does it say about how or if we are experiencing God’s grace in our lives in this area?

I’m sure that He is extending His patience towards me more abundantly than I can imagine! Now I need to seek His mercy and grace to help me more fully realize my need for it. Perhaps then, I will be empowered to be more patient with my children. When I see my over-abundant need for His patience towards me, then I will probably be more likely to extend greater patience towards them.

I can’t say that I enjoy the repentance and refining process, but I do like what happens on the other side. So my prayer tonight is that He would show me the greatness of my sin before Him and how much greater is His patience extended in grace, then transform my heart and mind to be more like Him so that I would be clothed with patience towards others.

Perhaps over the next few days it would be good to seek His work in all the other character traits that Paul mentions in the Colossians passage…

Humility Under the Mighty Hand of God

{ December 2, 2009 @ 4:46 pm } · { Uncategorized }
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I’m usually a very fast reader. I typically will finish a book in a day or two, even with all the duties of wife, mom, Sunday school teacher, and coach. However, I’m just now coming to the end of a book that I’ve been reading for a couple of months. Transforming Grace by Jerry Bridges is a wonderful book. It is not difficult to read. It isn’t boring. But this book is so full of Godly wisdom, that I have to take it in bites and ponder those over time! This time, the bite may take days. Maybe even weeks.

In this chapter, titled Appropriating God’s Grace, there is a portion that springs from Peter’s first epistle.

and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

1 Peter 5:5b-7

His main point is that we must be humble to receive grace (verse 5). He goes on to talk about how we become humble. And this is where I’m a bit hung up. Verse 6 says that we are to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God. Bridges (and most commentators) say that the “mighty hand” mentioned here is God’s discipline of us. As Bridges points out, the author of Hebrews tells us to endure for the sake of discipline (Hebrews 12:7). Endure what? Whatever circumstances God is using to discipline us — hardship.

Discipline, of course, does not just mean punishment. I discipline my children for bad behavior, but I also discipline them to behave rightly. There are various ways that I have for training proper behavior that are not punishment, but still fall in the category of discipline. Many Christians consider certain acts (prayer, Bible study, memorization, church attendance, etc.) to be spiritual disciplines. They are tools for training us in Godly behavior. So there are many times that God will discipline us to train us in holiness, not as a punitive act. He has different ways of doing that and one of them is our circumstances.

As Bridges states, “But it is not enough to see God’s mighty hand behind the immediate causes of all our adversities, nor to see it as the hand of a loving Father disciplining His children… The rub comes in submitting to it.”

This is where I’m stuck. Yes, I want to grow in grace! Yes, I want to be more holy! But I’m not so sure that I’m ready to submit to any circumstance that He brings along!!! I think of the hardships that many believers have gone through in order to be refined (and therefore bring Him great honor and glory) and I’m not willing to say that I’ll submit to that. I like my easy life! I like having a nice home, working cars, plenty of food, a husband that loves me, children that like to “praise up the Lord” (a quote from Ryan), and so much more! I like the abilities of dancing, walking singing, and more. I can’t say that I really want some hard circumstance in my life.

But I do want Him. I want to give Him great pleasure in the way this life is lived. I want to draw attention to Him. I want to walk in a manner worthy of His calling (Col. 1:10.) I want to do the works that He prepared for me (Ephesians 2:10)

And so now I cry out to Him with all my heart for His grace to enable me to submit to whatever He has for me. And I’m clinging (with a death grip) to the promises at the end of the 1 Peter passage –the promise that He will exalt me at the proper time (eternity, I suspect!) and the promise that He cares for me. Mostly, I’m holding onto that last one. He cares for me. He cares enough not to bring me harm in His refining fire, but to bring me through it so I will be purer. More like Him. A better reflection of His radiant glory.

Glory of Man or Glory of God?

{ December 1, 2009 @ 9:59 am } · { Christian, Self-reflection }
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This morning as I was considering what to do for my Bible study time, I went over to Revive Our Hearts. I didn’t find what I was looking for, but I came across an article, Curbing the Craving for Praise, that I felt God was using to speak to my heart. The article pointed to John 12:43, so I looked it up.

Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.

John 12:42-43 (Emphasis added)

Wow, what an indictment! These who believed in Christ loved the approval that man gives more than the approval that God gives. Therefore, they were unwilling to confess the Truth. Am I the same? I am not afraid of confessing Christ (at least in this society where He is accepted!), but I still have to say that I am the same. There are other ways that I seek men’s approval rather than God’s. In fact, I do it quite a lot!

As a gymnastics coach, I often find myself hoping that my students or their parents will say something to let me know that they like me as a coach. Even worse, I sometimes hope that they like me better than other coaches!

I find myself hoping similar things as a wife and a mother. My children aren’t yet old enough to “rise up and call her blessed,” but I look for praise from my husband, other moms, and relatives in regard to these things.

Even in writing these blogs, I sometimes find myself hoping for the praise of some reader who will leave a comment.

I don’t think that it is completely wrong to enjoy men’s praise. It can be a wonderful confirmation that we are doing things well. The problem is if man’s approval means more than God’s. As Paul said, “For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God ? Or am I striving toplease men ? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:10)

Paul also reminds us to do everything for the Lord since it is He who holds our inheritance and He whom we serve.

Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.

Colossians 3:22-25

When I am doing things in order to receive man’s approval, then I’m serving my pride. I’m not serving Christ in those times. I certainly don’t want to serve my pride! I want to serve Him! And I want to do it wholeheartedly. In everything that I do!

This is one area of my life that needs some pretty major work. I try not to act like it outwardly, but inwardly my hopes and dreams of receiving the praise of men consume too many thoughts. I must take those thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10:5) and instead think on “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure,whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” (Philippians 4:8)

The author of the article that I mentioned at the beginning recommended doing something physical to help give up the desire for worldly recognition. I think it’s a great idea, though I’m not yet sure what that will be, but it will begin with some time on my knees — the only place to appropriate the grace needed for this God-sized task. I cannot, in myself, change my heart from one of pride to one of humility. But He can and will as I seek to know Him more. What a glorious God we serve that He will empower us to be what He calls us to be!

Made it!

{ November 30, 2009 @ 4:47 pm } · { Christian }
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I committed to blog every day for the month of November and I did it! I tried to participate in NaBloPoMo last year, but fell short less than halfway through the month.

Last year I just hoped to give myself a jump start for making writing a habit. This year I wanted more.

This year I wanted to give myself some very public accountability in my Christian walk. Over the last twenty years of being a Christian, I have discovered that when I am seeking God, I write. By doing it publicly, I give myself the accountability of friends who choose to read. So I am going to try to keep it up. I may not make a post daily, but I’m going to try to do as many days as possible. If you have been kind enough to follow my posts and you see me stop posting for a time, please pray for me and give me a kick in the pants!

This year I also wanted to deepen my relationship with God. When I write, I find that I actually learn more. The thoughts that buzz around in my head become much more cohesive when I write them out. It forces me to bring organization to them. It drives me to find out what the Bible says about them. And it drives me to seek God for the words so that I don’t put in print things that would bring Him dishonor. I certainly have not done this perfectly, but He always gently corrects and pours out His grace to cover the multitude of sins!

I am thrilled that I made it this year, not because of the reward:

 

I am thrilled because I believe that this success is another leap forward in my walk of faith! I know that God is doing something new and amazing with my heart and life. Writing may or may not be a part of the future, but for now it is the vehicle that He is using to draw me nearer to Himself and I am overjoyed with the blessing!

Suffering Servant

{ November 29, 2009 @ 8:01 pm } · { Christian }
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Isaiah 52:13-53:12

Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.  As many were astonished at you– his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind–  so shall he sprinkle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand. Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.  He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned–every one–to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.  He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

As we enter this Advent season, I pray that we all remember why Christ came. And that we will rejoice not only over this first coming, but also the second!

Earthen Vessels

{ November 28, 2009 @ 3:42 pm } · { Christian, Self-reflection }
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The last week has been full of cleaning, cooking, serving, practicing several different parts of upcoming Christmas pieces,  normal daily things, and not much sleep. Despite all this, I was unable to get to sleep last night while waiting for my hard-working husband to come home from delivering pizza. So today I am very tired. Truthfully, blogging about Godly things is the last thing that I want to do. All I want to do is to sleep, but I made this commitment to blog daily through the month of November. I’m really glad that I did. Determined to keep my commitment, I sat down prayerfully considering what I should write about today. Then I remembered an unread devotional in my inbox. So I read it! It is based on 2 Corinthians 1-4, but it was the first part that really got me thinking…

Earthen vessels (clay pots) are brittle and of little value; but, if they are filled with gold, their value increases dramatically. We have this Treasure in earthen vessels (4:7). How thrilling it is to realize that within us we have what is, to God, the most priceless treasure in all the world — the indwelling Christ (Col. 1:27)! Because of this, we are precious to God (II Tim. 2:20-21).

Precious to God. Even though my earthen vessel (“jars of clay” in most modern translations) isn’t even as pretty as this one! This vessel is full of impurities. My sins are so many that I don’t even know them all. But I’m still precious to Him! So precious that He is working out all those impurities, cleaning me up to look more like Him. And so precious that He continues to use me for His kingdom in marvelous ways.

I chose this picture because of the water being poured out. It ties in to so many Biblical analogies. I could talk about them for some time, but I’m just going to say that I’m joyously grateful that He has fashioned me to carry the Living Water. I’m amazed that though I continue to stumble and bring Him dishonor through my sins, He still pours out and overflows His Spirit in me! It is truly an amazing God that we serve.

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

{ November 27, 2009 @ 10:39 am } · { Christian, Self-reflection }
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Yesterday we had the family to our home for Thanksgiving. It was wonderful. The food all turned out right (the turkey was even juicy!). There was enough food. My two boys kept fairly good attitudes and behavior. There were no arguments (that I know of). And most of all, God was glorified! We did a project with the boys. They made “thankfulness” cards. Everyone wrote down something that they were thankful for. Then my husband collected all the cards and read them. I thought that we would get things like, family, friends, a job, etc. Simple things that are huge blessings. We did get those, but nearly every card also included some statement about God’s work in that  person’s life! It brought me exceedingly great joy to hear so many declarations of God’s greatness. :)

I was going to share the list here (anonymously, of course) but we can’t seem to find the cards. So instead, I’m going to include a sweet picture of my boys after the feast. One of the things that I’ve always wanted to do and have never been able to accomplish was to decorate the house for Christmas after the Thanksgiving dinner. It is something that one of my older sisters has always done and that I’ve always greatly enjoyed. In the past we have always returned too late to be able to do it. This year, I didn’t get the whole house decorated, but I did get it started (and hope to finish today). The first project was to let the boys decorate their tree. They loved it!

Afterwards, we read a shortened child’s version of the Christmas story and put up an advent calendar. Neither one could wait to put the star in the first day. And Ryan has already moved it to day 2! Hopefully we can get it straight on December 1st!

I love that Thanksgiving leads right into Christmas. There is nothing to be more thankful for than the Lord coming down as a lowly babe in a lowly manger only to die for us. Our choir is singing a great song this Christmas called Love Came Gently (a couple of girls and I are dancing to it!):

Love came gently soft as a baby
Born to a lonely virgin girl

Wrapped in rags and
Laid in a manger
Love came gently to our world

Only shepherds and the wisest
Found him beneath the star so bright
While the nations waiting in slumber
Love came gently in the night

Though there was no fanfare or trumpet
Heralding hope had come to earth
For the promise tenderly answered
Choosing instead a humble birth

Love came gently sweetly to save us
Knowing the price he’d have to pay
And to all who trust in the Savior
Love come gently
Love comes gently
Love comes gently still today

I love that line, “knowing the price he’d have to pay.” He knew, yet He came. And He lived fully and loved fully so that He would die a death that we cannot imagine, being forsaken by His own Father, in order that we wouldn’t have to die. Wow, what an amazing love!

And the story doesn’t end! He raised back up from the dead and will raise us with Him! What a glorious reason to celebrate and give thanks! I pray that the season of thankfulness doesn’t end with yesterday’s dinner, but goes on for the entire year. And that the celebration doesn’t stop Christmas morning, but is evident throughout my life. May God be honored and glorified abundantly through all the days I have here on earth! And I pray the same for you :)

Who is on Your Guest List

{ November 26, 2009 @ 9:36 am } · { Christian, Self-reflection }
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This morning I received a convicting devotional in my inbox. The author based her message on Luke 14:12-14. This is a parable that Jesus spoke to the Pharisees when dining at the home of one of them. Just before He told this story, He talked about the seating placement and the idea of not assuming the highest place. He finishes that statement with, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (verse 11) This statement about humility leads right into the next parable.

He said also to the man who had invited him, ”When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

Luke 14:12-14

Wow. I have prayed for humility many times. It seems that this is one expression of humility — to invite the downtrodden, the unwanted, and the hurting to your feast. As I read Sharon Sloan’s devotion about having a guest list with these types of people, I couldn’t help but think about the feast that we’ll have here today. We invited our family. That’s pretty typical for Thanksgiving Day and it’s not that we shouldn’t have invited family, but it made me wonder if there is someone that He would have had me invite that I did not. Someone that would love to feel part of a family. Someone who needs a friend. Perhaps someone who does not know Him.

So as we now go about the final preparations for a day of  feasting and giving God all the glory for His many provisions, I will be constantly praying that He would bring to mind and heart anyone that He would have me invite over to share in the meal and festivities.

It’s neat that He will bless and honor that, “and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” But I just want to grow in humility and honor Him. I don’t want or need the blessing. I’ve already received more than my share of blessings! I truly long to bless others with Him. And if He doesn’t bring anyone to mind for this feast, there will always be other parties to seek Him about His desired guest list!

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