Lord, Teach Us To Pray - Part Fifteen

 

1 Corinthians 13:4e

Love is not prideful.

    Finishing off this verse in 1 Corinthians is a word that rounds off the previous two words into one word: envy and boastfulness lead to pridefulness. Pridefulness is arrogance. Arrogance in the way we speak to one another, arrogance in our attitudes towards God, arrogance in the way we treat other people and the lands we live on. 

    Pridefulness is the evidence of self-righteousness, of putting one's own desires, its own lusts, above another's. It is the refusal to submit to God's Authority and Ownership of His creation: us. We did not create ourselves, nor can we uncreate ourselves. Our souls are eternal. Though our bodies die and decay, our souls either live or die eternally. 

    Love is humble. Love wears the garment of humility, choosing to reject tradition and following after godly obedience instead.

    1 Peter 5:5, 6

"Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you."

    Submission is the opposite of pride. But submission should not be given to just anyone who demands submission to them, unless we first understand what submission is. After all the word alone catches our attention and gets our emotions wound up. 

    To submit to God is to: Obey God and God's Word. It is to hear The Word of The Lord, and act upon It. It is to make one's self subject to His Authority and Rule. It is to approach the throne of grace with a humble heart, a broken and contrite heart, a repentant heart, a willing heart. 

    To submit to God is to recognize the Love He has for His creation. It is to see and begin to understand just how much our heavenly Father really loves us. John 3:16-18; Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:9, 10; Ephesians 2:1-9; Colossians 1:21, 22; 1 Peter 3:18; 2 Corinthians 5:14, 15; Titus 3:4, 5; 1 John 3:16. 

    It is to receive this Love into our hearts and spread this Love into the hearing, the seeing, of the people we interact with. It is to know the Love of God is in Christ Jesus and that this Love needs to be in us, as well. Therefore, let us submit to God in Christ that God's Love will be perfected in us.

    Unless we first submit to God and accept His perfect will for our lives, it will be impossible to submit to any other authority in our lives with the grace that God provides to all who surrender themselves to Him. 

    Pride got Lucifer kicked out of heaven. God created Lucifer in heaven when He was creating His angels. There are passages in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28:12-17 that describe fallen kings, who failed to submit to God, because of their pride in their accomplishments, who gave not the glory to God but took it upon themselves. Yet in these passages, we see the downfall of Lucifer, Satan, as well. (cf) Revelation 12:7-8, 12.

    Submission to evil and wickedness and unrighteousness will take us away from God and His Word and His Spirit. Choosing to live a life of separation from God's Love is choosing to walk in darkness and destruction. Sin is fun. Everyone says so. Not it isn't. And just who is this Everyone that is referenced? Sin is not fun. Sin's pleasures and enjoyments are only a mask, a disguise that covers the true nature of sin: rebellion against God. 

    "O Lord, You know our hearts and can see what needs fixing and replacing. Please continue to reveal Yourself to us in the areas we need You most. Holy Spirit, make us holy; for without holiness we know we will not see God and live. Make us sheep and not goats. Cleanse us and renew us right now. We surrender how we think (our thoughts), how we speak (what we say) and how we behave (what we do) to the Authority of our heavenly Father. Lead us where we need to be, and help us not go where we should not be. In Jesus' Matchless Name, Amen."

    

    

Prayer Cards - Sin Has No Dominion Over Me

 

Psalm 19:12, 13

Who can discern his own errors? Cleanse me from my hidden faults. Keep Your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent of the great transgression.

None of us can discern our own errors, for we are no better a saint than David was. We, too, must come to God and asked to be forgiven, to be cleansed, from our hidden faults. And to be kept from presumptuous sins.

What is a presumptuous sin? Arrogance and pride, self-righteousness, against God and God's people. Deliberate, willful disobedience to God's Word. Speaking against God's people, including gossip and slander. Saying unkind, unwise words to people we think we love, but in reality we struggle to love. Is that Christlike? No. So, O Lord, keep me from presumptuous sins. Cleanse me from ALL unrighteousness. Make me holy. Keep me near You.

Presumptuous sin is the great transgression. It is this transgression that caused Lucifer to rise up against God. He took his eyes off of God and turned to look at himself. The creation rose up against The Creator. This is self-love, self-righteousness, self-serving sin. It is pridefulness and vanity turned against God and His Word, His Son.

In order for presumptuous sins to not have dominion over us, we need to pray first thing in the morning. When I awake I greet The Lord with, "Good Morning, Lord." And I greet The Spirit with, "Good morning, Holy Spirit. Help me to accomplish what You have prepared for me today." We are in constant communication throughout the day. I am kept by His love.

When I was a new Christian, I would pray for a Holy Spirit muzzle, because I have a sharp wit and a sassy mouth, both of which seemed to get me into trouble. But as I grew in The Lord, He grew in me, and instead of a muzzle, I got wisdom. And grace. 

SATISFIED SOUL - Evermore Collective

BLIND SIGNS

BLIND SIGNS

Road closed, dead end

Signs I did not see.

In my pride and arrogance

Those signs were not for me

I crashed on through the warnings --

Surprise there's nothing there.

My soul just plummeted into a pit of dark despair.

Now there's no place to go, but up

How could I fall so far?

I did not heed the warning voice

Of conviction in my ear,

"Child look out, that road is closed. Stop right where you are. You can run and you can hide, but you won't get too far. You're never out of reach for Me, I'll catch you when you fall, Cause I'm the biggest God there is -- My Name is Lord of All."

Lord, You picked me up so very many times

Too scared to stand all by myself, I never saw You there. The life

that I was living brought so many close to You, they prayed for my

soul left and right, and Lord, You carried me through.

Dead end, Road closed.

Why did I grab the wheel? I tried to control my life and mis'rably

failed.

I crashed on through the warnings, I refused to yield. But now I

give myself to You, my heart and mind revealed.

You can see my essence

You know my every thought

You are the God I adore

I am the soul You bought.

What a precious God You are! What a Holy Lord!

I cannot lift Your Name enough nor thoroughly know Your Word.

Study hard and study long, Work my way on through

Till I reach my place of rest, Where I can worship You!

Good Measure

Good Measure

Luke 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that you give everyone it shall be measured to you again.

A couple things pop into mind: “what goes around comes around” and “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. But, we don’t always remember this verse do we when we are trying to behave well among others. The Old Testament was an eye for eye, but the New Testament, the New Covenant is Love one another as I have loved you. It is not revenge which motivates us, but grace.

1. God measures us, too. He measures our heart. Not how big it is, though, but how full it is and what it is full of. When our heart contains the love of God in Christ Jesus, our heart breaks apart. A broken heart is a perfect heart. It is only when we are broken before God, that God can use us best.

2.God measures our tongue. A calloused tongue speaks from a calloused heart. It shows wear and tear. Wearing away our self-righteousness and tearing down other people.

3. God measures our thoughts. An empty mind is not really empty when it is not focused on the things of God. Foolishness resides there and reveals itself whenever the tongue is loosed and the heart is hard.

4. God measures our steps. He knows when our feet lead us closer to Him and when our feet lead us farther away. But it is not our feet He measures: it is the steps we take with our feet.

5. God measures our works. It is His Kingdom we are working in and our labors are for His benefit. Have I done my best for Jesus? Or have I done my best for me?

And knowing God measures us should give us the impetus not to measure others against ourselves or against His Word. It is God’s place to judge, it is God’s place to deliver judgment. It is not our place to pass judgment on anyone, even God’s people.

How we treat the people in our lives has a direct and immediate impact on us, too. Pride breeds anger. Anger breeds resentment. Resentment breeds distrust, unforgiveness, gossip, envy, jealousy, greed, death. Our actions may not always take a life in the physical sense, but the spirit dies, the soul retreats and a heart breaks.

Be careful little eyes, little hands, little feet, and little tongue. God is watching and waiting and measuring us to see if we measure up.