Keys707 Blog

Engaging Our Societies Pt. 2

"We don't live in our realm of feelings and emotions. We live in God's reality called Faith."

Many sincere Christians everywhere find themselves in situations where the Lord leads them to invest more time in building relationships with people, in being willing to be patient as they live their faith, witness as the Lord leads them, and wait for the fruit to come in God’s time. As the “salt of the earth,” the Lord is putting more of us in situations where we can build relationships, friendships, and give a more in-depth witness over time, which will allow people to discover the truth and the Lord’s Spirit for themselves as a result of seeing it lived before their eyes by faithful Christians.

Many past methods of reaching people still work. Of course, much depends on individuals and their needs, as well as the culture and mores of the society you’re in. In general, however, the world has become more skeptical, and more people are looking for “proof” and have a need to be fully persuaded before accepting spiritual concepts. Your example and your interactions with them can go a long way toward convincing them that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

Jesus is the ultimate businessman. Nothing in His creation is squandered, from the tiniest molecule to the greatest star. So if He places you somewhere, He will bring people across your path who need you.

If you’ve been discouraged and thinking that your efforts to share your faith are not accomplishing much, look again. Your words and example of His love shining through you can convince others of the truth of His love and power in ways that will cut through the skepticism and unbelief that is so prevalent today. Your actions, words, and love for others can cut through the darkness of this world to reach those who need the truth.

Whatever situation you may find yourself in, God can raise up opportunities for you to be a force for good. They may be visible and far-reaching, or they may be less visible and small, but He has promised that if we are seeking, He will help us to find.3 The Holy Spirit is always working, always guiding people in their search for happiness, in their search for “the unknown God.”4 He wants to become known to them, and you can be the instrument He uses to help them to make that connection.—Maria Fontaine

*

The Great Commission gives every Christian the privilege and responsibility of preaching the Good News until the end of history: “Go and make disciples of all nations.”5 Every Christian alive today is linked, through a complex chain of historical events, with this pivotal moment. Each of us has a family tree of faith reaching back into the mists of time. Down the ages, like runners in a great relay race of history, others have passed this Good News from one generation to another. And now the baton has been handed to us. It’s our turn.

We have been entrusted with passing on the Good News to those around and beyond us. It is an exciting thought. For a start, it helps us to see how we fit into the bigger picture. Yet for many it is also a rather challenging thought. It seems too big a demand. Are we really up for this? How can we cope with such a weighty responsibility? It is important to realize that Christians have always felt overwhelmed by the challenges of passing on our faith. We feel that we lack the wisdom, insight, and strength to do this—and we are right to feel so. But we must appreciate that God knows us, exactly as we are.6 He knows our deepest secrets, our strengths, and our weaknesses. And God is able to work in us and through us to speak to the world for which Christ died.—Alister E. McGrath

1 ESV.
2 1 Corinthians 1:23–24 KJV.
3 Matthew 7:7–8.
4 Acts 17:23.
5 Matthew 28:18–20 NIV.
6 Psalm 139.

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Engaging Our Societies Pt. 1

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”–Ralph Waldo Emerson

A compilation SEPTEMBER 22, 2015

Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.—Acts 17:16–17 1

*

The effectiveness of Paul’s evangelism was not just a consequence of divine calling, but also of careful planning. An important principle he applied to his listeners was to teach what is unknown by means of what is known. If our attempts to communicate something new begin with the unfamiliar, we will almost certainly confuse our listeners and leave them disinterested. But if we start with what is already familiar and carefully build a bridge to the unfamiliar, we are likely to gain interest and understanding.

Paul looked for a common platform on which he could build a bridge that would take his listeners from their familiar territory to the unfamiliar truths of the Gospel. … In the one recorded Scripture of Paul preaching in a synagogue, he connects with his Jewish hearers by addressing them as ‘children of Abraham’, and begins to talk about the dramatic deliverance from Egypt under Moses, all very familiar territory to them. To a group of women in Philippi, worshipping a God they didn’t know, Paul joins them and introduces a positive message about a God they could know. To the pagans of Lystra, he finds common ground in creation, and how a living God sustains it all, putting food on their tables and joy in their hearts. To Greek philosophers in Athens, he refers to futile attempts of men to express God in terms of gold, silver and stone, and tactfully leads them to a God who gives life and breath.

When reaching people for Christ, our starting point should be in the thinking, culture and presuppositions of our hearers, so that we first get into their territory. Then, like Paul, tactfully building that bridge that will lead them to the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.—Charles Price

*

Jesus indicated that our problem is heart trouble. The greatest need of our great cities at this moment is evangelism. The apostle Paul stood in the heart of pagan, secular, immoral, and violent Corinth and said, “We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness, but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”2 The proclamation of the Gospel is still the desperate need of men today. We are never going to reverse the moral trends without a spiritual awakening, and we are never going to have a spiritual awakening until the cross of Jesus Christ is central in all our teaching, preaching and practice.—Billy Graham

**
You can't keep the birds from flying over your head, but you can sure keep them from building a nest in your hair!

It is impossible for the Devil to win over you unless you give in to him. "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world" (1Jn.4:4). The only way he can win is if you quit, give up, give in, surrender, stop fighting. If you keep fighting You keep winning!

So don't even let the ol' camel get his nose in or he'll soon have the entire tent! "Give no place to the Evil One!"

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The Touch of Tenderness - Final

(Continued)

I am afraid I have visualized you as a man. Yet as I see you now, son, crumpled and weary in your cot, I see that you are still a baby. Yesterday you were in your mother’s arms, your head on her shoulder. I have asked too much, too much.—W. Livingston Larned3

*

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.—Galatians 5:22–234

A prayer for love and mercy

We need You, Jesus!—Gentle, loving Jesus, who wept for the multitude. You were so weary, and yet You looked upon the multitude and had compassion on them and healed them. As exhausted as You were, You didn’t harden Your heart! You stayed tender, quiet, and humble. You wept over them time and again. You didn’t want to see them suffer, and You wept for them.

Help us not to get hard. Because we’re in a hurry, the quick way is to harden our heart. We don’t take the time to soften and melt and love and care for others. Help us, O God, not to get hard!

You had so much to say against the hardness of hearts.5 Help us not to judge others with harshness, Lord. I make so many mistakes and don’t want to be judged harshly, so it’s not hard for me to have mercy. You’re so good to me, Lord, when I’ve been so sinful and such a failure. So I understand how You can help me to be merciful, patient, long-suffering, and kind.

We should put our arms around others and encourage them and inspire and show we have faith in them.

We’re in too big a hurry sometimes. It’s like getting impatient with a little baby. How many years it takes to grow up and for parents to teach and to train them—years of love and patience.

Help us to have patience. Help us to have love. Help us to be willing to take time.

If anything’s to be done, You have to do it, Lord! We have to wait on You, and know You’re the one. Not by power, nor by might, but by Your Spirit.6 We ask that You will teach us patience and faith, which takes time.—David Brandt Berg7

*

If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tenderness and mercies, fulfill ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord and of one mind.—Philippians 2:1–28

*

Where true strength lies

We’re accustomed to thinking of strength as opposite to gentleness, softness, and tenderness. Yet this is not always true. During World War 1 British fighter pilots made an amazing discovery, that thick layers of silk stopped low-velocity shrapnel better than steel. So they wound the silk around their heads and then wore leather horse-riding helmets on top of the silk.

Scientists still aren’t sure just what it is that gives silk its strength, but it’s true, that in certain situations soft, gentle, tender silk can prove far stronger than cold, hard steel.

Jesus showed us the same holds true for human character … that gentleness, a heart that’s soft toward others, and tenderness are in fact qualities of great strength!—From storiesforpreaching.com9

Published on Anchor September 2015. Read by Gabriel Garcia Valdivieso.
Music by Michael Dooley.

1 NLT.
2 Philippians 4:8.
3 Originally published in People’s Home Journal. A version of this story on YouTube: ://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gig8KkpsWvI.
4 KJV.
5 Matthew 7:1–5; Romans 2:1–6.
6 Zechariah 4:6.
7 Originally published May 1971, adapted.
8 KJ21.
9 ://storiesforpreaching.com/where-true-strength-lies.

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The Touch of Tenderness Pt. 1

The fruit of the righteous - a tree of life!

A compilation Sep 15, 2015

Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.—1 Peter 3:8

*

Everybody needs encouragement! Most people feel a certain amount of inferiority complex and tend to get a little discouraged with themselves, so encouragement is a very important thing! We all need the encouragement of others, and yet most of us fail all too often to express appreciation or comfort to those about us.

The Lord knows that encouragement is very important. … “Whatsoever things are good, if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things!” We need to apply that to those around us and try to remind ourselves constantly to think on and praise others for their good qualities, the good things, as the Lord does with us! Amen?—David Brandt Berg

Father forgets

Listen, son, I am saying this as you lie asleep, one little paw crumpled under your cheek and the blond curls stickily wet on your damp forehead. I have stolen into your room alone. Just a few minutes ago, as I sat reading my paper in the library, a stifling wave of remorse swept over me. Guiltily, I came to your bedside.

These are the things I was thinking, son: I had been cross to you. I scolded you as you were dressing for school because you gave your face merely a dab with a towel. I took you to task for not cleaning your shoes. I called out angrily when you threw some of your things on the floor.

At breakfast I found fault, too. You spilled things. You gulped down your food. You put your elbows on the table. You spread butter too thick on your bread. And as you started off to play and I made for my train, you turned and waved a hand and called, “Goodbye, Daddy!” and I frowned, and said in reply, “Hold your shoulders back!”

Then it began all over again in the late afternoon. As I came up the road I spied you, down on your knees, playing marbles. There were holes in your stockings. I humiliated you in front of your friends by marching you ahead of me to the house. Stockings were expensive—and if you had to buy them, you would be more careful! Imagine that, son, from a father!

Do you remember, later, when I was reading in the library, how you came in timidly, with a sort of hurt look in your eyes? When I glanced up over my paper, impatient at the interruption, you hesitated at the door. “What is it you want?” I snapped.

You said nothing, but ran across in one tempestuous plunge, and threw your arms around my neck and kissed me, and your small arms tightened with an affection that God had set blooming in your heart and which even neglect could not wither. And then you were gone, pattering up the stairs.

Well, son, it was shortly afterwards that my paper slid from my hands and a terrible sickening fear came over me. What has habit been doing to me? The habit of finding fault, of reprimanding—this was my reward to you for being a boy. It was not that I did not love you; it was that I expected too much of youth. I was measuring you by the yardstick of my own years.

And there was so much that was good and fine and true in your character. The little heart of you was as big as the dawn itself over the wide hills. This was shown by your spontaneous impulse to rush in and kiss me good night. Nothing else matters tonight, son. I have come to your bedside in the darkness, and I have knelt there, ashamed!

It is a feeble atonement; I know you would not understand these things if I told them to you during your waking hours. But tomorrow I will be a real daddy! I will chum with you, and suffer when you suffer, and laugh when you laugh. I will bite my tongue when impatient words come. I will keep saying as if it were a ritual: “He is a boy—a little boy!”—W. Livingston Larned
**

Philippians 4:8.

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Commending Change

Love Always Finds a Way!

By Maria Fontaine MAY 7, 2015

This is a time of great change in the world: technological, economic, religious, political, business, and environmental. The results are seen in governments, organizations, and in the lives of families and individuals. Change is touching all spheres of society.

Many people, from pastors to productivity gurus to life coaches to leaders in society, have realized the benefits of change, whether unexpected or planned, and are extolling its virtues. Everyone knows that it is rough to go through, but when the difficulties are weighed against the benefits that the changes bring about, most agree that it is well worth it.

Much of the benefit that we derive from change depends on how we look at it and whether we embrace it or not. Attitude is a key factor. Attitude can make the difference between succeeding despite difficulty or succumbing to it.

If we can focus on the positive aspects of change and look at all the emotional, physical, and spiritual challenges as necessary means to get us to our destination, we can actually enjoy the trip. Life is a journey, and change, even big change, is a part of life’s “equation.”

As we follow the Lord and strengthen our faith through His Word, we can trust that a positive outcome will occur regardless of the circumstances. Faith helps us through difficult times.

As Christians, we have the advantage of the Bible and God’s words in other literature. We have prayer (whether it be private or from others), personal prophecy, praise, and meditation to assist us during these times. In addition, there are many individuals who have very positive experiences from the changes that they’ve gone through or have helped others go through, who can be an encouragement to us.

Some important factors that I’ve found personally helpful include:

1. Developing a positive attitude about change in general, as well as specific changes that affect me. Trying to look at, or anticipate, the prospective good results ahead. Since there isn’t any way we can stop change—and if we try, it will knock us over—I’ve found that the best thing to do is to embrace it and “go with the flow.” Being positive gives us buoyancy and skill in riding waves of change that we wouldn’t have otherwise been able to.

2. Asking the Lord to help me to see the benefits of the big changes that He’s bringing into my life. I like to “mine” these benefits by seeking Him for the understanding and wisdom that is needed to get the most out of these changes. He speaks to me and gives me the answers that I need when I desperately seek Him.

3. Realizing that at times the toughest things that I have to pass through are the things that are the most beneficial for me in the long run. It can be hard to think of this when I’m going through a difficult situation. But it helps to remind myself that the faith and trust I must exhibit as I hang on may be one of the things that will help me to grow the most in that particular situation. Sometimes I just need to “hold on,” knowing that once the storm passes, the sun will come out and I will see everything in a new light.

4. Connecting with the Lord regularly for my personal encouragement and guidance, through communing with His Word, through meditation and prayer, etc. As destabilizing as change can be, God’s Spirit will always remain our anchor, and His Word will give us a faith-filled attitude that will make the ride smoother.

* Remembering that God loves me and cares deeply about me and my happiness and well-being. In His great and all-abiding love for us He sometimes has to bring into our life something that might not seem “good,” but can actually turn out to be an experience of great benefit.

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God's Idea of Righteousness - Final -

But he had to be completely exposed—his wickedness and his sins and his weaknesses. He was sitting up there on his throne so high and mighty and seemingly so perfect and righteous. The prophet Nathan came along and pointed the finger at him and said, “Thou art the man.”7 “You’re the wicked one, the sinner.” And then the judgments of God began to fall and he lost everything, everything but Bathsheba; she stuck by him. He was absolutely stripped except for a few loyal friends and followers.

A guy couldn’t have gone down in worse defeat than King David did. And the worst of all his sins was that he had become a hypocrite because he covered up all of his other sins and pretended to be so righteous, judging other people’s problems. That’s when the prophet came along and exposed him.

He apparently had a lot of spiritual pride that had to be humbled, because look what a great hero he was to begin with. Even as a little boy he was a great hero. He even fought and killed a lion and a bear to protect his sheep.8 Then all Israel knew what a great hero he was when he killed Goliath, the giant. They were praising his name above King Saul, saying, “Saul hath slain his thousands, but David his tens of thousands.”9 It could be that he was quite proud, which is no doubt why the Lord had to finally really humble him and disgrace him and debase him down to the bottom before he finally became humble and sympathetic to others and wrote those marvelous Psalms.

So David is a dandy bad example, yet a great example of a great man who was apparently lifted up in pride for a while and thereby got into great sin and thereby had to have a great humbling, a great judgment, a great confession, and a terrible stripping of everything.

His was a great sin and it was a great dealing of God with him for his iniquity, but it was also a great repentance, and as a result, a great forgiveness. But it cost him the child of the wife that was dearest to him, Bathsheba. But praise God, as a result of his repentance through having gone through that soul agony of the loss of that first child of Bathsheba, God forgave, and in His mercy gave him another one named Solomon, who became a very great king, the wisest and richest Israel ever knew.

And from that squeezing and twisting of David’s life came forth the sweet honey of the Psalms and the fragrance of his praises to the Lord for His mercy. It was all God and all grace, and none of himself or his own righteousness—a lesson that has been an encouragement to other great sinners like me and you ever since.

“And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto His disciples, ‘Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?’ But when Jesus heard that, He said unto them, ‘They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: For I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’”10

If you’ll remember that no one is perfect, including you, you’ll help others to do the best they can, as you’d like them to do to you. It helps to always remember we’re all sinners and we all make mistakes and that we must “forgive one another even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven us.”12

Jesus taught us to pray, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”13 If you can’t forgive, you can’t have real love or real humility; you can’t have mercy, because love is forgiveness and mercy.

“Above all things have fervent love one toward another.”14

7 2 Samuel 12.
8 1 Samuel 17:34–37.
9 1 Samuel 18:7–9.
10 Matthew 9:10–13.
11 Hosea 6:6.
12 Ephesians 4:32.
13 Matthew 6:12–15.
14 1 Peter 4:8.

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God’s Idea of Righteousness Pt. 1

By David Brandt Berg Aug 20, 2015

There is no goodness except God.1 God is the only one who is good. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”2 Everybody’s bad except those who have the goodness of God, the love of God, and the righteousness of God. God’s Word says that all other righteousness, man’s righteousness, your own righteousness, your own goodness, is like filthy rags. “We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.”3 In other words, God says if you don’t have His goodness, which is true goodness, true holiness, real love, real mercy, you have nothing but a filthy rag!

God’s idea of righteousness is the pitiful, hopeless, lost, humble, sinful sinner who knows he needs God. Those He came to save. “He came not to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners.”4 So God’s idea of goodness is godliness—a sinner who knows he needs God and depends on Him for salvation—not the self-righteous who think they can save themselves by their own goodness.

God’s idea of saintliness is not sinless perfection, self-righteousness. It’s a sinner saved by grace, a sinner who has no perfection, no righteousness of his own at all, but is totally dependent on the grace, love, and mercy of God by faith. Believe it or not, those are the only saints—there are no others.

God knows you’re anything but perfect and can’t be perfect and never will be perfect, and usually you’re pretty much of a mess, like the rest of us. So the only question, the only standard, is: Do you depend on the Lord, trust Him and His grace and His love and His mercy and give Him all the glory and the credit? If there’s anything good you ever do, do you give Him the glory? Do you say, “Thank Jesus; don’t thank me. Thank the Lord. It’s all the Lord!”

That’s what the Lord looks to as saintliness, the person who knows he’s a sinner and therefore gives God all the glory if anything good comes of what he’s done. As Paul said, “I know that in me, my flesh, dwelleth no good thing.”5 There’s nothing good about me or my flesh; anything good is only the Lord. That’s sainthood!

David—a sinning saint

The greatest men in the Bible were guys who made terrible mistakes and realized they were sinners, that they needed God. I never got much encouragement from those who were so perfect, like Enoch, who walked so close to God that he got completely out of touch with humanity, so God had to take him out of this world. I take a lot more heart from the pathetic stories of the drunks and the harlots and the publicans and the sinners who came to Jesus for love and mercy.

In fact, one of the worst characters in the Bible is my greatest inspiration. One of the most wicked men in the entire Bible, who was a murderer, an adulterer, and a liar, but whom God turned around and called a man after His own heart, King David.6

The most encouraging thing about David’s example was not his perfectionism but his human failures, sins, and shortcomings, which gave God a chance to get all the glory and show there’s hope for me—and you. I always figured if God could forgive even as bad a guy as David, surely He could forgive me. I think King David has been an encouragement to a lot of people—to know how much mercy God has and how much forgiveness He has, how good He can be if you’ll really repent like David did.

He was one of the biggest sinners in the Bible and did some horrible things. But look what a marvelous change occurred in him when the Lord really humbled him. It came through a humbling of his spiritual pride.

1 Matthew 19:17.
2 Romans 3:23.
3 Isaiah 64:6.
4 Matthew 9:13.
5 Romans 7:18.
6 Acts 13:22.

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The Lamp of the Word - Final -

The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.—John 6:634

Taking quality time in My Word
Quality time in My Word is having heart-to-heart communication with Me, and giving your spirit the spiritual nourishment that it needs for the day or the challenge. It’s touching Me in the spirit. As you stir yourself up, your spirit will reach out and touch Me so that you can be filled, refreshed, renewed, and invigorated.

Quality time is resting in My arms and sitting at My feet like Mary—content to receive from Me and connect with Me and drink in My Spirit. It’s experiencing Me with your mind and your heart and your spirit, and giving Me your time and focus and letting Me satisfy your spiritual hunger.

I am the Word, and through connecting with Me during your time in My Word, you become more one with Me. As you read and study My Word, seek to apply it, and to store it in your heart, you will grow in experiencing My living presence and you will come to know Me more intimately, more deeply, more personally. You will become one with Me and one with My Word even more.

*

Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.—Daniel 12:35

*

Real eternal wisdom is all about knowing Me. There is not only wisdom, but also great pleasure to be found in heart-knowledge of Me. This pleasure far surpasses anything the world has to offer. Moreover, those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens. So you will be wonderfully rewarded for your wise practice of enjoying My presence. The perceptive ones in My kingdom are those who have true understanding of Me that is grounded in My Word. The more you absorb Scripture—allowing it to penetrate your heart, mind, and spirit—the better you can know Me. All those who know Me as their Savior will shine in heaven forever. Let this sparkling promise fill you with bright hope.

Another awesome privilege I offer you is to lead many to righteousness. Your life and your words can influence others for righteousness. As you seek to live near Me, enjoying My presence, your light shines before men—helping them find Me. Influencing others for righteousness increases your ability to shine like the stars for ever and ever. Living close to Me not only blesses you now but enlarges your capacity to reflect My glory throughout all eternity!6

*

Lord, give me your unfailing love, the salvation that you promised me ... for I trust in your word. Do not snatch your word of truth from me, for your regulations are my only hope. I will keep on obeying your instructions forever and ever. I will walk in freedom, for I have devoted myself to your commandments. I will speak to kings about your laws, and I will not be ashamed. How I delight in your commands! How I love them! I honor and love your commands. I meditate on your decrees.—Psalm 119:41–48 7

4 NIV.
5 NIV.
6 Sarah Young, Jesus Lives (Thomas Nelson, 2009).
7 NLT.

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The Lamp of the Word Pt. 1

Words from Jesus Jul 20, 2015

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.—Psalm 119:105 1

*

The secret of finding your way, of knowing where to go next, and of arriving at My destination for your life journey is using My Word to guide you, letting it be the light that cuts through the darkness and shows you the path to follow.

One interesting thing about a lamp or a light is that when you hold it, it shines in front of you. It doesn’t shine off into the distance where it doesn’t benefit you—it shines about you, and as you move forward, the light reveals a little more of the way. That is why I’ve likened My Word to a lamp, because in order for the Word to really be effective in your life‚ you have to let it shine around you. By doing so, you learn where you’re going and then you follow, and as you do so, you see more and your path becomes clearer.

I love it when My children are faithful to follow the path that the light of My Word reveals to them. The traveler making his way through the dark has to have faith that his lamp is going to help him stay on the right path. It’s when he decides to find his way on his own without a lamp that he ends up lost and unsure of where to go next. When he calls out to Me, I bring back the light to the traveler and set him on the right track.

The more you take time in My Word and make it a priority in your life, the more ingrained the habit will become and the more you’ll feel it coming alive in you.

As you keep striving to follow the direction I lead, and to receive any new directions I have for you, the light of My Word will continue to guide you‚ enlighten you, and show you the way.

*

Clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.—Romans 13:14 2

*

Seek My face at the beginning of your day. This practice enables you to “put Me on” and “wear Me” throughout the day. Most people put on clothes soon after arising from bed. Similarly, the sooner you “put Me on” by communicating with Me, the better prepared you are for whatever comes your way.

To “wear Me” is essentially to have My mind, to think My thoughts. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide your thinking; be transformed by this renewal within you. Thus you are well equipped to face whatever people and situations I bring your way. Clothing your mind in Me is the best preparation for each day.

Demonstrate your trust in Me by sitting quietly in My presence. Put aside all that is waiting to be done, and refuse to worry about anything. This sacred time together strengthens you and prepares you to face what the day will bring. By waiting with Me before you begin the day’s activities, you proclaim the reality of My living presence.

When you need to take action, I will guide you clearly through My Spirit and My Word. The world is so complex and overstimulating that you can easily lose your sense of direction. When you spend time with Me, I restore your sense of direction.

Come to Me and listen! Attune yourself to My voice and receive My richest blessings. Marvel at the wonder of communing with the Creator of the universe while sitting in the comfort of your home.

Though I am the King of the universe, I am totally accessible to you. I am with you wherever you are. Nothing can separate you from My presence. When I cried out from the cross, “It is finished!” the curtain of the veil was torn in two from top to bottom. This opened the way for you to meet Me face-to-face, with no protocols or priests. I, the King of kings, am your constant companion.3

1 ESV.
2 NLT.
3 Sarah Young, Jesus Calling (Thomas Nelson, 2010).

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On Pride and Humility - Final -

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Humility is something that is gained and practiced as we grow in wisdom and grace. Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary defines “humility” as: a prominent Christian grace. It is a state of mind well pleasing to God; it preserves the soul in tranquility and makes us patient under trials - Biblically speaking, humility is the opposite of pride. And according to one thesaurus source, some other antonyms for humility are: arrogance, assertiveness, egoism, pretentiousness, and self-importance.--Pamela Rose Williams

[Continued - Final]

I don’t mean we’re to go around bragging about all our sins and failures to everyone that comes along, including the whole congregation, just to show how honest we are and how humble we are! This is pride, too! He that is humble knoweth not that he is humble, believe it or not. If you think you are, you probably aren’t. “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall!”5 Just about the time you think you’ve got it made, God will stick a pin in your little balloon, all the hot air will vanish, and you’ll fall flatter than ever before. Pride makes it even harder to forgive yourself, even though you know God will forgive you.

Be honest with yourself and give God the glory for anything good about you. That’s usually a pretty good rule. “What hast thou that thou hast not received?”6 “Every good and perfect gift cometh down from above.”7 Give God all the glory. Remind yourself that you’re nothing without Him. Even make fun of yourself. Make a joke of it! Get a kick out of how ridiculous you are and what silly things you do, as my mother used to do about her absentmindedness. She was always telling funny stories on herself and of the crazy things she did to remind herself and you that the only good thing about her was God.

Get a big laugh out of yourself! Help others to laugh at you, too! Even remind God of what a joke you are. “He remembereth our frame, that we are dust.”8 “As a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him.”9 God has a sense of humor, too, and maybe you can help Him laugh it off, if you’re honest about it, confess it, and tell Him you’re sorry!—David Brandt Berg10

*

Grasp the truth of God by using the way he himself provides, since he sees the weakness of our footsteps. That way consists first, of humility, second, of humility, and third, of humility. Unless humility precede, accompany, and follow up all the good we accomplish, unless we keep our eyes fixed on it, pride will snatch everything right out of our hands.—Augustine of Hippo

*

I have undertaken to translate the Bible into German. This was good for me; otherwise I might have died in the mistaken notion that I was a learned fellow.—Martin Luther

*

Vinicio Riva, a disfigured Italian man, became world famous when Pope Francis greeted him with a hug. It was a powerful moment. Yet, it is quite a contrast in many ways. I’ve been to the Vatican and it does not scream, “Care for the poor.” Traditionally, the Pope literally sits on a gold throne. This Pope, however, Pope Francis, hugs those whom the world unabashedly avoids. The Pope, one of the most important and powerful people on the planet, does not avoid society’s “rejects.” He accepts and embraces them, literally. That’s reflective of a pattern of humility reflected by lifestyle choices, the move away from pageantry, and an embrace of the marginalized. Might we take up this posture of humility? How may we be known for embracing the outcast with humility and grace?—Ed Stetzer

5 1 Corinthians 10:12.
6 1 Corinthians 4:7.
7 James 1:17.
8 Psalm 103:14.
9 Psalm 103:13.
10 Originally published February 1971, adapted.

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On Pride and Humility Pt. 1

He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. Luke 1:53 KJV

A compilation Jul 14, 2015

It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.—Augustine of Hippo

Gracious humility

We can make the case that God’s very nature and his interaction with humans express gracious humility and astonishing condescension.

First, we should get clear on definitions of “pride” (an inflated view of self) and “humility” (an appropriate acknowledgment and realistic self-assessment). … We should ask, “How do you define pride?” [In pride] we promote an image of ourselves because we suspect that others won’t accept who we really are. Pride is actually a lie about a person’s identity or achievements. To be proud is to live in a world propped up with falsehoods about oneself, taking credit where credit isn’t due.

Now, we’re not talking about being gratified or “taking pride in” one’s work (as Paul did as an apostle1) or “being proud of” a person’s progress in faith2 and in the proper use of God-given abilities. In all of this, we recognize the grace of God that makes these things possible. Of course, to “boast in the Lord”3 and in the cross of Christ4 puts into proper perspective our deep dependence on God. The pull-yourself-up-by-your-own-bootstraps type of self-reliance is an expression of pride—a failure or refusal to acknowledge our proper place before God. Grace is given to the humble, not the proud.

Humility, on the other hand, involves having a realistic assessment of oneself. This includes recognizing not only weaknesses but also strengths. Obviously, it’s delusional to claim you’ve invented aluminum foil or Post-it notes when you really haven’t. But it’s also delusional to say you “really can’t play piano all that well” when you’re an award-winning pianist who regularly performs with the Cleveland Orchestra or the London Philharmonic! This would be a false humility that’s equally out of touch with reality—not to mention (possibly) being a backdoor attempt to get others’ attention! A truly humble person won’t deny his abilities, but he will at the same time acknowledge that his gifts come from God and that he can’t take credit for them. So to be humble is to know our place before God.—Paul Copan

To thine own self be true

As Shakespeare said, “If thou canst to thine own self be true, thou canst not be false to any man.” How true! If you’re honest with yourself, you will be honest with the Lord, your spouse, and those around you.

The hardest one to confess your faults to is yourself! We hate even to admit to ourselves our own mistakes, sins, and shortcomings, because it is sometimes so discouraging, humbling, and humiliating. So we try to excuse ourselves to ourselves, and defend ourselves from ourselves, and exonerate and absolve ourselves from sin, so that we can stand to face ourselves—but this only tends to make matters worse, because when we’re not honest with ourselves, and we keep on trying to fool ourselves, we try to do the same with God and others, and the result is one awful mess. You make a mess of your own life, hurt those associated with you, and hurt God most of all, as well as hinder your testimony and ministry. May God help us all to be honest with ourselves, others, and God. It will help keep us from being false to any man. Falsification is the product of pride, an effort to hide the awful truth of which we are ashamed.

1 2 Corinthians 10:17.
2 2 Corinthians 7:14; 9:3–4.
3 2 Corinthians 10:17.
4 Galatians 6:14.

Walking in the Light 1John 1:9 KJV
(John 8:12-30)

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

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The Omnipotent God - Final -

O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be. - George Matheson

God’s omnipotence is an important factor that builds our faith in Him, as He is not someone who makes claims and promises which He does not have the power to perform. God has the power to deliver on what He has promised. He promised that through Abraham the whole world would be blessed; that David’s seed and line would be eternal; that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, would suffer and die for the sins of mankind. He delivered. He prophesied events centuries in advance; they came true. When we read His promises to us, we can put our weight down on what He has said, as He is the all-powerful Creator and sustainer of the universe and all that is in it. He who is infinite power is our Father, and we are His children. We are safe within His arms.

As sinners whose sin separates us from God, as creatures created by our Creator, there is nothing we can do to merit His love, His fellowship, His blessings; yet He has condescended to bestow these things upon us. This unmerited favor is known as His grace. He has chosen to freely give His favor and love to us, though we are unworthy of it, have no claim to it, and can in no way earn it. He gives it even though it’s unwarranted, even when it’s unwanted, and even when it is opposed. He has chosen to bestow His love upon us because He is, in nature and being, gracious. His grace is an undeserved gift from a loving and gracious God.—Peter Amsterdam

His power

“I know you can do all things, no plan of yours can be thwarted.”4 Thus Job testifies to the greatness (omnipotence) of God. Omnipotence means in practice the power to do everything that in His rational and moral perfections (i.e., his wisdom and goodness) God wills to do. This does not mean that God can do literally everything: He cannot sin, lie, change his nature, or deny the demands of His holy character5; nor can he make a square circle, for the notion of a square circle is self-contradictory; nor can He cease to be God. But all that He wills and promises, He can and will do.

Was it excessive for David to say, “I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold”?6 Was it excessive for another psalmist to declare, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble”?7 Not when they knew God to be omnipresent or omnipotent ... Knowledge of God’s greatness (and his omnipresence and omnipotence are aspects of His greatness) naturally produces great faith and great praise.—J. I. Packer

Comfort in God’s omnipotence

When you catch yourself worrying about something, realize there is nothing too great for God to handle. God Himself says to you, “I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for me?”8 Nothing is difficult for Him because His power is infinite. A. W. Pink wrote:

“Well may the saint trust such a God! He is worthy of implicit confidence. Nothing is too hard for Him. If God were stinted in might and had a limit to His strength, we might well despair. But seeing that He is clothed with omnipotence, no prayer is too hard for Him to answer, no need too great for Him to supply, no passion too strong for Him to subdue, no temptation too powerful for Him to deliver from, no misery too deep for Him to relieve.”—John Macarthur Jr.

4 Job 42:2.
5 Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29; 2 Timothy 2:13; Hebrews 6:18; James 1:13, 17.
6 Psalm 18:1–2.
7 Psalm 46:1.
8 Jeremiah 32:27.

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This is a list of Keys707's Blogs. Click here for Keys707's Blog List

Keys707 Blog (464)

Engaging Our Societies Pt. 2

Engaging Our Societies Pt. 1

The Touch of Tenderness - Final

The Touch of Tenderness Pt. 1

Commending Change

God's Idea of Righteousness - Final -

God’s Idea of Righteousness Pt. 1

The Lamp of the Word - Final -

The Lamp of the Word Pt. 1

On Pride and Humility - Final -

On Pride and Humility Pt. 1

The Omnipotent God - Final -

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