Video Bible Lesson - Pride Brings Failure, Humility Lifts You Up By: Amanda Idleman

1/2 Hour of God’s Power with Scott Ralls

8/2/2020

Pride Brings Failure, Humility Lifts You Up
By: Amanda Idleman

“Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.” - Proverbs 16:18
Essentially, this simple verse summarizes the sin-cycle that we all battle. Pride blinds us to our need for God and then failure, disconnection, and destruction becomes the product of our lives. For us to know God and enjoy his blessings, we need a humble heart. James 4:10 describes the posture we should take as believers. It says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” Humble is defined as “not proud or haughty” which is exactly the opposite of what Proverbs 16:18 warns will bring us bad results.
This ancient and simple verse still is extraordinarily applicable to our lives today! We are living in a culture that does not accept God and His role in our lives. Our abilities to “make our own way” or “work hard enough to find success” are just a few obvious ways that our world has bought into the lie that we have the ability to control our destiny apart from a reliance on God.
More subtly, our pride is what causes fights in our marriage, gets in the way of us loving our neighbor well, and creates divides in our communities. When we live with the idea that “our way is best,” then there is no room for God or the people around us to influence our lives. Philippians 2:3 captures the posture we should take in our relationships. Philippians 2:3 says “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.” Yet, how hard is this to actually live by?
It is a daily challenge to not let our desire to “make it happen” blind us from the path God has for our lives. It takes faith over fear. It takes pausing to pray before acting. It takes the power of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives, reminding us time and time again that God is in control.
The great news is that even when we experience those dreaded failures, God does not abandon us! Proverbs 28:13 says, “Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” When we recognize that our pride has brought us to a dead end, all we have to do is ask for God’s forgiveness and He mercifully promises to be with us and guide us to more solid ground.

#Jesus, #Christian, #Bible, #Salvation, #Heaven, #God, #HolySpirit

Streams in the Desert

Streams in the Desert

Launch out into the deep (Luke 5:4).

How deep He does not say. The depth into which we launch will depend upon how perfectly we have given up the shore, and the greatness of our need, and the apprehension of our possibilities. The fish were to be found in the deep, not in the shallow water.

So with us; our needs are to be met in the deep things of God. We are to launch out into the deep of God's Word, which the Spirit can open up to us in such crystal fathomless meaning that the same words we have accepted in times past will have an ocean meaning in them, which renders their first meaning to us very shallow.

Into the deep of the Atonement, until Christ's precious blood is so illuminated by the Spirit that it becomes an omnipotent balm, and food and medicine for the soul and body.

Into the deep of the Father's will, until we apprehend it in its infinite minuteness and goodness, and its far-sweeping provision and care for us.

Into the deep of the Holy Spirit, until He becomes a bright, dazzling, sweet, fathomless summer sea, in which we bathe and bask and breathe, and lose ourselves and our sorrows  in the calmness and peace of His everlasting presence.

Into the deep of the Holy Spirit, until He becomes a bright, marvelous answer to prayer, the most careful and tender guidance, the most thoughtful anticipation of our needs, the most accurate and supernatural shaping of our events.

Into the deep of God's purposes and coming kingdom, until the Lord's coming and His millennial reign are opened up to us; and beyond these the bright entrancing ages on ages unfold themselves, until the mental eye is dazed with light, and the heart flutters with inexpressible anticipations of its joy with Jesus and the glory to be revealed.

Into all these things, Jesus bids us launch. He made us and He made the deep, and to its fathomless depths He has fitted our longings and capabilities.
--Soul Food

Its streams the whole creation reach,
So plenteous is the store;
Enough for all, enough for each;
Enough forevermore.

The deep waters of the Holy Spirit are always accessible, because they are always proceeding. Will you not this day claim afresh to be immersed and drenched in these waters of life? The waters in Ezekiel's vision first of all oozed from under the doors of the temple. Then the man with the measuring line measured and found the waters to the ankles. Still further measurement, and they were waters to the knees. Once again they were measured and the waters were to the loins. Then they became waters to swim in--a river that could not be passed over. (Read Ezekiel 47).

How far have we advanced into this river of life? The Holy Spirit would have a complete self effacement. Not merely ankle-deep, knee-deep, loin-deep, but self-deep. We ourselves hidden out of sight and bathed in this life-giving stream. Let go the shore-lines and launch out into the deep. Never forget, the Man with the measuring line is with us today.
--J.G.M.

The Wonderful Gift of … Suffering?..... by John UpChurch

The Wonderful Gift of … Suffering?
by John UpChurch

“For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.” (Philippians 1:29-30)

Philippians 1:29 is one of those verses that makes me stop and shake my head in disbelief. Paul tells the readers of this letter that suffering has been granted to them. Granted? Really? As in, "Here you go. Here's a big ol' heaping helping of suffering"?

If you dig into the Greek behind that phrase, you’ll uncover the word charizomai. This word usually implies something that’s freely given for someone else’s benefit. In fact, Paul uses this same word to talk about how God forgave our sins (Colossians 2:13; Ephesians 4:32); how we are to forgive others freely (2 Corinthians 2:7, 10); and how God bestows gifts or titles because of His love and power (as in Philippians 2:9). In Luke 7:21, the same word shows how Jesus gave sight to the blind. Free, beneficial gifts.

All those are well and good. So, why would Paul add something crazy like suffering to these other good things? Surely, he has to see that suffering doesn’t fit in the same category as healing the blind and forgiving sin. They don’t even share the same zip code. Right?

Well, Paul’s example shows us that they do. Right near the end of Acts (chapter 27), Paul gets stuck with a stubborn centurion who can’t wait to get to Rome and a ship’s pilot who’s happy to oblige. Paul warns that such a trip will end badly. They ignore him (word to the wise: never ignore Paul). When they run into a storm, things look really, really bad. People are throwing supplies overboard, faces are green, and hope goes buh-bye.

About that time, Paul gets to give his “I told you so” speech, and in that speech, he uses our old friend charizomai. An angel had appeared to Paul and told him, “God has granted you all those who are sailing with you” (Acts 27:24). God had granted him seasick sailors (who wanted to kill the prisoners, mind you) and a stubborn centurion who refused to listen to sense. What kind of gift is that? God could have granted him a miraculous trip to a nearby island—perhaps somewhere warm and not so stormy.

But if that had been the case, Paul wouldn’t have done the other part of this verse: “you must stand before Caesar.” If Paul had been whisked away, in fact, we wouldn’t have the books of Acts or Luke (that chapter is filled with “we” from our good doctor friend who also survived the storm); the sailors and centurion wouldn’t have seen God’s mighty act to save every single one of them; and Paul wouldn’t have taken the gospel to the most important city in the Roman Empire. God gave Paul the gift of their lives so that the gospel would bulldoze on.

And that brings up back to Paul’s suggestion that suffering is granted—a gift. Quite likely, Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians not long after being smashed into the rocks. Despite the messy trip (or perhaps precisely because of it), the message of Christ spread throughout the royal guard and people all over Rome. Other Christians got some backbone to speak more boldly (Philippians 1:13-14). Things went boom all over.

Intersecting Faith & Life: The gift of suffering, for Paul and for us, doesn’t seem much like a gift—at first. But the vantage point makes all the difference. Suffering that comes for the sake of Christ always produces a harvest of awesome. That’s because, in addition to the suffering, God also grants us the strength to endure and the chance to see the gospel take root.

And that’s why Paul can truthfully say, “What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things” (Philippians 3:8). That’s not empty boasting from a beaten down man. That’s the triumphant cry of someone who sees what lies ahead.

For Further Reading
Acts 27-28
Philippians 1 (Read the whole thing; it’s short and concentrated.)

Fighting Selfishness (Luke 22:24)..... By: Betsy St. Amant Haddox

Fighting Selfishness (Luke 22:24)
By: Betsy St. Amant Haddox

A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. - Luke 22:24

Selfishness lurks in the corner of every man and woman’s heart. We’re born with a sin nature, and nothing reveals this depraved situation quite as much as our inherent selfishness. Even after regeneration—after confession, repentance and salvation through the blood and power of Christ—selfishness is a constant battle we fight in our flesh. 

The disciples were no different. In the verses leading up to Luke 22:24, the disciples were seated with Christ for the Passover Supper. This was a very intimate, important evening—Jesus was about to be crucified. This was their last opportunity to spend time with Him and learn from Him, but what do they do? They start bickering over who of them was the best. 

We can roll our eyes, but we know that the same tendency lurks in us. We crave recognition. We desire to be the best. We want to be held in higher regard than the person next to us. 

Selfishness starts young, and never goes away. Think about this: When you were a child, you either played with this kid or were this kid—you know, the one who insisted on only playing the game they wanted to play. When you were a teenager, you wanted to eat at the restaurants you wanted to eat at or only see the movie you wanted to see. Even today, I fight extreme irritation when one of my children or my husband interrupts me when I’m writing or trying to complete a task. Thoughts like “don’t they know how important my schedule is” raid my mind. Sometimes, I must remember that my first duty is not to my paycheck or my hobbies, but to my family. Why? Because I’m selfish.

And so are you. Yikes!

The good news is, we have the power to overcome sin through the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:11 (ESV) If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.  

We are capable through the Spirit living in us to defeat selfishness! We won’t get it right every time, but our hearts should desire to beat this sin of selfishness that hurts our relationships and interrupts our fellowship with the Father. The next time the urge to be selfish pops its ugly head up, take a breath. Recognize it for it is—sin—and pray. Ask the Holy Spirit to sanctify your heart. The shift might not happen overnight, but as time goes by, you should start noticing change in this area.

It’s easy to indulge our flesh, to live out the desire to be first and to insist on being so. But Jesus said otherwise. Luke 22:25-26 (ESV) And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.

In this upside-down kingdom, the first will be last, and the last will be first. Jesus says that whoever humbles himself with be exalted (Luke 14:11) As Christians, we should be focused on serving others, rather than clamoring for the best seat in the house. Trust the Lord to exalt you in due time as you strive to exalt Him always.  

lA Prayer for When You Can’t Decide..... By Kristine Brown

A Prayer for When You Can’t Decide
By Kristine Brown

“Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.” - Psalm 55:22

“Are you going to enroll your son in public school, or do you plan to homeschool?” the realtor’s question hung in the air for several minutes. I hadn’t even considered our options. Now as we searched for the perfect place to call home, panic threatened. How had we forgotten possibly the single most important detail of our relocation?

Until then, our son happily attended part-time preschool at the local church. If we could've just stopped time and stayed in this place forever, I would’ve been fine with it. But life doesn’t stop for job changes, growing kids, or moving to a new town. And with changes come tough decisions that must be made.

I’ve never been a stellar decision-maker. In fact, letting my husband handle all the big decisions had become a habit. But learning to trust God begins when we learn to take our decisions - our cares - to Him. Give God control, and trust Him with the outcome.

“Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.” Psalm 55:22 NIV

There are times in our lives when we take our problems to God in prayer, then hear clear direction from Him on which path to take. Then, there are those other times. When we pray continually but feel like God doesn’t hear us at all. We may think He’s letting us figure it out on our own, but if we know God will never leave us or forsake us, why doesn’t He answer? How do we make a decision without hearing from God?

God’s Word distinguishes between His plan and a path. We know He has a plan for us, as it states in Jeremiah 29:11. We can also rest assured there may be choices to make. So whether our family chose homeschooling, public school, or private, God would be with us as long as we kept Him at the center of our lives. “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” (Proverbs 19:21)

When we bring our decisions to Him, God assures us of His steady, guiding hand. He will help us decide.

Are you agonizing over a big decision today? Do you fear making the wrong choice? God hears us. Let’s take those cares to Him in prayer. We can trust Him with the decision, the direction, and the outcome.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Your Word tells me “all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” (Psalm 139:16) Thank you for the good plans you have for me and for guiding me through every difficult decision.

Lord, forgive me for taking control of this decision, agonizing over which path to take. I’ve let so many voices drown out Your voice. I want to hear You above all else, but the weight of responsibility over this decision consumes me. You “know my anxious thoughts.” (Psalm 139:23) I give this burden to You today and trust You to guide my path.

“You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.” (Psalm 139:5) I have nothing to fear because You are with me. As You help me to choose the right path today, I pray You will bless the journey and use it for Your glory alone. Thank you for your promise to protect me and my family. I trust you with the outcome of this decision. In Jesus’ name, Amen.