“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.”1 Timothy 1:12-13.

Some people believe that thinking badly of themselves is a sign of humility.

But Paul is a beautiful example of how we are to approach God.
He does not berate himself and tell God how vile and sinful He is.

Instead, Paul talks repeatedly with a spirit of humility about the grace of God.

There are seven things we can do to allow the Lord to develop such a humble spirit in our life.

To pursue humility-
– it is necessary that we die to self.

We must refuse to put ourselves first and instead ask the Lord what is His will for our situation.

God wants us to be devoted to other people because He has made us reservoirs of His truth—something those around us greatly need.

And when God blesses others, we who follow Christ are to delight in the good things that come to them. Rom. 12:15.

For ourselves, we must wholly depend on God.
If we want to live with genuine humility, we must rely on Him in every circumstance.

The Lord has many good things in store for us.
When we direct our thoughts continually to His grace and goodness, our confidence in Him will grow.

It is also important that we distance ourselves from whatever appeals to our pride, such as wealth, prestige, applause, or certain relationships—the list is different for every person.

Finally, we must determine to obey God regardless of the earthly consequences.

When you humble yourself before Him-
– you can mark that day as the beginning of the best part of your life.

(PR)

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At once…
Now…
Immediately…

These are words that come to mind regarding the fast-paced lifestyle many of us find ourselves in. We expect our newspaper to be on the front porch when we wake up. We expect traffic signals to turn green the instant we approach them. We expect a bag of popcorn to explode into light, fluffy goodness in exactly three-and-a-half minutes.

But what happens when our desires don’t materialize in what we consider to be a timely fashion? We may experience frustration, grumpiness, possibly even anger.

As one of the fruits of the Spirit, patience is a character trait God desires to produce in us (Galatians 5:22-23).

Yet the only way to really learn what it means to be patient is to experience it firsthand.

Noah lived in a time when lawlessness and sin were the rule, not the exception. Imagine his reaction when God told him about his plan to destroy humanity!

Picture Noah’s reaction when God told him to build a boat, giving him specific dimensions and directions! Imagine having to wait 120 years to see it happen!

I wonder if Noah ever said to himself: “Okay Lord, things are getting worse instead of better. Aren’t you going to execute your plan? After all, it’s already been fifteen years!”

Thankfully, Noah learned the lesson of patience, trusted God’s timing, and was spared from the flood as a result.

Our response when something doesn’t happen on schedule speaks to how well we have learned to be patient. May be God has something better just around the corner! He will let you know when He’s ready! Or perhaps when you’re ready!!

Be patient in your faith!

“For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise” (Hebrews 10:36)

(PR)

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The problem with too many of us is that
– We have grown old without growing up! Aging is not growing! We still need to be weaned. The weaning process is important. God’s goal for your life is maturity! And His method for maturity is weaning!! He has to wean us away from things we think are important.

How do you convince a child that he doesn’t want to be attached to his mother for the rest of his life?

Love him? Yes! But he must grow up, step out and be a man.
And so it is with us. God has to wean us away from the things of the world, from the cheap toys that we hold on to. He wants to give us the best, and His desire in weaning is our submission.

The weaned child of Psalm 131 was not losing; but gaining. Read that Psalm. He was moving out into a larger life. Likewise, God has to take things away from our lives, not because they are bad, but because they are keeping us from the best.

The next time you whimper and cry because God takes something away from you, remember: He might be weaning you! He might be saying: “Get closer to me. Step out into a life of maturity and let’s go together.”

God wants His children to grow into mature believers and eventually to become like His Son. When He decides to wean you from something in your life, be an obedient child.

Let Him prepare you and develop you for what He has in store for you!

(PR)

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“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience” (James 1:2-3). 

It’s tough to be enthusiastic about going through tests and trials. But can you get excited about being totally supplied in every way, in want of nothing?

According to the Word of God, if you’ll use your trials to develop patience, you’re going to be in precisely that position!

Patience doesn’t mean what you thought it meant. It does not mean settling sweetly for second best. It does not mean standing meekly by while the devil romps all over you.

Patience is a powerful word! The Greek of it is “to be consistently constant or to be the same way all the time, regardless of what happens.”

To understand how much power is involved in that, you have to realize that it’s one of the most outstanding attributes of God Himself. The Bible says He’s the same yesterday, today and forever.

The person who cannot be changed by anyone or anything is an extremely powerful fellow, wouldn’t you say? Obviously, God has that much power.
You know what? You do too!

By the power of the Holy Spirit working within you, you can be the same every day no matter what happens. If you’ll put your trust in the Word of God and let patience go to work, it won’t matter what happens.

Faith produces patience! Patience produces power!! You won’t ever have to accept anything less than victory again!

(PR)

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“A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls” (Proverbs 25:28).

In ancient times
– Cities were often surrounded by walls for their protection! If those walls were breached in any way
– the city became vulnerable to attack from a wide variety of enemies.

The maintenance of city walls, therefore, was of constant concern. Proverbs 25:28 likens self-control to a city wall! When we maintain self-control, we keep ourselves safe from forces that would wear us down, attack our weaknesses, and prey on our failures.

Scripture warns us that losing our self-control can lead to disastrous results. We may have tendencies to lose our tempers easily, gossip about neighbors or coworkers, or criticize those in authority. We may have an unhealthy desire to own many possessions, an addiction toward food, or an obsession with television or internet.

A careless word, a broken promise, or a disrespectful action is an outward sign that our inner wall of self-control has collapsed. Weak self-control makes us vulnerable to living a life of hypocrisy, and then we lose all credibility as a witness to the freedom and joy of the Christian life. But developing self-control is not just a matter of willing right behaviour.

We all have experienced the “just do it” break-down. We decide that we will finally regain control of a certain personal weakness only to find a few days later that we have succumbed once again to temptation.

Self-control is not as simple as just “doing it” or “not doing it.”

Self-control is the fruit of the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit desires to guide our lives and help us overcome our sinful cravings and build self-control with staying power!

As we turn our moments over to the direction of the Holy Spirit
– We will find that we are more often able to resist those things that used to prey on our weaknesses. It is with the power of the Holy Spirit alone- that our walls of self-control can be securely maintained!

(PR)

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You are a born again person! But
– You may be feeling incredibly lonely! Let me give you a practical pointer for overcoming your loneliness. Quit dwelling on it! Reach out and try to help someone who is lonely.

Luke 6:38 promises that when we give, it shall be given to us. There is a locked-in likeness to what we give. It is the law of the harvest.
If you want friendship
– You must show yourself friendly (Proverbs 18:24).

Why don’t you keep a stack of cards and a pen handy to write a little note of encouragement to a shut-in? Get a prayer list and intercede for others. Travel around the world by means of prayer.

There is no life so empty as a self-centered life! And there is no life so centered as a self-emptied life!! As you pour out yourself to others
– The Holy Spirit will continually pour Himself into you!

This week do one of these things each day:

1. Write someone an encouraging email, sms or a letter;
2. Do something good for one of your contacts or coworkers;
3. Pray for five people who are lost that God would save them;
4. Go on a prayer walk around a church or a mosque or a temple that the people there would get saved;
5. Call a new friend and ask how you can pray for him or her;
6. Share a meal with a stranger and share the Gospel;
7. Bless a servant of God with your grateful greetings!

(PR)

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Even before Titanic arrived on the big screen in 1997, people have been fascinated by its story, perhaps because there is so much to it.

Clearly, many mistakes were made that led to its sinking. Although it was called the unsinkable ship, it sank. And it sank relatively easily. 1,500 people perished in an icy grave. There were not enough lifeboats on board.

Many of them went out half-full –
– some with only four or five people when they had the capacity to carry at least 60. But one of the greatest tragedies about the Titanic is the fact-
– that while there was room in the lifeboats, no one went back to save anyone else. They had rowed out a distance from the sinking vessel because they were afraid of its suction.

Survivors said they could hear the screams of the people as the Titanic finally disappeared below the surface. Here were people in lifeboats that had room. They could have rowed back and pulled others in. Yet they did nothing about it. They waited for about an hour, and then they went back.

By then, they were only able to save a handful of people. They waited until it was too late.
Right now, there is a lost world around us. People are going down, and we have room in our lifeboat.

Do we care enough to go and pull them on board? Do we care enough to do something for them? Or will we say, “They should have gotten into the boat when there was time”?
Do you have a burden for lost people?

Are you involved in soul winning on a daily basis?
Are you supporting any evangelical mission?

(PR)

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“But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just” (Luke 14:13-14). 

We always like to get something back from our investments!
Money we put in the stock market is done so with the hope of gain.
A gift sent to a client is given with the hope of gaining more business.
Even a favour for a friend might be done with an eye on a future time when the favour will be returned.

The unspoken agenda is-
“What’s in it for me?”

In the margin of my Bible next to verse 14 is written:
– “disinterested goodness!”

This verse exhorts us to invest with no hope of return-
– to do good without an eye on the immediate future!

Jesus tells us to show hospitality to those who cannot return the favour-
– an act of goodness but a disinterested one!

It is “disinterested” in the sense that it is not a good deed deposited with hopes of gaining something in return, like interest.

Is it really hospitality-
– when we invite someone to our home in hopes of what we might gain from the time?

But it will not meet the standard of what Jesus set before us.
He instructs us to reach out to the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind.v. 13.

God will reward us in eternity!
Until then-
We should do unto others not because of what they may be able to do unto us but simply because we should!

Think of something you can do today-
– for someone who cannot repay–and do it!

(PR)

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We’re like the young man who called his girlfriend and said:
“Sweetheart, you are so precious to me. I love you so much I’d fight wild beasts to be by your side. I’d tread on broken glass to hold your hand….And if it doesn’t rain, I’m going to come over and see you tomorrow night.”

Many believers are-
– high on sentiment!
– but low on sacrifice!!

We don’t know what it is to fight for the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you’re looking for an easy way to serve the Lord, you can forget it.

We’re called upon to endure hardness as a good soldier of the cross.
How much hardness would you endure?

Here’s a little test:
When was the last time you spent an hour in prayer?
When was the last time you fasted through a meal?
When was the last time you spent your vacation on a short-term mission trip?
When was the last time you were persecuted for your faith?
When was the last time you spent a night in jail because you shared your faith?

Are you just-
– a sentimental believer?
– or a sacrificial soldier?

“Endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Timothy 2:3).

(PR)

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“And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst, of the cloud. And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and got him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights” (Exodus 24:1-18).

Patience is one of those things…
…so hard to learn it…
…so hard to practice it faithfully in our daily walk.

But God requires it of us!

As I was reading through this passage again in Exodus-
It dawned on me that Moses sat on the mountain for six entire days before the Lord spoke to him.

He had to patiently wait for the Lord for six days!
So often we think we can just do as we please with our lives and then come running to God for a few minutes of prayer and get an answer right away but I don’t believe it is always that simple.

Even Moses needed to be prepared for six full days-
– in order to be able to experience the awesome presence of the Lord!

If Moses had to wait six days-
– then it should not surprise us if we need to wait 60 days, 60 months or even 60 years for the Lord to prepare us to receive His blessing!

As I’m writing this devotional in a cyber cafe –
I’m watching a small girl, may be 2 years old, clinging to her dad who is also at a PC near me, insisting “Abba, hold me! Hold me now!”

He is saying to her, “Honey, just wait a couple minutes and let me finish writing this letter and I will give you a treat!”
Perhaps the Lord is saying to us today:

“Be patient my child, if you wait on me I will give you a treat!”
Be encouraged!

The Lord is preparing us for great things.
Spend more time seeking Him and worshipping Him.

Keep waiting at His feet.
He will meet us!

(PR)

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