April 12, 2016

"Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat." Matthew 8:24

Have you ever been so frightened that you physically shook?

I have and it is an awful feeling. It takes a powerful fear to bring that sort of reaction.

From what I see in this story, the disciples might have been shaking with fear.

Interestingly, the Greek word for "fierce" used here is "seismos". You might recognize it in conjunction with "seismology", the study of earthquakes or "seismograph", an intrument for measuring the intensity of earthquakes. So, this was a storm that literally shook the waters! And it got them shaking as well.

Another insightful fact about this word is that it is only used two other times by Matthew in his Gospel.

Once is in Matthew 27:51-54 in reference to Jesus' death on Calvary, "At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people. The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “This man truly was the Son of God!”

The other use occurs in Matthew 28:2 - "Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it."

So, God knows how to shake things up! He shook the waters and He shook the earth! People noticed and people changed!

Has God ever shaken your world? Is He shaking it now? What is your response? Is it fear? Maybe He is trying to shake the fear out of you!

The message of the storm is, "Fear not when Jesus is in your boat"! He is stronger than the storm.

The message of Calvary is, "Fear not, Jesus has conquered your sin"! His holiness is stronger than your sin!

The message of the Resurrection is, "Fear not, Jesus has conquered death!" His life is more powerful than death!

God's earth-shaking message is, "Fear not! I have overcome the storm, the sin and the sentence of death!"

So, why should you be shaking? If there is a storm in your life right now, or if something has shaken your world, maybe it is God's "seimos" sent to shake the fear out of you and remind you that Jesus is in your boat! Fear not! Speak to Jesus and let Him speak His power to your fear!

The one who should be shaking is the devil!

The Good Shepherd

^“Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.” John 10:7-15

Like the sheep in Psalm 23 you should be one satisfied sheep! 

I have spent the better part of this week reminding you of how good your Shepherd is! So, if there is still anxiety or discontent stirring in your soul it could be that you are not following Him as well as you should!

May I share a true story to further illustrate the blessings and benefits of following this Shepherd Who is a personal shepherd and a powerful shepherd and a promising shepherd? 

Here it is:

In 1972, a shepherd had brought his sheep into a walled-off, enclosed area for the night, and he had just gone to sleep when he heard a commotion. He quickly rushed over to where the sound was coming from and to his horror he discovered that a wolf was in the process of dragging off one of his sheep through a hole in the wall. He was mauling this sheep and blood was flying.

The shepherd quickly began hitting the wolf, and the wolf turned on him and began attacking him. He bit him over and over while the shepherd was striking him with his staff, and finally with one final blow of his staff, he killed the wolf as he himself collapsed into a bloody heap.

He managed to crawl over to the half-dead sheep, and began to bandage its wounds.

He gave it some water, and then took it in his own bloody arms, and shepherd and sheep went to sleep together. The next morning the shepherd was found dead, his body literally draped over the sheep to comfort it and keep it warm. The following day the headline in the Jerusalem paper said, 

“Sheep Alive, Covered in Shepherd’s Blood.”

That is the testimony of every sheep and lamb who is under the care of the Good Shepherd. 

Why would you not follow Him closely? 

Why would you not completely trust a Shepherd like that?

Any other shepherd is a hireling who comes to steal, abuse, or kill the sheep. There is no comparison between the Good Shepherd and any other. There is really no comparison between sheep under the care of the Good Shepherd and those who are not. You can tell the difference by looking! There is a noticeable difference!

As the storm clouds gather and the threats increase and the world becomes significantly more dangerous, you cannot afford to be led or cared for by anyone other than the Good Shepherd because no matter how perilous the times that lay ahead - IF THE LORD IS YOUR SHEPHERD, YOUR FUTURE IS YOUR FRIEND!

Hallelujah!

April 10, 2016

"And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!" Philippians 2:8

If you have ever struggled with pride (and if you haven't it is nothing to be proud of) you know how insidious and ingrained it is within the human nature.

Sin originated from pride. The pride that led to the introduction of sin was a desire to "be like the Most High". Lucifer's haughty spirit decieived him into believing he could actually lift himself above God.

So, if you were going to unravel the power of pride how would you go about it? You would make an anti-pride decision. That's exactly what Jesus did! HE WAS GOD, but he humbled Himself to become a man! In the incarnation God pulled a 180 degree move against the essence of pride!

In this short yet profound verse you can find an effective anti-pride strategy. If you want to defeat the pride problem in your life here is a plan of attack. Here is the attitude for overcoming pride and the activity for destroying pride within the space of a sentence. You could say it is a death sentence within a sentence!

The attitude for defeating pride is obedience. Pride rebels against authority and refuses to yield to the demands of a Sovereign God. The notion that you can sin without any consequences is a powerful deception that is fueled purely by pride.

Lucifer's desire to escape God's authority and avoid accountability were fueled by his pride. If he could become like the "Most High" he could call the shots and no one could call him on it!

It was that same lie Lucifer sold to Adam and Eve in the Garden through the subtleties of a serpent and planted that corrupt notion in the human spirit for all of time. You inherited it so did I.

Answer this, "What would you do if you were sure you could get away with it?"

See what I mean?

No one ever sinned by being obedient to the Word of God or the Spirit of God. They never will!

Obedience delivers you from pride every time it's tried!

So, what is the activity that overcomes pride? It is dying to self and to sin.

"Aren't those the same?" you ask.

Not necessarily!

Sin is the desire to be like like God and to live independently from Him. We have already traced that.

Self can be right in its desires but wrong in its judgment. This distinction is made in this well-known Proverb:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."  Proverbs 3:5-6

So God became man to destroy the power of sin and the power of sin is pride! Jesus not only did it but He shows you how to do it! Employ the anti-pride strategy of obedience to God and death to self!

Give it a try unless you are too proud......

April 9, 2016

"In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!" Philippians 2:5-8

This pride thing is powerful! REALLY powerful! You might say that pride is holding the remote control for your life.

You are born into it and unless you do something very radical you will die in it. 

One exercise I am suggesting to help you take the remote control out of pride's hand is to ask yourself three soberly serious questions:

How does pride manifest itself in my life?

How does pride masquerade itself in my life?

And a third question, how long will I allow pride to hold the remote in my life?

Pride is a prison. It shuts you in and shuts God and others out of your life. So, how long do plan to stay in prison imprisoned by your pride? How long? 

Another day?

A week?

A month?

A year?

How long?

Why not break free from the prison of your pride?

Freedom is a decision made possible by the radical humility displayed by Jesus. He gave up the glory of God's perfect paradise and and came to earth as a man just so He could humble Himself to death on a cross.

The One who had every reason to be proud humbled Himself in every way He could in order to break the power of pride in His life and in yours!  He who deserved to be honored and worshiped instead can to be a servant to those who despised Him.

Humility is the anti-pride! Whenever I am tempted to a prideful spirit I immediately begin looking around for a way to humble myself.

God had very right to demand us sinners seek Him and repent of our sins and seek to reconcile with Him. But he didn't wait on you He initiated the reconciliation! He rebuked the paralysis of pride and humbly came as a servant!

Pride says, "Wait on them to apologize to you!" Jesus says, "Don't wait - initiate!" Think about the powerful implications this would have in your relationships!

What if you fought through your prideful emotions and declared your decision to break out of your prison of pride?

What if you stood up to your prideful self and proclaimed:

PRIDE YOU ARE NOT!

• My Master
• My Boss
• My Warden
• My Boyfriend 

What if you told your pride, "Pride, I am not waiting on that person to reconcile with me. I am going to take the initiative to humbly serve that person in hopes that I can reconcile and repair that broken relationship!"

Honestly, you could do that couldn't you?

It wouldn't feel good. It would be hard. But you could do it if you decided you wanted to.

So, why wouldn't you do it?

What are you waiting for?

The Pride Masquerade

"Pride comes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18

Pride is the root of sin and you are born with a sinful nature so pride is as natural to you as breathing.

I am not talking about the pride that is proud of your family or your country or things that motivate and inspire you. I am talking about pride that destroys and divides.

The problem with pride is it closes you in while it closes God and others out.

Like the sin nature itself, unless you kill pride it will kill you!

I am sharing three questions to help you deal with your pride before it does you in.

Honest questions are a good way to bring you to honest revealing insights into your struggles with pride.

The question from yesterday's post was "How does pride manifest itself in you?"

Today's question is similar but goes a layer deeper: 

"How does your pride masquerade itself in you?"

Once you are confronted by the ugliness of your pride you either have to deal with it or disguise it as something more acceptable.

Let me share several ways pride masquerades itself into more acceptable forms.

"Its not pride, its confidence!"

Confidence is a not a bad thing if it is based upon your confidence in God and from your faith. But any confidence that arises out of your talent, or your intelligence, or your level of education, or your success is not actually confidence it is pride.

"It's not pride, its competitiveness!" 

You tell yourself that you're not proud you are simply competitive. But why are you competitive? Is it because you don't want to look bad? Is it because you want to make the other guy look bad? It is because you feel bad when you lose and good when the other guy loses? 

Are those not reflections of pride?

"I'm not proud just because I make comparisons!"

When you compare your personal worth based on the worth of others that is a pride issue.

When you build your self-worth on how your abilities or your success or your IQ compares with another you are probably motivated by pride. 

Again, I ask you, "How does your pride masquerade itself in your life?"

Are you dealing with your sin or are you trying to disguise it?

That's a crucially important question!

April 7, 2016

"In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God." Psalm 10:4

Questions have a way of bringing clarity don't they?

See what I mean?

I want to pose three questions over the next three days for the purpose of laying bare any pride issues in your heart. It is easy to recognize pride in others but really tough to spot it in yourself. These probing questions will help if you will honor them with an honest response.

First, how does pride manifest itself in you?

Tough question, isn't it?

If you are struggling to answer it I'm sure you could ask your spouse or one of your children to help you!

Or, you could humbly ask the Holy Spirit to convict you in the areas where pride resides. He is good at doing that.

Are you willing to receive advice without feeling resentful?

Are you able to listen to constructive criticism without getting defensive?

Can you laugh at yourself when you make a mistake?

Are you able to celebrate the success of others?

Do you feel better when another struggles or fails?

How quickly can you apologize when you are wrong?

How quickly are you willing to accept the apology of another?

I am blessed to be married to a very intelligent and capable manager/problem solver. When I bounce my thoughts or ideas off of her she often identifies the flaws in them and offers better ideas. I should be thankful for that but that is not always my initial reaction. Often I find myself initially feeling defensive or resentful toward her and he suggestions.

When that happens that is pride manifesting itself in me. 

The proper response is to listen and process her thoughts because I know she is wanting to be helpful. I must humbly learn from her and become a better leader and thinker.

So, I ask you again, how does pride manifest itself in your life?

What will you do about it?

The "Anti-Pride" Attitude

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Philippians 2:5-8

How do kill your pride before your pride kills you?

The Apostle Paul, who by his own admission struggled with pride, pointed to Jesus as the ultimate example of how to conquer pride in your heart.

Jesus defeated pride by intentionally and deliberately choosing to humble Himself in every area where pride tempted Him.

Humility is the antidote for pride. However, you can be sure it will be a battle. Since you are sinful by nature and pride is at the root of your sinful nature it's not hard to see why it's a struggle.

Jesus was born without a sinful nature and look how He guarded against pride. Take notice of the deliberate and intentional actions Jesus took to assure pride was defeated in His heart and mind.

"But made himself of no reputation......"

Lucifer gave up his exalted status in Heaven because he coveted the reputation of God. He lusted for the power associated with being like "the most high". Sin originated out of that prideful delusion.

Jesus WAS like the most High and part of the Godhead. He shared in the creation of the universe and walked in the Garden with Adam. But rather than cling to His privileged position to develop His reputation He humbly laid it all aside. He intentionally chose the "anti-pride" attitude.

What would you have done?

What will you do?

"and took upon him the form of a servant"

God has always been served. Deservedly so since He created everything!

Creation SHOULD serve its creator!

Eternally He has been served by angels and then by human beings.

But, one day His Son, Jesus made an amazing decision to humbled Himself in order to serve those who He created to serve Him! 

That sort of humility is the antidote to sin!

Who does that?

Are you doing that?

He did.

You should!

"and was made in the likeness of men"

Think about that! The Son of God Who existed as an eternal spirit took a weak mortal human body!

There's big problems with mortal human bodies! They get weary, they get ill, they are fallible, they are weak, they are limited to time and place, they can be tempted, and they can be killed.

But wait, those big problems are the very reasons why Jesus took on the "likeness of a man"! He became a God in the flesh so He could experience ALL of those human realities to become a better High Priest. Ultimately He became a man so He could die on the Cross to save the them.

He humbled Himself to become a servant!

"and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

The ultimate weapon against pride and the most effective way to humility is obedience!

Obedience requires submission. Submission is a component of humility.

Obedience requires surrender. Surrender destroys pride every time.

Pride is bad news! You are born with it and it destroys you unless you destroy it first!

The good news is, because of the attitude and actions of Jesus pride can be defeated by humility. Humility is possible through Christ!

You can choose to kill pride in your life by choosing to humble yourself before God and choose to obey Him every day in each decision.

You can!

Will you?