“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17)

Recently the Lord put a woman in my path who was haughty and proud, but claimed to be a devoted Christian.  How can that be?  Her blunt, hurtful temperament rubbed my soul like sandpaper. How easy it was for me to look down my nose and point a finger at her. She certainly hasn’t been transformed by the blood of Christ. She’s not “different”, not patient or gentle or even compassionate, even in church.

Then I watched a film about a Michelangelo.  They said he could “see” inside a slab of marble and envision what work it held. He chose each slab purposely for every one of his statues because he could visualize the way it would turn out in the end.

It made me realize God is the same way. God is still working in me like a master carver. He is slowly chipping each chunk of self-centered pride away, a bit at a time. His beautiful craftsmanship  becomes more and more revealed inside this stone called me. Perhaps you remember the old bumper stickers “Not perfect, just forgiven”, or have heard the phrase “God is not finished with me yet.” I am far from a finished work.

Neither is He finished with that haughty woman. God sees beauty in her as well. At least she is willing to be chipped away by the love of Christ in her life. Then another thought hit me. God gave me the gift of discernment, but unless I rely on Him to show me daily how to use it,  I can become haughty and proud as well and think me a better Christian than others. I was acting no better than that woman. I shouldn’t judge, lest I be judged. Ouch — that strike of God’s chisel cut deep in me.

Paul ends the 3rd chapter of Colossians with this- “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17)  I prayed Christ would reveal to me the beauty He saw inside of her, so I could see her as He does. It has helped my attitude and we have become casual friends. It’s a start.

Heavenly Lord, thank you that you are not finished with me yet. Thank you for Your forbearance and forgiveness,  for Your grace and mercy towards me. Teach me daily to see others through Your eyes with compassion and kindness, patience, and above all, humility. Because we all fall short, let me see the good more than the faults.  Set my mind on things above, and my heart also, so I can see Your handiwork in me, and in those around me. I ask this all through Your Son, Jesus and proclaim it in His name. Amen.

Question: Will you pray right now for Christ to reveal the good in that person who rubs you the wrong way?

A friend was in northern wilderness of British Columbia hunting elk. He and his hunting buddy were positioned on a hill over looking hundreds of acres of range. Suddenly in the distance they spotted four adult grizzly bears charging down a ridge toward them. Fear gripped their hearts. There was no point in running; there was no place to hind or to find safety. The only hope was to stand their ground and do all they could hoping the bears would never reach them. They knew, even with high powered rifles the odds of dispatching four adult Grizzlies was slim. In the seconds it took to form a plan the bears disappeared into thicket just below them. They only had about a 20 meter window from the thicket to their position. The plan was to make as much noise, yelling and screaming to hopefully spook the bears. In the minutes that followed they could smell the stench of the bears. After exhausting their vocal cords and every ounce of adrenaline they stopped and waited… The bears never came. They must have entered the thicket and proceeded down the creek bed to the valley below. My friend understood in a new way the dangers of the wilderness!!!

When I heard this story it occurred to me, “What are the Grizzlies in my life?” What are the deadly beasts I hope never reach me? What are the things that would destroy my life? The list included some of the big destroyers: adultery, addictions to alcohol or pornography, love of money and possessions. There are some more subtle ones like pride, bitterness, laziness and jealousy. What are yours? The real question is what am I doing to make sure they never reach me?

There are many things to do, here is a few. First, identify the Grizzlies. They will be different or each person. Second, don’t put yourself in harms way. People that play with fire get burned. Are your activities pushing you toward danger? Third, draw on God’s wisdom by spending time in reading the Bible. Forth, realize there is a real spiritual battle. Consider the following…

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Bust resist him firm in your faith … the God of all grace … will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.” 1 Peter 5:6-10

Question: What are your grizzlies, and what steps can you take to make sure you’re out of harm’s way?

Are you hiding behind secrets?

“God is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2. Peter 3:9)

During my visit in Senegal, West Africa, my daughter and I went to see a dear Senegalese friend. Fatima had just returned from a trip to Mecca and was she ever excited! Her eyes glowed as she said, “I was in the procession of millions of other believers; I performed all the ceremonies; I circled the Ka’aba (the cube shaped stone building); I said all the prayers. I did it all.” Then her eyes clouded as she lowered her voice, “Still, if Allah should call me tonight, I don’t know if he would receive me into his heaven,” she said. “That’s really his choice, isn’t it?”

“Fatima, we can know for sure,” my daughter replied. “Should God call me tonight, I know I’d go to heaven, not because of all the things I’ve done, but because of what Jesus has done for me.” She took Fatima’s hand and said softly, “And also for you – Jesus died for your sins also.”

An impersonal God requires ritual, rote prayers, sacrifices... and we can never be sure if we’ve done enough.

The Bible teaches that we have a personal God who wants a love relationship with us. He wants it so badly that He gave His only Son to die for our sins on the Cross.

Do you know of one person who doesn’t know Jesus personally? Perhaps she’s struggling with addictions, depression, loneliness or pride. What can you do to help her find Jesus?

1. Pray for her by name every day. Prayer breaks down spiritual barriers.

2. Spend time with her: Go for walks together, go out for coffee with her, help her with a project

3. Listen to her without giving advice. Listening affirms a person as a valued human being.

4. When you’ve gained her trust, share the good news of a personal, risen Savior who wants to set her free.

5. Continue to be her friend even if she doesn’t respond. Coming to Jesus is like being born again – there’s a gestation period. We need to continue to water the seed even though we don’t see a harvest.

Lord Jesus, you are still the good Shepherd who came to seek and to save the lost. I commit my friend to you right now…………(name her). I pray that your Holy Spirit will soften her heart and open her eyes to your salvation. Amen

Questions: Do you know someone who is struggling with life? How can you help her?  What can you do to help her find Jesus?

“Other seeds fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants” (Matthew 13:7).

I love the look of a freshly weeded garden.  Once in a while, after a good, long rain, I head out to my small garden to do some weeding.  See, after a long rain, the soil is soaked and gives up the weeds much easier.  I like the weeds that give up easily.

It makes for a nice perfect looking garden with far less effort.  The problem is the weeds that seem to give up easily are the ones whose roots stay put.  Those weeds rip right off without pulling the roots with it.  I am so happy to see the clean, perfect garden until a couple of days later, when all the weeds are back again.

That great pride in the perfect garden is ruined because I didn’t dig deep enough.  I never got to the root of the weed.  If I took the extra effort to dig deeply to the bottom of the deepest root, the weed can never come back again.

The same is true in my life.  I can pick off the surface and make it look perfect and neat.  But those weeds just grow right back again, sometimes even stronger.  It takes the love of Jesus to see to the deepest part and rip out the parts that are not of his nature.  “Other seeds fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants” (Matthew 13: 7).

Getting rid of the weeds allows the plants to grow to their fullest.  The same is true of our hearts; if we pull out the weeds, all the way to the roots, it allows our hearts to grow.

Questions: When God reveals sin in our lives how do we get to the root of the problem?

“… But the greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.” Matthew 23:1-12

Pride is deceptive. The proud person is often the last to know the contents of his or her own heart. Our self – importance makes us desire to be number one. Instead of working toward our personal best, which is required by God, we are determined to be better than anyone else.

To get to that top position, we will constantly point to ourselves as the best and look for praise and compliments from others. Often we choose to be around people who are important and well liked but tend to ignore those who are less admired. This is the opposite of how Jesus treated people. He gave the adulterous woman compassion but referred to the Pharisees as whitewashed coffins.

While we are chasing after prominence externally, our spirit becomes rebellious internally. We refuse to obey God because we believe we know better than He does.

To quell our disobedience and bring our pride under God’s control, we must first recognize specific parts of our life that are affected. When we confess those areas, we take the first step toward submission by turning our focus back onto God. We must continuously be on the alert for a prideful attitude. But we can stamp it out by remembering what God has done in our life and what He saved us from.

Pride will often cause us to compare ourselves with others. We can all find someone whom we can out – perform, out – dress, or outwit, but the one person with whom we should compare ourselves is Jesus – and we will find ourselves lacking every time.

Question: What sins does remaining humble prevent?

Are you suffocating under difficult emotions? Take this study to learn and understand powerful ways to overcome difficult emotions.

There is great satisfaction in a job well done, but there is also a danger.

Pride, that insidious sin, tends to swell our brains so that they can no longer think straight.

Although we often begin with the right attitude, using the gifts God has given us – health, energy, creativity or intelligence – to work, learn and produce, sometimes in the end our perspective becomes distorted. We start to think too highly of ourselves and forget that it was God who enabled us to accomplish these things in the first place.

In the Old Testament judgment was proclaimed on the city of Tyre, not because of their ambition or skill, but because they had grown proud.

“By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, and because of your wealth your heart has grown proud.” (Ezekiel 28:5)

“Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor” (Ezekiel 28:17).

We can keep ourselves from falling into the same trap of arrogance by remembering that everything we have is a gift from God.

“For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not” (1 Corinthians 4:7)?

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17).

God give me a grateful heart to always remember that everything thing I have – my intelligence, beauty, athletic ability, musical talent – is a gift from You. Thank you for the amazing things You have done in me and through me; may I never forget Your work in me and grow proud.

Questions: In what situations are you in danger of growing proud? What helps keep you from falling into the trap of pride?

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“You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told” (Psalm 40:5).

A fellow writer friend once shared this with me: pride and sin both have “I” in the middle.

We all know taking the credit for God’s work in us is prideful. It puts the emphasis on our abilities, not His that He has graciously bestowed upon us. Our talents are His gift, and He should be praised, not us or our accomplishments.

Psalm 40:4 says this: “Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!”

But, the lack of pride is actually prideful as well because, in that case, the person is doubting if God can create worth. It is still dealing with “I” in the center of everything, just in a negative way. That also is a lie. It can lead you astray as much as being overly proud of yourself and your abilities. Both put the limelight on you, not your God. Both are you taking control and responsibility, and not trusting in God to handle the results.

Do you struggle with pride, or perhaps the lack of it? I do. Growing up, I tried to prove my worth by being the best at whatever I did in order to win my father’s favor.  It has taken me a long while to learn that is not the way I should behave with my Heavenly Father who already loves me completely. I don’t have to earn His favor. There are no hoops to jump through, or rungs of a ladder to climb. No grades to achieve, no Brownie points to make. I don’t have to fear that God will stop loving me because I didn’t live up to His high performance standards.

Too often I find when I write a Bible lesson or teach a workshop, I’ve slipped back into the seeking-approval-mode by judging other’s responses and taking that as God’s reaction. I’m looking to people to give me a grade and am seeking their approval to determine if I did well for God. Instead of asking “Did I do good, God?” I should confidently trust He did great things through me, even if I can’t see the results. Why? Because He chose to use me, not the other way around.

If I have pledged to be His vessel, then my faith should tell me that whatever I do in His name will be worthy and right and fruitful. God (not me) is in control of how it is received. Please don’t get me wrong. Of course we want to please God when we agree to be His vessels.  But that should be a thankful response to the fact that He loves us and dwells in us, not the reverse by thinking His love is dependent on what we do. How well we do doesn’t measure God’s love for us. The next verse gives the way we should respond each time God chooses to use us -

“You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told (Psalm 40:5).

Whatever we do in Him, no matter how small, He can multiply. Nothing we say or do can out-perform God, and nothing we say or do can diminish His power and influence in other’s lives. I am not responsible for other’s reactions. I am only responsible for how I react to God’s acting through me. When I step aside, and let Him take the credit, then I don’t have to worry about the outcome.

Question: What have you done lately, believing it was God’s will, that you’re taking the credit or the blame for instead of placing it in God’s hands where it belongs?

Please open your Bible and read Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in Luke 18:9-14.

Jonah had just fled from God, almost caused a shipwreck, been thrown overboard, and was swallowed by a whale. He was a prophet of God, and yet he sinned against God by fleeing from Him. As he sat inside the whale, did he repent of his deeds? Hardly. In fact, listen carefully to what he says:

“Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.
But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you.” (Jonah 2:8-9)

Sounds a little like the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable, doesn’t it? Jesus told the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector to “some who were confident of their own righteousness”. (Luke 18:9) The Pharisee thought by fasting twice a week and tithing he was made right with God. However, no one has the ability to justify themselves before God. Jesus explains that the tax collector, who humbly asked for forgiveness of his sin, “went home justified before God” while the Pharisee did not (v14). The apostle Paul explains that “a person is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:16, TNIV).

We all sometimes feel superior to others and boast about how we are superior to “evildoers”. In reality, however, “No one is good – except God alone.” (Luke 18:19) Don’t pray “God, I thank you that I am not like that Pharisee” because then you’d be making the very same mistake that the Pharisee made. Instead of disparaging others, remember that we have nothing to boast about ourselves (that should keep us humble) and that it is only by God’s loving grace that we are saved: Boast about God has done instead!

“Let those who boast boast in the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 10:17, TNIV)

Question: Are there situations where we feel superior to others? How can we guard against those kinds of feelings?