Humbling ourselves doesn't come naturally, or even comfortably. Maybe it does to you, but having teeth pulled feels easier some days.
Today's passages:
Philippians 2:1-11
Ephesians 5:15-21
Galatians 5:16-26
Romans 12:9-21
Matthew 20:26-28
If I am honest with myself and honest before the King of kings, I would have to say my lifestyle tend to disagree more than agree with the following:
- I go out of my way to serve others
- I want to know Jesus more
- I submit to authority/others easily
- I believe others are worth my time
- I have the mind of Jesus
- Spiritually, I use my time wisely
- I demonstrate great self-control
And my heart tends more to agree with the following:
- I have a prideful spirit
- I get jealous easily
Now I don't know what number you gave yourself in the self-evaluation, but humbling ourselves starts with a right picture of who were without Christ and who we have been made to be in Christ.
Ephesians 2 tells us that without Christ we were dead and considered children of Wrath. To quote Landon Dowden from a BSU sermon at Mississippi State, "When you're dead, you can't get deader than dead. " Without Christ, we are dead. A dead person can't do anything, but be dead. There is no life within. We were children of wrath, completely isolated from the great redeeming love of Christ. As children, our father was not Christ, it was Satan.
But because of God's great mercy and incredible love, he rescued us out of darkness and became our Father. We are now children of the Light. If you are in Christ, you have no reason to boast because there is absolutely nothing that you did to deserve Christ's love. You didn't jump high enough or have a good enough voice. You didn't give enough money or say enough kind words. You didn't serve enough or make good enough grade on every test. You can't do anything enough. If you have submitted to the Lordship of Christ, it is because Christ so graciously opened your eyes to his majesty. You did nothing to win his grace. He bestowed that grace on you freely. And because of his great redeeming work in your life, we are to demonstrate Christ's love to others by serving them. I don't want to disagree with the points above. I don't want to agree with the points above. I have done an awful job at serving others and reflecting the salvation that Christ provides.
Tomorrow is Day 7 of the New Bloom devotional. It is designed for you to have a quality prayer and journaling time. If any specific thing resonanted with you and the season you may be in right now, I encourage you to go back to that scripture and write it down. Commit it to memory. Mediate on it. Use it as a guide to pray. Whatever you use Day 7 to do, the Lord is patiently waiting for you to call on him. He has so much to say to you.
Love,
Will you join me in committing to serving others with a right heart?
How did you evaluate yourself?
How did these scriptures challenge you today?
Here is Sovereign Grace's "Behold Our God." Find more great songs on your suggested song list in the New Bloom devotional.
For a recap of New Bloom week 1:
