Pride Causes Eternal Loneliness

 

An article in National Geographic several years ago provided a penetrating picture of God’s wings. After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to access the inferno’s damage. One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree. Somewhat sickened by the eerie sight, the ranger reached out to knock the bird over with a stick. As he gently struck it, three tiny chicks scurried from under the dead mother’s wings. The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings, instinc­tively knowing that the toxic smoke would rise. She could have flown to safety, but she refused to abandon her ba­bies. When the blaze reached her, the heat had scorched her small body, but the mother had remained steadfast. Because she had been willing to die, those under the cover of her wings had lived. “He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuse” (Psalm 91:4). Remember the One who loves you, and then be different from the masses of the world because of that love.

Life is filled with humbling circumstances. Some of these are instances that we bring upon ourselves, while others are out of our control. There are moments when the right thing to do is to swallow our pride and humble our spirit, yet to do so can be the most difficult of an entire ordeal. Pride is a strange emotion in that it often seems disconnected from logic and reasoning. People can be filled with pride when they can be either right or wrong …even when they don’t know if they’re right or wrong! It is the root emotion of peoples’ most negative and destructive motivations: envy, bitterness, rage, vengeance, and above all, rebellion. The opposite of pride is humility, which is rooted in the more practically defined spirit of submission. It is the willingness to give to another, even to the point of self-sacrifice. Surely He scorns the scornful, But gives grace to the humble (Proverbs 3:34); But He gives more grace. Therefore, He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). The Scripture could not be clearer concerning God’s view of pride – He hates it! He loves submission. In fact, a plethora of Scriptures make it abundantly clear that God actively works against the proud and promotes the humble. Perhaps this is why we are told to “rejoice in suffering” (James 1:2-4), in that such times provide us with opportunities to choose the path of humility. In the end, we need to thank God in our troubles, with gratitude, for opportunities to grow in humility.

[2 Corinthians 6:2] …Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. We all have a problem with procrastination from time to time. Have you ever put off writing a term paper, paying a bill, purchasing Christmas gifts, mowing your yard, completing a house project, cleaning your house, doing the laundry, or filing your tax return? While procrastination in these and other areas will not cost you your life, there is at least one area where procrastination poses an extreme danger. Toward the end of Acts 24, we find Felix and his wife Drusilla wanting to hear Paul concerning the faith in Christ. (vs. 24). Paul preached such things as “righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come.” Felix stopped him and said, “Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you” (vs. 25). Did Felix’s procrastination cost him his soul? One’s soul is too precious to put off dealing with the sin problem (Romans 3:23). Half of 2022 is already gone, and I’ll bet some of your New Year resolutions haven’t even gotten started. Was one of them – returning to the Lord? Put it off no longer! Pride causes eternal loneliness.

Shopping For A Dad

 

“If I Went Shopping For A Dad” by Helen Kitchell Evans. If I went shopping for a dad, Here is what I’d buy: One who would always stop, To answer a little child’s “Why?” One who would always speak kindly, To a little girl or boy. One who would give to others, A bit of sunshine and joy. I’d pick a dad that followed The Bible’s Golden Rule, And one who went regularly, To church and Sunday school. I’d buy the very finest dad, To place on our family tree, And then I’d try to live like him, So he would be proud of me. Happy Father’s Day from me; TOM

 We are told that children learn many life lessons from their fathers. I am delighted to hear that more and more fathers are seeing the importance of their role in the upbring­ing of their children. A recent survey showed that nearly half of all fathers spend more time with their children than their own dads did with them, and they think that is still not enough. A good father will learn many things from his growing children. For instance: * A king-sized waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2,000 sq. ft. house 5 inches deep. * Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving. * You probably DO NOT want to know what that odor is. * Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not like hot ovens. * The fire department response time in one’s hometown can show to be surprisingly quick. Of course, this list is only a joke. But there are many important truths fathers have learned from their children. One of them is the importance of love and patience. The Bible says to be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer (Romans 12:12). Raising children requires the patience of Job and the endurance of Paul. That’s no secret. It is rewarding when your children grow up and demonstrate that same patience with you. For example, when your health and strength and memory begin to fade, it is a blessing to have children who are patient with you. When we show patience to our children and our parents and to anyone else, we are imi­tating the example that the Heavenly Father shows to us. “But You, O Lord, are a God full of com­passionate, and gracious, Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth” (Psalm 86:15). Lord, thank you for Christian fathers and Christian sons and daughters who are patient with others. And thank you, Lord, for your patience. Amen!

[1 John 3:1] What does it mean to be loved by a father? The apostle John wrote: “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!...” “Behold…” – see, behold, and understand. God wants us to understand how He loves us and has shown His love toward us. God created man to be like Him – giving man an immortal spirit. God has always wanted man to be in His presence, but Genesis chapter three demonstrates just how unlike our Father mankind became. “…what manner of love…” When man chose sin and death, God refused to let his creation perish. God sent His Son to rescue men from darkness, hatred, and death, bringing them to light, love, and life, opening the way back to God (Romans 5:6-11). “…the Father has bestowed on us…” God reached out to man while man was still living in sin and presented a gift of His love; His only begotten Son, Jesus (John 3:16). This gift was designed that we should learn through Jesus to become more like our Father in heaven (Romans 8:29). “…that we should be called children of God.” We have become children of God by putting Christ on in baptism (Galatians 3:26-27). We are redeemed (Galatians 3:13). We are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). We now live as servants of righteousness (Romans 6:16-18). A good name brings privileges and wearing the name of Christ as a son of God means more than having the best human family name.

No Loopholes

 

One of the most popular entertainers of the vaudeville era was W.C. Fields (1880-1946). While Fields could make audiences roar with laughter, he was certainly not a Christian and made no pretense of his disdain for the Bible. Thus, it came as a great shock when one of Field’s friends, visiting him in the hospital one day near the end of his life, found him reading the Bible. When asked what he was doing, Fields, ever the comedian, replied, “Just looking for loopholes.”

In spite of my human nature, I have always been conscience of the presence of God in my life and often sorrowful for ignoring the obvious guidance He has provided. But that aside, I am grateful for the awesome way He has placed good lifechanging situations before me at just the right times in my life and introduced me to the right people as I was in need. Now that I could write about all day. I see situations in other people’s lives, and I never hesitate to remind them of God’s activity in their life, especially when they want to contribute a healing or happenstance to a “miracle.” I remind them to thank God for their healing, or their doctor, or surgeon, for it was He that placed those good people in their life. When one gets that job at just the right time, or gets the money needed to pay that bill unexpectedly – give God the glory for He has blessed those who are blessing you.

[Matthew 9:12; Mark 2:17; Luke 5:31] It’s great to know God is active in our physical life, but more importantly, He is the only cure for our sin-sick spirit. The Bible never explicitly calls Jesus the Great Physician, but this title is implied from His statement: “…Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” We know medical doctors strive to cure the physical ailments and diseases of mankind, but we often forget that Christ – our spiritual doctor – works to heal those who are dying in sin (Romans 3:23; 6:23). Since Adam and Eve tried to hide themselves from God (Genesis 3:7-8), man has tried to heal himself of sin. Many recognize that they are sin-sick and full of spiritual disease, yet too often they cover their sickness with a bandage instead of placing themselves into the hands of the Great Physician. From the idolatry of old to the new age mysticism, mankind has sought prescriptions of every sort as remedies for sin. This includes child sacrifices, confessions before priests, and even denial of sin itself. However, the words of Job are as true today as when he said, “…But you forgers of lies, You are all worthless physicians (Job 13:4). Nothing is accomplished if one’s doctor sends him to the pharmacy for medication when what one really needs is major surgery. Yet, that’s what occurs with personalized cures for sin-sickness. Folks dress up sin, rename it, and prescribe it for one’s spiritual afflictions, but it will never give anyone the relief which only Jesus Christ offers. As a result, mankind remains in sin – not because the Great Physician is unavailable, but because mankind refuses to come to Christ in lowliness of mind (Matthew 5:3) to hear His Word and accept His remedy. Without Him, there can be no cure (Acts 4:12).

“Is there no balm in Gilead, is there no physician there? Why then is there no recovery for the health of the daughter of my people? (Jeremiah 8:22). Yes, there is a physician – his name is Jesus Christ, and He alone has the prescription to cure us all of sin-sickness. Remember: “…He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). There are no loopholes or shortcuts for proper physical cures of the body. Neither are there loopholes or shortcuts in saving one’s spirit from eternal hell.

In The Presence of Greatness

 

Russell Conwell was noted for his speech, “Acres of Diamonds.” He delivered his speech over 5000 times from 1900-1925. That same speech has been in book form for a number of years and makes interesting reading. In it, he tells of meeting Abraham Lincoln at the White House to plead the case of a young soldier sentenced to death during the Civil War. Conwell tells of the sense of awe and humility that came over him while he was in the presence of the man who is considered to be one of the greatest Presidents in our history. Most of us recognize greatness and are humbled to be around people who have earned our respect. In their presence, we may find ourselves completely awed and maybe even speechless. We may feel awkward and find ourselves fidgeting from a bad case of “nerves” or feel ourselves experiencing a hot flash.

In Scripture, when we read of men in the presence of God, we find that they were awe-struck and humbled. Job was humbled; Isaiah declared himself a man of unclean lips and the Apostle John was compelled to fall down in worship. Those who experience the presence of God were forever changed and showed only the upmost reverence for Him. How different this is from our day and time! It is not unusual to hear God’s name taken in vain and divine things taken lightly. As a result, we often bring that same disrespect into our worship. Do we not realize that as we commune to remember what the Lord has done for us (1 Corinthians 11:23-29), we are in the presence of Him who created all things?

[Psalms 139:14] “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.” It’s amazing how our Heavenly Father so meticulously created the things around us. Note God’s accuracy and wisdom in the following creations (a minute example of His wondrous creation): * The eggs of the potato bug hatch in 7 days; * The canary in 14 days; * The barnyard hen in 21 days; * The eggs of ducks and geese in 28 days; * Those of the mallard in 35 days; * Parrot and Ostrich eggs in 42 days. (Notice, they are all divisible by seven.) * The largest land mammal (at least in our time) is the elephant. God gave this great beast four legs that all bend forward in the same direction. No other Quadruped is so made – but with four fulcrums it can lift its great weight easily from the ground. * The horse rises from the ground with its two front legs first. * A cow rises from the ground with its two hind legs first.

Further evidence of God’s wisdom and accuracy can be seen in a number of other things found in nature: * Each watermelon has an even number of strips on the rind. * Each orange has an even number of segments. * Each ear of corn has an even number of rows. * Each bunch of bananas has an even number on its lowest row. Each row decreases by one banana making one row an even number, the next row an odd number and so forth. * Waves of the sea roll in on shore, twenty-six to the minute in all kinds of weather. * All grains are found in even numbers on the stalk. Thus, the Lord specified their multiplication of thirty-fold, sixty-fold and one hundred-fold – all even numbers. * Even certain flowers blossom at specific times during the day. Linnaeus, the great botanist, said if he had a conservatory with the proper conditions and planted flowers, he could actually tell time as to which were open and which were closed.

If we recognize God’s greatness, as we should, we will come to Him in awe of His wonderful works and be humbled that He would accept our worship. This will be reflected in our attitude, the attention we give to each item of worship and the earnestness of our efforts. “But the Lord is in His temple, let all the earth keep silence before Him” (Habakkuk 2:20). Worship in spirit and truth.