"Pride vs. Humility" - #398

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Welcome to the new readers of this message!  Here is your Devotion, A Moment of Introspection, JCSM's Challenge, the Word of the Week, a faith-builder from "The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained," and the Quotes of the Week.  Have a fantastic week and God bless you!

Love in Christ,

Jason Gastrich

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JCSM's Weekly Devotions (click here to listen!)

"Pride vs. Humility"

Proverb 8:13  "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way
And the perverse mouth I hate."

Proverb 13:10  "By pride comes nothing but strife, But with the well-advised is wisdom."

Proverb 16:18, 19  "Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.  Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, Than to divide the spoil with the proud."

Proverb 29:23  "A man’s pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor."

1 John 2:16, 17  "For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.  And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever."

James 4:10  "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up."

1 Peter 5:6, 7  "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you."

Insight: Christians need to be humble.  We also need to give God the glory for things.  God will humble the proud and exalt the humble.  Make sure to be humble and meek and avoid the sin of pride.

Prayer: "Dear Lord, thank you for warning us about pride.  Help us to avoid being prideful.  Let us be confident in You and your promises, though.  Let us be humble and meek.  Give us all of your qualities.  Thank you for the perfect example in Jesus Christ.  Forgive our sins.  Purify us.  Bless us, increase our ministries, lay your hand on us, and keep us from evil.  To You be all the glory, honor, and praise.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

America's Foundation

A Moment of Introspection

If all you do is attend a weekly church service, you're really not part of the church.

This was a quote from my pastor - Miles McPhearson.  He makes a good point.  The body of Christ isn't for visiting once a week.  We all need to plug in and use our spiritual gifts for the body of Christ.

Some churches don't have membership lists.  Why?  Their "list" is whether or not any of the pastors in the church know you.  If you are plugged into the church, you'll have a relationship with a church leader, so there is no need for a list.

Plug into your local church.  If you simply occupy a seat on Sunday, join a small group.  I'm in one with my church and it's great.

Your church probably has many ministries, too.  You could join the prison ministry, the usher/greeter/parking ministry, the prayer ministry, the choir, etc.  Seek God and see where you should plug in, then follow His lead.

By the way, if you haven't found a good, local church, let me know.  I can help you find one.

God bless you as you meet this week's challenge!

tapino (Greek, see 1 Peter 5:6): to depress, figuratively to humiliate (in condition or heart), abase, bring low, humble

The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained

"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible" claims:

Genesis 21:23-24 - Abraham swears to God, apparently with God's approval. Yet such oaths are condemned in Mt.5:34-37 and Jas.5:12.

"The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained" responds:

 This Hebrew word for "swear" means "to take an oath."  In other words, Abraham made a promise.  Don't confuse this with swearing (like using profanity), cursing or taking God's name in vain.

 In Matthew 5:34-37 and James 5:12, we are told to be trustworthy.  "Let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No' be 'No' is Jesus' way of saying that we shouldn't need to swear for someone to take us seriously.  Be an honorable person of your word, then you simply have to say "Yes" or "No" and you will be believed and trusted.

(This explanation came from "The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained", by Jason Gastrich.  This book is on CD and explains over 3,000 difficulties regarding the entire Bible at http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.org.  There is also a 300 question workbook that accompanies the CD-ROM.)

If you don't realize you're in a spiritual battle, you're right where the Devil wants you.

John the Baptist broke the long, prophetic silence.

If someone asks you what God has called you to do, you need to have an answer for them.

Your spiritual gifts and natural talents are compatible and should be used for God's glory.

The voice you hear that tells you to pray and obey is from the Holy Spirit.

God hasn't given you spiritual gifts to do a natural job.  He gave them to you to do a supernatural task.

Who can look you in the eye and tell you what you need to hear?

The Christian life isn't a life of collecting.  It's a life of receiving and giving.

You can measure the greatness of a person by how much they learn after they think they know everything.

God will never take your heart.  You have to volunteer it to Him.

These quotes came from God, me, and Miles McPhearson.

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