Tag Archives: sinner
What two men prayed…..
The Pharisee stood [ostentatiously] and began praying
to himself [in a self-righteous way, saying]:
God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of men –
swindlers, unjust (dishonest), adulterers – or even like
this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all
that I get.
But the tax collector, [merely] standing at a distance, would
not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but kept striking his
breast, saying, O God, be favorable (be gracious, be
merciful) to me, the especially wicked sinner that I am!
Luke 18:12, 13 (AMP)
The year is about to end and as it does I want to touch
on a few things I think we need to reflect on before we get
into 2016. The word I am about to share has really been
on my mind for some time. This word brought attitudes
to light, attitudes that were not of God.
Just because you think you are humble doesn’t mean
you are humble. This is the kind of erroneous thinking
I had. But this scripture blew that out of the water.
I thought I was humble but truth be told, I was proud!
I couldn’t see it because my pride was cloaked in a
false sense of humility.
But to walk in the plan God has for us we need to be
humble! The tax collector was a perfect example of
what it meant to be humble.
I think humility is being able to stay small in our own eyes!
It’s having the wisdom to see that God is in control and
understanding that without Him we are lost.
Humility strips every selfish thought and idea we have.
Humility puts off our own strength and puts on God’s.
Humility doesn’t take pride in it’s own wisdom but
looks to the Lord for true wisdom!
The Pharisee stayed big in his own eyes. He saw himself
as more in his own eyes, as very important, while the tax collector
stayed small in his own eyes!
Who are you in your own eyes?
Please understand what the tax collector did and didn’t do.
He didn’t talk negatively about himself. He didn’t tell
God how useless and pathetic he was. He didn’t tear himself
down. That is not humility.
He knew he was a sinner in deep need of grace and mercy!
I hope you notice the difference. Stop the negative self talk.
It’s not biblical.
It’s so important we stay “small in our own eyes”.
Let us look at another passage of scripture that will help
us understand this truth:
Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and
he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother’s
name was Jekoliah; she was from Jerusalem.
He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as
his father Amaziah had done.
He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed
him in the fear of God. As long as he sought the Lord, God
gave him success.
2 Chronicles 26:3
God had a plan for Uzziah. Actually, He had great plans for him.
Like Uzziah, God has great and amazing plans for us. But look
at how the story changed……
But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall.
He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple
of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.
2 Chronicles 26:16
The priests were the only ones allowed to burn incense but
because Uzziah was proud (failed to remain small in his own
eyes) he never walked in the full promises of God!
God had made Uzziah powerful but he failed to realise
that.
When I start thinking I can’t do certain things because they are
beneath me or I am too important to do them
or if I think I should
only do certain things because I am important, that is a good
indicator I have become
proud. God wants me to walk in everything He has for me
but pride will destroy that very quickly!
Let us be like the tax collector. He remained small in his own eyes
and because of that the Bible says he went home justified!
My desire and prayer is that I walk in true humility, that
I stay small in my own eyes for the rest of my life!
Stay small in your own eyes!
God bless friends……
photo credit: google images
Rolain
The “Gifts” God gives us…..!
I don’t know where to start and I don’t know how to begin this post. All I can say is that the word “gift” has
taken a whole new meaning for me. A few months ago I found out my friend, was leaving the country for good! We were first friends, then he became my boss, then pastor, then mentor, then family!
My world turned upside down that day. I had people leave before and it was painful but this, this was a whole new level.
My pastor’s wife called me and sat me down as she told me the news. I was devastated and confused. Why God I asked?
This can’t be happening I thought. I had known my mentor’s family for over 10 years! I knew them when they
had their first son. They have four boys now and I love them to bits. Anyway I remember going to God and
crying out to Him for answers to the question why. Nothing came. Instead revelation came……
God showed me how they were gifts from Him. I met my mentor when I had just met The Lord. I am a sinner
now but back then I was much worse. If there is a word worse than sinner I was it. I was truly lost. I had no
direction and no plan. I had crazy issues I was beginning to work out. I had just became a Christian and this new
life was still…..new! I was dealing with a lot of things. I had no confidence and I had no self esteem. When he
employed me a year after meeting him I stole money from him! It was that bad. I WAS that bad! But thank God he never fired me or called the police. He gave me a second chance…….
I didn’t trust anyone back then and when he tried to help me out I would think he had some evil intension! When he disciplined me at work I would take it personally. When he made a joke about me I would get extremely angry. My stuttering was so bad back then which didn’t really help things! So believe me when I say, things were bad back then, really bad!!!
But God used him and his wife to mold me into who God wanted me to be. They taught me so much. They stood by
me when I had family issues. They helped me out financially countless times. They sat down and taught me so much
about God and life. In one of the darkest times in my life they were there.
God showed me how that was not an accident.
He knew all the change that needed to happen in me. He saw all I was going through and because of that He sent them
into my life. They were gifts. We serve a God who is the giver of gifts but the mistake we make is thinking gifts come in the form of money only. That’s not true. God’s gifts are so much more than money. They are deeper than that. During that time I never thought of them as gifts. We had our good times together and we had hard and difficult times.
The fact of the matter is this. God sent me gifts in the form of my mentor and his family. I just didn’t know it at the time and I never gave them the honor they rightly deserved. I wish I never took them for granted. I wish I honored them more and thanked them more for all they had done for me. I can’t put into words all that they did for me. A lot of who I am is because of their input in my life.
They saw so much potential in me and stood by me patiently. They are my family. I am telling you all this because….
…….they left on Wednesday this week! It’s been a hard week I must admit. They had my back. But in the midst of the pain God showed me how He will bring other “gifts” into my life after all; those “gifts” came from Him. He is the giver of all gifts. My mentor and his family never willed or planned to do all they did for me. God was behind it all. My mentor never knew the kind of impact he would have in my life but God did because He planned it. God was behind it all……
Yes, I am sad and broken at them leaving but I am also at peace because God has some amazing “gifts” in store for me.
I pray I be a “gift” to someone else as well. Would God use me to be the kind of “gift” my mentor was to me……
Have you acknowledged the “gifts” God has put in your life? There is a reason He has placed them in your life.
Don’t take them for granted. Thank them for all they are doing for you. It is not easy for them. There is always a
sacrifice on their part. May we always appreciate the “gifts” God has given us, always!
* This post is dedicated to the Stewart family. *
Rolain.