Humility

Humility is the mark of a true Christian. I recently read a book entitled "Christian Love." This book is full of excellent information. One of the topics addressed is humility, and it uses the following verse to do so.

"Learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." [Matthew 11:29 ]

This statement, made by our Lord, ought to be the testimony of our lives. "Learn of Me." Let us go to the foot of Jesus Christ and behold how he was meek and lowly.

It was said of Moses that of all men there was none to be found that was meeker than he. He was the meekest man on the face of the earth, and yet he was not to be compared with the meekness of our Lord. In what way do we see the Lord's meekness manifested? "Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously." [1 Peter 2:23 ] Christ turned the other cheek. The apostles creed says this, "Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell." This is the story of Christ's humiliation. This is the story of His meekness. So, in Matthew 11, the Lord is asking us, yea He is commanding us to do as He has done, to take up our cross and follow Him. "Take my yoke upon you and learn of me: for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." [ Matthew 11:29 - 30 ]

" Ye shall find rest for your souls." The author of the book, "Christian Love" said, " Affronts and injuries fly over him, and light upon the taller cedars, while the shrubs are safe. He sits so low that he cannot fall lower; so a humble man's fall upon the ground is no fall indeed, except in the apprehension of others; but it is a heavy and bruising fall from off the tower of self-conceit." May we be shrubs for the Lord. May we be lowly with our God. "Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud" [Proverbs 16:19] "When pride cometh than cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom." [Proverbs 11:2] Notice the verse above. You shall find rest. There is great peace and rest with those that do the will of God.

How are we to go up unto Heaven? Hugh Binnings says this: "Holiness is the ladder to go up to happiness by; or rather, our Lord Jesus Christ, as adorned with all these graces. How, the steps of it are mentioned in Matthew 5, and the lowest step that a soul first ascends to him by is poverty of spirit, or humility." "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. " Dear brethren, would that we would have this spirit. Would that we would be meek and Lowly.

What does this spirit look like? How do I live? What does my life portray?

First, the more you meditate on the Lord, the more you will reflect His graces. Do as Christ has done. Take up the basin and the towel. Die to yourselves.

Christ teaches us this spirit throughout the entire Bible. He says, when you come into a house, do not take the highest seat as the Pharisees do. Take the lowest seat. Because if you are lowly in heart, this seat will bring you no lower. You will not have as an attitude that I am too good to be sitting in that seat.

Also, remember this, mighty men, men of vision, the mightiest of all of mankind washed his disciple's feet. This is what mighty men are to do. If you will be truly mighty, you will be servant to all.

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." [ Philippians 2 : 5 ]Pray for the Lord to give you this heart.

"For thus sayeth the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." [Isaiah 57:15] Sola Deo Gloria

A Poem that Should Define All Christian Men

If

by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you 

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; 

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, 

But make allowance for their doubting too; 

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, 

Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies, 

Or, being hated, don't give way to hating, 

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master; 

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim; 

If you can meet with triumph and disaster 

And treat those two imposters just the same; 

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken 

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, 

Or watch the things you gave your life to broken, 

And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings 

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, 

And lose, and start again at your beginnings 

And never breath a word about your loss; 

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew 

To serve your turn long after they are gone, 

And so hold on when there is nothing in you 

Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, 

Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch; 

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you; 

If all men count with you, but none too much; 

If you can fill the unforgiving minute 

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run - 

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, 

And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son! 

Sola Deo Gloria

Psalm 15

1LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?  2He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.  3He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.  4In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.  5He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved. This chapter of the Scriptures should be the biography of every Christian's life. Study it and strive to conform to the guidelines this chapter sets down for us. "One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple." Sola Deo Gloria

The Solar System of a Believer

The universe, in which we live and the earth exists, is governed as it were by a certain celestial body. The planets set their courses around this body. Our earth is sustained by it. Without this single body life would cease to exist. Of course, I speak of the sun. Our entire universe revolves around it. 

God created the sun for a reason. I believe the way our universe is set up is not mere happenstance. Everything God does has a purpose. Nothing is by coincidence. No, when God created the universe, He did so for a reason.  

"In the Lord do we live, move, and have our being."

The God of the whole universe says unto us, that He created us, and without Him, nothing shall exist. Everything would cease to exist apart from God. We exist in God, everything is sustained by Him, and without Him nothing is possible.

"And he breathed the breath of life into his nostrils and man became a living soul." 

We must realize that we breath because of God. The first breath that a little baby takes is a manifestation of the statement above. This is one of the reasons why each birth is a miracle. 

"The Heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Night unto night uttereth speech and day unto day showeth knowledge." 

"This is our Father's World." Many of us have probably wondered why the Earth as one of the celestial bodies does not merely float through space. Furthermore, why does the earth continually go around the sun year after year? First, God is the answer to these wonderments. God is the source by which all happenings happen. It is all part of His all-wise plan. Second, God said that the seasons would continually take place year after year. This is one of the reasons why the Earth stays only so far away from the Sun. Another reason is because were the distance changed much in any direction (i.e. closer or farther away) life would cease to exist on this earth.

"Being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:" [Ephesians 1:11]  All things work to the glory of God and have been foreordained before the foundations of the world. This means that if your family gets in a car accident and is killed and you are the only one left, this is from the Lord. In this instance our hearts should be as Job's, "The Lord gave and the Lord taketh away; blessed be the name of the Lord." If we are given good grades in school, these things are of the Lord. If we are held at gun point and asked to renounce our faith or an entire nation is destroyed due to an earthquake or we are given riches beyond measure, than we should give thanks to God for His mercy and stand firm in our faith in Jesus Christ. We have nothing and are given nothing, good or bad in our sight, apart from the Lord.

"For we are fearfully and wonderfully made."  

God made us in His image from the dust of the ground and breathed in us the breath of life and we became a living soul. Our bodies are so complex that if one thing is out of proportion our entire body suffers. For instance, we have hundreds of germs inside our mouths that would kill us in a matter of a very short amount of time; however, we are still able to operate normally as human beings. 

Also, think about our DNA. Our DNA is a double helix that is largely the determinate of who we are as a people and is the script by which our body operates(i.e. in appearance). 

Every one of our cells except for red blood cells have something called the Major Histocompatibility Complex on the wall of  the cell. This structure marks each cell as belonging to you. The only reason why we are able to do blood transfusions is because our blood cells do not contain this structure. 

Also, our hormones, which are largely controlled by the brain of the hormone system, the pituitary gland, control our entire body. The following is a short, inadequate list of what our pituitary gland controls: emotions, the ability to reproduce, the ability to feel dehydrated, how are brain copes with certain stimulus, certain diseases that would kill us or make living very difficult, etc. These are some of the things that our hormones control. The hormone system is crucial to our makeup as human beings.

In regards to the body, there is so much I could go into from the physics that allow the blood to diffuse across the capillary walls, to the bone structure, to the incredible process of conception to birth. Without God, all of these things would cease to take place. We are truly fearfully and wonderfully made.

"If we were to say that a single atom was out of the control of all mighty God, we would be denying the omnipotence of God; yea, we would be saying that God did not exist." [Thomas A. Thomas in his book, A Reason for The Hope] Everything, from the universe to the smallest atom is controlled and sustained by God. Nothing happens without His foreknowledge and His will. "God is intimately acquainted with all of our ways." 

I have written the brief summary of God's involvement in all things above in order to illustrate a mind set. I would now like to come back to the sun. Even as the earth is sustained by the sun as well as the rest of the Heavens so are we sustained by the Son that giveth us life. Without God, life would cease to exist as I have stated so many times before. We must realize that God is in control of our lives. We can not deny Him anymore. He must be the Sun of our life, the Nucleus. He must be our fulcrum, and our central focal point. "Kiss the Son lest He be angry with you." 

A life spent apart from God is a life lived in direct opposition to the way we were created. We were created by God, and whether you like it or not, you and everything else is sustained by Him. I speak to Christian and non Christian alike. God and His law must be kept before our eyes. We must write the law of God on the doors of our house. We must meditate on God's law day and night. Every time we sin and every time our minds wander away from God, we deny the power of God in our life. We assert ourselves as being equal or wanting to be equal with our Creator, which was the essence of the original sin. "Shall the thing that was formed say to him that formed it, " 'why have you made me thus'?" 

May the Son of God, dear fellow man, not only be the physical, but also the spiritual nucleus of your entire being. The Lord be with you.

Sola Deo Gloria

Verses that should Characterize Our Christian Walk

"Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee."   [Titus 2: 12-15]

"Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God."

"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." James 5:16

"For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." [Isaiah 75:15] "But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it." [Numbers 14:24]

Life Is Short

Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.
He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.
[Job 14:1-2]

As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone: and the place thereof shall know it no more. [Psalm 103:15-16]

Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? it is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. [James 4:14]

Redeem the time. One moment you are here and the next you are gone. The Lord be with you.

Sola Deo Gloria

Thanksgiving

Each year many people across America come together on this day to observe a national holiday. People from all walks of life celebrate this day, but the average person is not familiar with the history of Thanksgiving. They come together to watch their football games, eat food, and play games. They come together to spend time with each other, to have a day off from work, to eat turkey. However, we as Christians unite on this day not because of some decree put in place by Abraham Lincoln or to just have a good time, although this may be part of the reason. No,we come together for another reason. We understand that through the Lord we live, move, and have our being. We come together to express hearts of gratitude and thanksgiving to God, to our maker for the things he has taught us, for the great and marvelous things he hath done, and for His kindness and provision for us. We come together because of devoted men in our history that saw the importance of giving thanks and praise to God - David, our Founding Fathers, all of the godly men of old. We follow in their foot steps.

We who have received so much at the hand of God; we who have been so blessed must with utter fervency thank the Lord of Hosts.

In the Holy Word of God, we are shown wonderful examples and wonderful truths that teach and require Thanksgiving.

First, a Psalm that would prepare our hearts for thanksgiving would be Psalm 136. This Psalm is listed below:

O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good:
for his mercy endureth for ever.

O give thanks unto the God of gods:
for his mercy endureth for ever.

O give thanks to the Lord of lords:
for his mercy endureth for ever.

To him who alone doeth great wonders:
for his mercy endureth for ever.

To him that by wisdom made the heavens: Gen. 1.1
for his mercy endureth for ever.

To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: Gen. 1.2
for his mercy endureth for ever.

To him that made great lights:
for his mercy endureth for ever:

the sun to rule by day:
for his mercy endureth for ever:

the moon and stars to rule by night: Gen. 1.16
for his mercy endureth for ever.

To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn: Ex. 12.29
for his mercy endureth for ever:

and brought out Israel from among them: Ex. 12.51
for his mercy endureth for ever:

with a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm:
for his mercy endureth for ever.

To him which divided the Red sea into parts:
for his mercy endureth for ever:

and made Israel to pass through the midst of it:
for his mercy endureth for ever:

but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea: Ex. 14.21-29
for his mercy endureth for ever.

To him which led his people through the wilderness:
for his mercy endureth for ever.

To him which smote great kings:
for his mercy endureth for ever:

and slew famous kings:
for his mercy endureth for ever:

Sihon king of the Amorites: Num. 21.21-30
for his mercy endureth for ever:

and Og the king of Bashan: Num. 21.31-35
for his mercy endureth for ever:

and gave their land for a heritage:
for his mercy endureth for ever:

even a heritage unto Israel his servant:
for his mercy endureth for ever.

Who remembered us in our low estate:
for his mercy endureth for ever:

and hath redeemed us from our enemies:
for his mercy endureth for ever.

Who giveth food to all flesh:
for his mercy endureth for ever.

O give thanks unto the God of heaven:
for his mercy endureth for ever.

As stated before, we who have received so much have so much to be thankful for. The following is a list of a couple of things that we must be thankful for:

The breath of life breathed into us by God - "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul."

The faithfulness of God - Great is the faithfulness of our God. We can see the faithfulness of God in Abraham-in that, he was given a son in his old age, in Moses - for he led the people of Israel to the promise land by the right hand of God, and in God's people - for he continually forgave their sins and healed their land.

The wonderful provision of God - "Are not two sparrow sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without the notice of your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows."

The Marvelous deeds of old - "I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works, I muse on the work of thy hands." Psalm 143:5 We must remember all of the mighty acts of God in our lives. To remember the mercies of God, will cause a greater love and devotion to be developed with our Lord.

For the many things we have been taught by God in His law -

Charity - "Charity suffereth long and is kind."

Perseverance - May we run with patience the race that is before us.

The truth of God - "And you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free."

Humility - "The Lord resisteth the proud but giveth grace to the humble." "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. "

We must be thankful for these doctrines and truths taught to us in the Scriptures because God has given us a law whereby we may learn to live in obedience to Him.

The Revelation of God in His Holy Word - "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." John 5 : 39 We are able to know God because of His Word. We have be so privileged to have been given the school master that leads us to a saving knowledge of our Lord.

Ultimately, we must be thankful to God for the gift of His son - "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end." We through the blood of Jesus Christ have been given the gift of Salvation. Words cannot express the gratitude we have for the Lord's loving-kindness that has been poured out upon us. We don't deserve Christ. We do not deserve His inheritance. However, God in His infinite love and faithfulness has chosen us to be His people.

I myself must echo what Paul said, "I am the least of the least of all saints. I am not worthy to be counted among the beloved." I cannot fathom the depths of God's love. Why He chose to pour out His love upon a sinful generation, is beyond my imagination. What a wonderful merciful Savior we have. We have so much to be thankful for.

"To whom much is given, much is required." What has been given to us by God must be repaid with love and obedience. Let us therefore bow the knee to our Lord in humility and in thanksgiving for the great things he hath done for us.

Sola Deo Gloria.