The word humilty..

The word humility for me is such a confronting word. It cuts deep into my heart and forces me to examine every intention, thought, word or action. The past couple of years I have been faced with situations and exposed to situations where I have come to the conclusion, that these people or this person needs to be more humble....it doesn't take long before I am forced to examine my own heart and how I am going at 'humbling myself under the mighty hand of God' (1 Peter 5:6). Often it is so much easier to judge others and accuse them of being proud, conceited, unsubmissive, but in my assessment of them, aren't I being proud, conceited, unsubmissive before them and more importantly, before Almighty God.

When we refuse to submit to others, to be humble before others, to consider them better than ourselves, we are really being unsubmissive to God, God after all is in control of all things, including the hearts of others.

"Whatever the Lord pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps. Psalm 135:6".

The past few months I have been reading through 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 Kings. I have always struggled with David but reading through these books I have gained a new respect for him and his wholehearted devotion and love fore God, he truly was a man after God's own heart. The kings that followed him, including his son Solomon didn't love God like he did, in fact most of them did evil in the sight of the Lord.

These verses concerning kings came up in my KYB study in the Psalms today,

Now it shall come to pass about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.
It shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, by carefully observing all the words of this law and these statures, that his heart may not be lifted above his countrymen and that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right or left , so that his sons may continue long in the midst of Israel." Deuteronomy 17:18-20

How does a king stay humble? By reading God's word every day, observing it, thus learning to fear Him. How does a mother stay humble and not think more highly than I ought to think of myself before my children - by reading, and meditating upon God's word so that i may learn to fear Him. The more I am confronted with who God is, who Christ is, and that my salvation is all His doing, the more I am humbled before Him and my thoughts, intentions, actions are dealt with.

I often think about how we as Christians desire to be Christlike, but how often do we consider Christ's humility, not only on the cross, but throughout his whole life on earth, the fact that

"He emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." (Philippians 2:7-9)

How do you show love to someone when they are suffering?

I have been asking myself that question today. There are people all around me, and one very close to me, who are suffering, physically, emotionally, spiritually.

My mother experienced extreme physical pain for a lot of my childhood and most of my teenage years, early marriage and early child bearing years. I often struggled to know how to show love her.

When someone is in pain, its impossible to really understand how they are feeling. Most people are good at hiding what they are going through, so sometimes we can walk right on by without any idea what they are suffering.

I have regrets about the way I showed love to my mother when she was alive. She suffered so much pain, that she felt bad to mention it. You could just see it in her face and body language.

I remember when I was in the early stages of my first pregnancy I tried to put myself in her shoes. While I was lying on the couch feeling fatigued, nauseated, useless, I would chat to her on the phone and realise this is how she feels almost all the time!

We watched Fireproof last night and what hit home to me about that movie was the only way the husband could love his wife was when he came to an understanding of Christ's love for him. The love of Christ is unconditional, unchanging, never failing, sacrificial. Christ's love fills us and enables us to love others because we are relying upon His love and strength not our own.

So I guess to be able to love others deeply, genuinely, as Christ loves them, I need to spend more time with Him, enthralling myself in His love and all that He is.

Coming back to my question, if you have ever suffered, or are suffering emotionally, physically, spiritually, what are some ways you need to be loved?

My first priority

I have been challenged lately about priorities....my life purpose in general. And I have come to the conclusion, that I have not been making my husband my first priority.

It is so easy to get busy doing things, and not that they're bad things, they are just things that take me away from making him my first priority (after God that is!).

Our relationship has not been suffering or anything, but I have been starting to fill my life with other things, that are distracting me from making him number 1 in a practical way.

This week while I have been thinking through all of this, I came across this post based on Proverbs 31:12. “She does HIM good, and not harm, all the days of her life.”

Kristin Chesemore writes,

'The object of this wife’s active do-gooding is her husband.......Sad to say, I don’t always do this. Sometimes I am quick to meet my kid’s needs or to agree to do a favor for a friend without considering whether or not it would serve my husband. Serving my children and those in the church is right and important--as we see in the example of the Proverbs 31 woman. But I must remember that I am uniquely gifted and called to do good to my husband first.'

I am uniquely gifted and called to be a helper to my husband, that is such a privilege, no one else has that opportunity or calling! I am thankful for the way God grabs my attention, even though I had to go through some pain and humility for Him to get me this time.

Please feel free to remind me and encourage me to make my husband my first priority, I have the gift of mercy and I love to help others, which is OK, if it is not causing harm to my husband. My goal is to do him good all the days of his life!

Are you more loving?

That was the question I had to confront myself with a few Sundays ago. My capacity to love others had been wearing thin and my love tank was almost empty! The past week or so I had been hiding out at home, not wanting to catch up with anyone, and one Sunday I escaped early from church to avoid having to fellowship with anyone! When I got home, I knew I had some inward issues to deal with so I forced myself to pick up one of the books I am reading, 10 questions to diagnose your spiritual health, by Donald S Whitney. I analysed each of the questions and realised that 4 out of the 10 relate to people! I was immediately drawn to read question no. 3 which is Are you more loving?. As I was reading this chapter, I started to feel immensely convicted. Heres a snippet.

The decline of love
When love grows colder, our sin increasingly manifests itself and we look more unlike Jesus. We lose patience easily, whereas 1 Corinthians 13:4 says that "Love suffers long." Unkindness becomes common, yet love "is kind". We become sinfully envious of the advantages and privileges of others, perhaps even of those within our own family; conversely, "love does not envy." When challenged about our lack of love, we quickly and quite confidently list all the sacrifices and other proofs of our love, and yet "love does not parade itself, is not puffed up." As our hearts harden against love, we become less courteous, especially to those closest to us, in contrast to love which "does not behave rudely" (1 Corinthians 13:5). We begin to consider ourselves and our "rights" as more important than others and their needs, whereas love "does not seek its own." When love is in decline we are more easily angered, but love "is not provoked." A lack of love is often faultfinding, and it mentally keeps score of offenses, but love "thinks no evil."

The word of God is so very convicting, so life changing! I had been struggling to give out anymore love, and yet when I examined my love in light of 1 Corinthians 13, I realised that it had been so full of self, so insincere. Love does not "seek its own" I had been seeking love in return, but God wants us to love selflessly, for His glory, not to get in return, not to puff ourselves up and get recognition. Whitney quotes from Maurice Roberts,

Why is real Christian love so scarce in the world? It is because its cultivation requires nothing less than the reversal of every instinct in our fallen natures. Love is against the grain of nature. It is every fiber of our being as sinners. But nature, in the regenerate, is under the higher power of grace....What the unregenertae cannot do, true Christians may and must.

Whitney exhorts us to Let your heart be often warmed by the fire of God's love. It always comes back to Him. To the cross. As a disciple of Jesus Christ I must constantly examine my love for His sake, for the eternal destiny of others. Jesus said that love is the clearest mark of a Christian.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you. By this all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. John 13:34-35

God is the only one who can fill my love tank way past the fill line!

Just in case you are curious about what the other 9 questions to diagnose your spiritual health are, here they are!

1. Do you thirst for God?
2. Are you governed increasingly by God's word?
3. Are you more loving?
4. Are you more sensitive to God's presence?
5. Do you have a growing concern for the spiritual and temporal needs of others?
6. Do you delight in the bride of Christ?
7. Are the spiritual disciplines increasingly more important to you?
8. Do you still grieve over sin?
9. Are you a quick forgiver?
10. Do you yearn for heaven and to be with Jesus?