CLOSET in Heart #8 PRIDE?
Well, my dear peeps, still working on the ole closet and it's amazing how in our hearts and in life, what we find in the very back that we didn't know was even there.........
I truly would have never thought myself a prideful person, honest. Proud of my kids, proud of my husband, you know the GOOD kinds of pride but prideful where I think of myself as all that and a bag of chips? No way..... God showed me different this AM that it is dangerous to assume you are safe from falling into a trap.
Maybe that is why Daniel prayed morning, noon, and nite....He was always available and ready to seek God and what God had to show or tell him......Something to think on.
I've been thrown a loop as I am studying to be an AACC Ministerial Christian Counselor. Now, that I know beyond all doubt God has called me to do. However, at my sink altar doing dishes, (there are altars all over your house where you can be with God if you choose such as making the bed, scrubbing tubs, etc), I watched the birds eat & I love the sparrows as they remind me "Not so much as 1 sparrow falls to the ground that the Father doesn't know. Are you not worth more than these?" And I was thinking about how it was a ministry & privilege to be part of God's plan to provide for His creation. Then I began to think about Jesus washing the feet of His disciples.....Peter of course protested Jesus doing such a job.
Why was I thinking of all this? Well, simple, some people around my area know I am going for my AACC Ministerial Christian Counselor Accreditation, so I get calls for prayer, anointing with oil & prayer (laying on of hands), to just listen/advise, etc. Well, I got one of those calls and the remark was made "I know you really help so & so and they really look up to you."
Pride didn't kick in until after I had made the visitation which was urgent, I listened, anointed with oil with laying on of hands, prayer, advising, etc. Then when I got home, I thought "WOW! That was amazing!" because the change was so noticeable. I immediately asked God to forgive me for being prideful and contacted my prayer partner to ask for help with this dilemma. I mean, I want to do God's will but I do not want pride to get in the way, so how does one deal with this?
My prayer partner was very understanding and wise. I was told, "What did God save when He saved you?" I said "My soul". Then I was asked "Where does pride come from?" I said "The flesh". I was assured that this brief "blip" was a temptation to pride, not a sin of pride and that yes, it would always be a struggle as we are to crucify our flesh daily, take up our cross and follow Jesus.
I saw a Christian minister on TV then preaching on seeking God's PRESENCE instead of God's PRESENTS (gifts of the Holy Spirit, healing, etc.) That God's desire is for us to seek HIM and all the other things will be added unto us. BOY, IT HIT HOME. All I could do was cry.
I again realized that more than anything I want to be at the feet of my Lord & Saviour, Jesus Christ. If I don't have Him in His fullness, I really have nothing at all. Anything I do have the ability or opportunity or gift to do is because HE CHOSE to use me and I am willing to be an empty vessel for Him to fill.
So, I think I'm understanding this pride thing. I don't need a title....Jesus didn't have one it was others who tried to title Him (Remember Pilate and Jesus when Jesus said "You say that I am"?) Again, back to Jesus washing feet....
That was the lowest job of a servant, equal to cleaning toilets. Yet, He did it with grace and mercy because there was a need. He then arose to go on to being Priest at the Last Supper. Major job change, eh? Yet, Christ was not ever concerned with "titles" or "positions". He filled needs as they came His way. He was only concerned with His Father's (God) opinion of Him. Jesus plainly taught that those who are first will be last and those that are last will be first. No positions or titles.....
I suppose more than anything, I need to keep ever vigilant about being before God's PRESENCE and His opinion. As long as I follow my beloved Shepherd, following closely His lead, there will be no room for Satan or wrongful pride.
That's it, my peeps. Hope you learn as much as I did......God loves me just because, I don't have to earn any of His love.
Hugs & love, my peeps
I truly would have never thought myself a prideful person, honest. Proud of my kids, proud of my husband, you know the GOOD kinds of pride but prideful where I think of myself as all that and a bag of chips? No way..... God showed me different this AM that it is dangerous to assume you are safe from falling into a trap.
Maybe that is why Daniel prayed morning, noon, and nite....He was always available and ready to seek God and what God had to show or tell him......Something to think on.
I've been thrown a loop as I am studying to be an AACC Ministerial Christian Counselor. Now, that I know beyond all doubt God has called me to do. However, at my sink altar doing dishes, (there are altars all over your house where you can be with God if you choose such as making the bed, scrubbing tubs, etc), I watched the birds eat & I love the sparrows as they remind me "Not so much as 1 sparrow falls to the ground that the Father doesn't know. Are you not worth more than these?" And I was thinking about how it was a ministry & privilege to be part of God's plan to provide for His creation. Then I began to think about Jesus washing the feet of His disciples.....Peter of course protested Jesus doing such a job.
Why was I thinking of all this? Well, simple, some people around my area know I am going for my AACC Ministerial Christian Counselor Accreditation, so I get calls for prayer, anointing with oil & prayer (laying on of hands), to just listen/advise, etc. Well, I got one of those calls and the remark was made "I know you really help so & so and they really look up to you."
Pride didn't kick in until after I had made the visitation which was urgent, I listened, anointed with oil with laying on of hands, prayer, advising, etc. Then when I got home, I thought "WOW! That was amazing!" because the change was so noticeable. I immediately asked God to forgive me for being prideful and contacted my prayer partner to ask for help with this dilemma. I mean, I want to do God's will but I do not want pride to get in the way, so how does one deal with this?
My prayer partner was very understanding and wise. I was told, "What did God save when He saved you?" I said "My soul". Then I was asked "Where does pride come from?" I said "The flesh". I was assured that this brief "blip" was a temptation to pride, not a sin of pride and that yes, it would always be a struggle as we are to crucify our flesh daily, take up our cross and follow Jesus.
I saw a Christian minister on TV then preaching on seeking God's PRESENCE instead of God's PRESENTS (gifts of the Holy Spirit, healing, etc.) That God's desire is for us to seek HIM and all the other things will be added unto us. BOY, IT HIT HOME. All I could do was cry.
I again realized that more than anything I want to be at the feet of my Lord & Saviour, Jesus Christ. If I don't have Him in His fullness, I really have nothing at all. Anything I do have the ability or opportunity or gift to do is because HE CHOSE to use me and I am willing to be an empty vessel for Him to fill.
So, I think I'm understanding this pride thing. I don't need a title....Jesus didn't have one it was others who tried to title Him (Remember Pilate and Jesus when Jesus said "You say that I am"?) Again, back to Jesus washing feet....
That was the lowest job of a servant, equal to cleaning toilets. Yet, He did it with grace and mercy because there was a need. He then arose to go on to being Priest at the Last Supper. Major job change, eh? Yet, Christ was not ever concerned with "titles" or "positions". He filled needs as they came His way. He was only concerned with His Father's (God) opinion of Him. Jesus plainly taught that those who are first will be last and those that are last will be first. No positions or titles.....
I suppose more than anything, I need to keep ever vigilant about being before God's PRESENCE and His opinion. As long as I follow my beloved Shepherd, following closely His lead, there will be no room for Satan or wrongful pride.
That's it, my peeps. Hope you learn as much as I did......God loves me just because, I don't have to earn any of His love.
Hugs & love, my peeps
Replies
Wow! I loved this! What a message... in fact there were a few lessons here. Thank you so much for sharing and for caring!
IICor. 4:7.
LESA - Hope you are well. Last time I called you were taking meds and unable to come to the phone. Glad the lessons I\'m learning were of use to you as well....I know....GO COCKS! ROFLOL Hugs & love....
Dear CAROL - Looked it up. Very apt as God states 2Co 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. Maybe that is why we are warned of the danger to not think more highly of ourselves than we ought. Love to you, YOU SNOWLESS PERSON! ROFLOL
IDK, I think You were just enjoying a Holy Spirit high when you got home and that\'s a good thing. We should enjoy being instruments of His love. I know it can be a real blow you away experience when God uses you, but being happy about it is OK. I don\'t think that is pride, now if you bragged about how you could heal or something that would be different, but I know you and you are a humble servant of the Lord. You just keep on following where the Lord leads you, every time you do you tell God how much you love him.
May God Bless you today my friend.
Thank you, Nan. The CLOSET lessons have been a real eye-opener about myself that I didn\'t know even was there. I mean really.....maybe it\'s also the perfect time...LENT. How often are we truly slowed down enough and honest enough with ourselves about our life style in HOW we live, WHY we do what we do, MOTIVES, ATTITUDES, etc.? I\'d say not often and not much. Maybe, just maybe, when Jesus told His disciples (and aren\'t we to be His disciples?) to \"come away to a quiet place with me and rest.\" Sure, they were tired, but we get tired, we also get sloppy, we also quit thinking and just go into react mode.
I don\'t think anyone as long as they breathe get away with all the bad human emotions such as pride, selfishness, etc. but I do believe that God wants us to be AWARE so that the opportunity isn\'t given for that emotion/attitude to gain a strong hold in our lives.
Yes, you are right. A Holy Spirit high is quite amazing. Most times all I can do is cry and not even speak from the sheer overwhelming presence and awe!
Can you just stop today, doing dishes, making a bed, cooking, and just imagine being at Jesus\' feet one day? I so love that song \"I CAN ONLY IMAGINE\"......it truly says it all.
Hugs & love, my dear. Have blessed day and may God show Himself so powerfully in your day that you are WOWED!
I do like \"Mercy Me\".
Right now I am fighting off waves of depression. I am trying to get to the other side of this sadness and figure out why I feel this way. God is taking me by the hand and leading me through my own valley of sin discovery, He is giving me the grace to repent and to be forgiven. I think I have an attic full of things that need discarding and some things that need to be burned.
I am working my way through the practicality of Proverbs this Lent. There is so much good material there, I keep soaking it in. Thanks for the sweet comment about my newest grandson, haven\'t met him yet (or his Momma) but it gives me something to look forward too.
Children are ALWAYS a blessing. I\'ve told my kids & people, \"none of us have a choice on how we get here, we are only responsible for where we end up.\" So, love + positiveness will eventually win over all.....Doesn\'t God\'s word tells us love covers a multitude of sins? I think that\'s our own when we screw up not on purpose but with the best of intentions (just did that one!) and it is also for those in our lives....loving them when they screw up.
Hugs & love