Together # 18
A Together that Holds Together
A Together that Holds Together
Be Humble with One Another
copyright by Dick Wulf, 2018
Be humble and constantly acknowledge your dependence upon God. Consider others more important than yourself, even though everyone is equal in Christ.
Prov 18:12; Prov 22:4; Zeph 2:3; Matt 11:29; Matt 18:1-4; Luke 14:11; Luke 18:14;
Rom 12:3-16; Eph 4:2; Phil 2:3-4; Phil 2:5-8; James 3:13; 1 Peter 5:5-7
Rom 12:3-16; Eph 4:2; Phil 2:3-4; Phil 2:5-8; James 3:13; 1 Peter 5:5-7
Humility must start with being humble before God. This means accepting God’s position as far higher than one’s own. Living under God’s sovereign reign is humility. Taking direction and orders from Him as King and Lord rather than from one’s self is humility. Being dependent upon God for everything from the breath we take to our salvation is humility. Simply put, to be humble is to let God have His rightful place in our lives. We are to let Him be God and we His subjects.
Being humble with one another is to bring this humility that accepts God in all of His character and royal position into our interactions with one another. In essence, we live together in submission to God and in dependence on Him for everything in life. It is this latter that we will focus on.
Humility is to realize that we are totally dependent upon God and to live like we are not at all self-sufficient. Because we are not at all as good as God, we accept that we have been empowered by God to do anything good that we have done. We humbly give Him all the credit. We humble ourselves with one another, acknowledging that anything we are that another is not is not truly superior when compared to God’s holiness and abilities.
Biblical humility recognizes that God is lofty and we are lowly – and that it is not only okay, but best that way. It is a good thing to be dependent upon God for everything. We are not so important as to know more than God, whether that be about how much money we should have or what would be best for us to do today. A humble Christian knows that only God knows the best course for his or her life.
Biblical humility recognizes that we are not capable of taking care of ourselves without God’s help. We are in need of God’s undeserving love (grace) for our security. Even when we work to have money to buy food, God’s contribution is greater. He gives us health, talents, jobs, and protects us from making job-ending mistakes. God’s grace precedes and accompanies anything righteous that we do.
It is important that we know we are nothing without God, yet everything with Him in our lives. This is not a simple lip-service that God is in our lives. We must pay conscious attention to Who He is. He is the Sovereign God who rules all. Without relying on His sovereign rule over our lives and the universe as a whole, we are not humble and end up either hopeless or prideful.
We are dependent upon Him for everything, and understanding, accepting, and living that truth makes us humble. We can depend upon ourselves, our own thinking, our own emotions, our own efforts, and our own resources. Or we can depend first on God, His thinking, His emotions, His efforts, and His resources – and then bring in our own contributions.
The wise thing is to humble ourselves before God. The more we look to God for things we need, the more humble we are. We can attain good things on our own, but certainly not as much as God can give us.
Being humble with one another is to bring this humility that accepts God in all of His character and royal position into our interactions with one another. In essence, we live together in submission to God and in dependence on Him for everything in life. It is this latter that we will focus on.
Humility is to realize that we are totally dependent upon God and to live like we are not at all self-sufficient. Because we are not at all as good as God, we accept that we have been empowered by God to do anything good that we have done. We humbly give Him all the credit. We humble ourselves with one another, acknowledging that anything we are that another is not is not truly superior when compared to God’s holiness and abilities.
Biblical humility recognizes that God is lofty and we are lowly – and that it is not only okay, but best that way. It is a good thing to be dependent upon God for everything. We are not so important as to know more than God, whether that be about how much money we should have or what would be best for us to do today. A humble Christian knows that only God knows the best course for his or her life.
Biblical humility recognizes that we are not capable of taking care of ourselves without God’s help. We are in need of God’s undeserving love (grace) for our security. Even when we work to have money to buy food, God’s contribution is greater. He gives us health, talents, jobs, and protects us from making job-ending mistakes. God’s grace precedes and accompanies anything righteous that we do.
It is important that we know we are nothing without God, yet everything with Him in our lives. This is not a simple lip-service that God is in our lives. We must pay conscious attention to Who He is. He is the Sovereign God who rules all. Without relying on His sovereign rule over our lives and the universe as a whole, we are not humble and end up either hopeless or prideful.
We are dependent upon Him for everything, and understanding, accepting, and living that truth makes us humble. We can depend upon ourselves, our own thinking, our own emotions, our own efforts, and our own resources. Or we can depend first on God, His thinking, His emotions, His efforts, and His resources – and then bring in our own contributions.
The wise thing is to humble ourselves before God. The more we look to God for things we need, the more humble we are. We can attain good things on our own, but certainly not as much as God can give us.
But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
“God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble.”
James 4:6
“God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble.”
James 4:6
Self-sufficiency gets in the way of humility and tells us we can do it by ourselves, without God.
Self-sufficiency is self-defeating. It is leaving out the huge contribution God can make in whatever we are doing. We will still use our talents, but with dependence upon God they will be “super-sized”. When we are humble, we know that God has an important part to play, always the most important part to play. When we have deep humility, really paying attention to our need for God’s direction and involvement, He will throw in a contribution that is called grace or favor. But, if we just give lip service to our need for God in something or everything, God may take us about as superficially as we do Him.
We can depend on Him for wisdom. We can depend on Him to guide us. We can depend on Him to protect us. We can depend on Him for life’s basic necessities. We can depend on Him for anything and everything. And that is humility.
Humility that recognizes our weakness and inabilities should not make us feel bad about ourselves. Everyone is the same. The humility that accepts weakness makes room for God to act and be the strong One in the situation.
Self-sufficiency is self-defeating. It is leaving out the huge contribution God can make in whatever we are doing. We will still use our talents, but with dependence upon God they will be “super-sized”. When we are humble, we know that God has an important part to play, always the most important part to play. When we have deep humility, really paying attention to our need for God’s direction and involvement, He will throw in a contribution that is called grace or favor. But, if we just give lip service to our need for God in something or everything, God may take us about as superficially as we do Him.
We can depend on Him for wisdom. We can depend on Him to guide us. We can depend on Him to protect us. We can depend on Him for life’s basic necessities. We can depend on Him for anything and everything. And that is humility.
Humility that recognizes our weakness and inabilities should not make us feel bad about ourselves. Everyone is the same. The humility that accepts weakness makes room for God to act and be the strong One in the situation.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
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2 Cor 12:9-10
Although we could go much further in our description of humility, our focus is on being humble with one another by bringing that dependence on God into our relationships. It is one thing for each of us to be humble alone, but it is much more to be humble with one another. Personal humility is a great spiritual strength, but it is individual and must also become corporate. We need to bring that humility into our Christian friendships, our Christian families, and our Christian marriages to help one another grow in humility and to share the benefits of a truly humble relationship with God. We must work together to make sure we all are growing in our ability to see our dependence upon God. Then we need to exercise that dependence together. Usually we do that when we join in prayer, but we can depend on Him together for our spiritual growth as well as the good deeds we have been called to accomplish.
For we are God’s handiwork,
created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Eph 2:10
created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Eph 2:10
Dependence upon God and knowing that He is the major partner in anything good that we do leads to treating one another equally, without concern for status or value. It honors God when we do not treat one another as better or worse, superior or inferior. For sure, we are different from one another. We each have an important part in the work of God. Therefore, we need to treat one another as critical. If any of our friends or family feels less capable or less significant, and we leave them in that state, their link in the chain of synergistic action in the service of God will be broken. The result is that their lack of dependence upon God for ability and action will hurt things God wants done in our friendships, families and marriages.
Then there is the matter of not being proud of our walk with God by comparing ourselves with the others in our Christian Inner Circle. Leave out the comparison and humility can win the day.
Then there is the matter of not being proud of our walk with God by comparing ourselves with the others in our Christian Inner Circle. Leave out the comparison and humility can win the day.
Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load.
Gal 6:4-5
Gal 6:4-5
There is much truth in the statement, “There but for the grace of God go I.” Is someone in your small group Bible study or in your Christian Inner Circle hesitant to be bold for Christ? Humility would recognize that if you had the same upbringing and/or similar defeats in life, that might be you. Is someone moving into a larger home or driving a fancier car? Provided that they are living for and guided by God for this luxury, that is what God wants for them for some type of service to Him. If you had them and had no assignment from God to live that way, look out for trouble. Thank God that they have the larger home or better car – and not you.
Better or worse in the kingdom of God is none of our business, it is God’s. However, there are different degrees of obedience, and that is our business. Our attitude is to be humble toward those less obedient, not judging but providing loving concern and help to increase their obedience. Another’s disobedience might be ours if we were in her or his situation. So, humility rescues us from judging and sets us free to pitch in and help.
Being humble with one another is primarily an attitude that paves the way for action.
Better or worse in the kingdom of God is none of our business, it is God’s. However, there are different degrees of obedience, and that is our business. Our attitude is to be humble toward those less obedient, not judging but providing loving concern and help to increase their obedience. Another’s disobedience might be ours if we were in her or his situation. So, humility rescues us from judging and sets us free to pitch in and help.
Being humble with one another is primarily an attitude that paves the way for action.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.
Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,
not looking to your own interests
but each of you to the interests of the others.
Phil 2:3
Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,
not looking to your own interests
but each of you to the interests of the others.
Phil 2:3
Not being haughty or considering ourselves better than others enables us to implement many of the Togethers. Pitching in is what is called for. Dependence on God allows us to escape thinking that we are self-made people and that others are deficient and should pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. So, we do not act superior and we do not judge. Then dependence on God makes us bold to obey the Scriptures of the Togethers, knowing that we do not need to feel adequate, only dependent upon His strength.
“It is in seeing others as persons of great worth because they are loved by God and in seeing ourselves as their servants that we find the fulfilling lifestyle of humility.” (Larry Richards, Expository Dictionary of Bible Words, © 1985 The Zondervan Corp., page 348.)
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It is humility in our Christian relationships that makes helping one another safe. The command to be humble with one another is vital to Christian community and spiritual growth.
Opportunity to Become More and More Like Jesus Christ
Opportunity to Become More and More Like Jesus Christ
Camila and Austin have rarely treated one another poorly. Therefore, they have a strong sense that each is loyal to the other. Marriage has never been a competition between them. And, they have had little trouble admitting when they have wronged the other, even when it was undetected. Many of their friends admire the humility in their marriage.
Maybe that is why it was so easy for them to decide to look for ways in which they are not like Jesus and confess those things to each other so that they could help overcome sins. Everyone around them is a little stunned by their humble habit of bringing a new sin to be eliminated to each other for help at least once a month. Not only have they shown this process between themselves to their closest friends, but they have asked for prayer and suggestions from those friends who are more serious about faith in Christ. And, it should be mentioned that a few of their non-believing friends have accepted salvation in Jesus after seeing Camila and Austin seriously ridding themselves of sins that are not hideous but just dishonoring to God. Although Camila and Austin are getting rid of their old selves to honor God, they are also taking great joy at being transformed more into the righteousness of Christ. And God is very happy with their humility. |
Even though Jesus was God, He did not give His equality in the godhead much thought. He was our model for humility
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death--
even death on a cross!
Phil 2:5-8
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death--
even death on a cross!
Phil 2:5-8
None of us think we are equal to God. So we are automatically like Jesus in that way. Hooray for any easy Christlikeness!
But we are to be like Jesus in humbling ourselves to carry our crosses. Humility, knowing that we are not so special as to be exempt from serving others, keeps us from excusing ourselves from helping. Therefore, humility makes us ready to assist others, and in doing so, we find that we are important and special.
But we are to be like Jesus in humbling ourselves to carry our crosses. Humility, knowing that we are not so special as to be exempt from serving others, keeps us from excusing ourselves from helping. Therefore, humility makes us ready to assist others, and in doing so, we find that we are important and special.
Then Jesus said to his disciples,
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves
and take up their cross and follow me.
Matt 16:24
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves
and take up their cross and follow me.
Matt 16:24
Humility before God recognizes our complete dependence upon Him to direct us. Humble Christians do not follow themselves, they follow Jesus their Lord. It takes love for God leading to denial of self to find our crosses and do what God wants done. We die to self in order to be humble servants of the Most High.
At the request of His Father, Jesus humbled Himself and came to earth to die for us. Lucky for us!
Like Jesus, we too can be humble and do what we are asked. We are servants with job descriptions that call for all kinds of things, each worthy of doing because God is worthy of being served.
As a result of Christ’s humility, God raised Him up.
At the request of His Father, Jesus humbled Himself and came to earth to die for us. Lucky for us!
Like Jesus, we too can be humble and do what we are asked. We are servants with job descriptions that call for all kinds of things, each worthy of doing because God is worthy of being served.
As a result of Christ’s humility, God raised Him up.
But we do see Jesus,
who was made lower than the angels for a little while,
now crowned with glory and honor
because he suffered death, . . .
Hebrews 2:9
who was made lower than the angels for a little while,
now crowned with glory and honor
because he suffered death, . . .
Hebrews 2:9
Humility will also raise us up.
Humble yourselves, therefore,
under God’s mighty hand,
that he may lift you up in due time.
1 Peter 5:6
under God’s mighty hand,
that he may lift you up in due time.
1 Peter 5:6
To what will we be raised as a result of our humility? Ultimately to heaven, of course.
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. |
Matt 25:31-34
Let’s be like Jesus and humbly put God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in charge. Let’s allow God to be “boss” and do what He wants with us and through us.
Opportunity to Worship God
Opportunity to Worship God
Living Waters Church had a problem with division along economic lines. Everyone liked to dress well for church services. It had always been that way. But in the last few years the pastors have noticed that those better off financially began to come dressed in very expensive suits, dresses and pantsuits. The wealthier women carried showy, very expensive handbags.
Living Waters has always been outstanding in attracting the poorer people to their church and doing a great job including them. When church leadership noticed what was going on and that the groupings after services were almost exclusively along economic lines, they knew something had to be done. Things began to change when Pastor Robinson began preaching a series on humility emphasizing that everyone should become more dependent upon God. He taught the opposite of “the prosperity gospel”, explaining that God chose what He wanted each person to have. Rev. Robinson urged those with more to examine whether they were wasting the resources God gave them. Church members grew more humble. All of a sudden it was no longer a status symbol to exhibit wealth at church events. Everyone began including others in conversation without regard for level of poverty or wealth. Living Waters Church began worshiping God again in ways He would accept. |
When we recognize God as the giver of all those things we need, we worship Him. When we depend on Him collectively in our Christian friendships, Christian families, and Christian marriages, we worship Him even more. We can help one another to be more and more aware of our dependency upon God. That will take away any sense of self-sufficient arrogance and increase our humility.
Think how a mother can be honored when she plans a great Sunday dinner. Even though others in the family help in the preparation, it really is still mother’s meal. She planned it. She purchased the groceries. She supervised the preparation. When everyone in the family realizes that at the bottom of it all, they depended on Mom or it wouldn’t have happened, she will be honored.
It is the same with God. Every time that we recognize that He is behind the success of our events and efforts, we worship Him. In so doing, we lift Him up and put Him in His rightful place as the source of everything good.
Anytime we relate to one another with recognition that we need God for good things to happen, we worship Him. Thus, we pray before a Bible study that God will reveal truth. As friends, do we ask for a great shopping trip or fishing expedition? If we enjoy a meal out, do we recognize that God made it happen or just ask a blessing for us through the food? There is a difference from praying, “Lord, bless this food for the nourishment of our bodies” and “Lord, thank You for letting us be in this restaurant and we seek your blessing on the meal.” The first might assume that we got to the restaurant all on our own, without God’s help at all.
The opposite of humble is taking credit where credit is not due. Its worst expression is in arrogance. In many things we can take some credit, but not all. God has been involved. Without His contribution, nothing would have been done for which we could take credit. Non-recognition of our dependence upon God can increase our sense of self-worth to the point of arrogance. This is the opposite of praise and worship, and we need to keep one another from it.
Think how a mother can be honored when she plans a great Sunday dinner. Even though others in the family help in the preparation, it really is still mother’s meal. She planned it. She purchased the groceries. She supervised the preparation. When everyone in the family realizes that at the bottom of it all, they depended on Mom or it wouldn’t have happened, she will be honored.
It is the same with God. Every time that we recognize that He is behind the success of our events and efforts, we worship Him. In so doing, we lift Him up and put Him in His rightful place as the source of everything good.
Anytime we relate to one another with recognition that we need God for good things to happen, we worship Him. Thus, we pray before a Bible study that God will reveal truth. As friends, do we ask for a great shopping trip or fishing expedition? If we enjoy a meal out, do we recognize that God made it happen or just ask a blessing for us through the food? There is a difference from praying, “Lord, bless this food for the nourishment of our bodies” and “Lord, thank You for letting us be in this restaurant and we seek your blessing on the meal.” The first might assume that we got to the restaurant all on our own, without God’s help at all.
The opposite of humble is taking credit where credit is not due. Its worst expression is in arrogance. In many things we can take some credit, but not all. God has been involved. Without His contribution, nothing would have been done for which we could take credit. Non-recognition of our dependence upon God can increase our sense of self-worth to the point of arrogance. This is the opposite of praise and worship, and we need to keep one another from it.
It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”
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1 Cor 1:30-31
Being humble with respect to our need for God in everything is basic worship. Let’s help one another not act better than one another or speak down to one another because, as capable or knowledgeable as we might be, we are still completely dependent upon God. Let’s be humble with one another and offer acceptable worship to God.
How Used in Battle to Defeat Evil and Satan
How Used in Battle to Defeat Evil and Satan
When a series of misfortunes hit her sister Maya’s family, Gabriella had the strong feeling that it was an attack of Satan. Of course, all the family made their resources available to help Maya’s family. But, Gabriella knew that would not be enough. Over time, the devil would deplete the resources of the families helping. She knew that spiritual warfare was necessary, but not the kind that deals with demonization – the kind that drives Satan away by using his attacks to provoke more godly behavior.
Hitting Satan back with increased humility was Gabriella’s terrific idea from her relationship with the Holy Spirit. So, Gabriella had a barbeque for the 30 family members closest to Maya and her family. After the feast, she called everyone together in her back yard and spelled out her plan to drive Satan away from not only Maya and her family, but from all of them. They would begin by realizing that everything good that came to them came from God, and they would stop praising themselves and bragging. Each family member was asked to commit to not think that they were so special as to take credit for the good things that came to them through their effort. They would show the devil that his attack only led them closer to God and increased the glory they gave Him through thankfulness for His gifts of grace in both possessions and performance. Within just a few weeks the constant sickness, car breakdowns, loss of employment, and other personal and economic burdens disappeared from Maya’s family, and everyone else’s families seemed to be more free of troubles as well. |
The devil hates humility. He rejected it at the throne of God in heaven when his name was Lucifer. He became so stupidly proud as to invent sin so that he could rob God of His glory. Ever since Satan declared his independence of God, God has been humiliating the evil one.
First, God expelled Satan and his followers (demons and other evil powers) from heaven and began to humiliate Satan proportionate to his evil pride. Then, God created mankind to help with this process of humiliation of the devil. Unfortunately, mankind failed in the showdown between God and Satan in the Garden of Eden. But, ever since, God has had His people humble Satan little by little as they obey Him and ignore Satan, the very things Adam and Eve failed to do.
The strategy of the serpent in the Garden of Eden was to divide Adam and Eve and offer what God did not want for them. In effect, he purposed to take away mankind’s total dependence upon God. “Surely you shall be like God”, the devil declared to Eve. Satan was telling Eve that she did not need God so much.
Humility, dependence upon God, is constantly challenged by Satan. As the sin he planted in the world persists, it shows up as ungodly desires, self-sufficiency, arrogance, prejudice, and a host of other things independent of God in one way or another. We emulate the “self-made man or woman”. We believe it is best to “stand on one’s own two feet” rather than on God’s grace. Advertisements entice us to “have it your way”. Vanity rules so that enough is never enough.
We can question, “What is the value of not having the best we can afford?” Beyond the obvious that money spent on excessive luxuries and conveniences can be better spent as donations to reach the world for Christ or solve some other huge problem of humanity, there is the issue of God’s purpose of humiliating Satan. Every time we do not try to be our own god and determine what is best for us but depend on God for those decisions and choices, the devil is denied. Thus, the evil one is humiliated for what he did to God’s heaven and subsequently to God’s earth.
This, alone, is a great reason to be humble and desire only what God wants for us. It is a very meaningful humility that helps one another do this to honor God and humiliate the enemy. God uses our humility to humiliate Satan. Perhaps that is another meaning of fighting fire with fire.
Also, we want to remove pride from one another, which shows up as arrogance, unforgiveness, judging others, not accepting others for who God made them to be, etc. These are all symptoms of the very dangerous sin of pride. Humility is the opposite of pride.
Especially when together, Christians are to practice and spread humility and eliminate pride from both individuals and the group. Each one of us must be helped, through group humility, to recognize our true importance in God's work. It would be wise in the groups within our Christian Inner Circles (friendships, family, marriage) to help one another think of ourselves in God’s way, not too highly or lowly of ourselves. And, we are not to compare ourselves to one another in the sense of value to the kingdom of God. Everyone can practice humility by affirming all friends, family members, and spouse in the strengths God has given them for His own glory.
To be humble is to not think too highly of oneself, nor to consider ourselves inferior. God is the Sovereign Lord and designed each of us as He wanted. To want to be more or less than what God wants is to lack humility. We must accept dependence on Him to decide these things. If God chose an impoverished home for us to grow up in, He wanted us to have specific experiences for some work of His grace. Most likely, He wants us in the world as we are so that we can do something in His Name that could not possibly be done by someone who was raised in a wealthy home. To consider such poverty inferior is wrong if the best place to be is right where God wants us.
First, God expelled Satan and his followers (demons and other evil powers) from heaven and began to humiliate Satan proportionate to his evil pride. Then, God created mankind to help with this process of humiliation of the devil. Unfortunately, mankind failed in the showdown between God and Satan in the Garden of Eden. But, ever since, God has had His people humble Satan little by little as they obey Him and ignore Satan, the very things Adam and Eve failed to do.
The strategy of the serpent in the Garden of Eden was to divide Adam and Eve and offer what God did not want for them. In effect, he purposed to take away mankind’s total dependence upon God. “Surely you shall be like God”, the devil declared to Eve. Satan was telling Eve that she did not need God so much.
Humility, dependence upon God, is constantly challenged by Satan. As the sin he planted in the world persists, it shows up as ungodly desires, self-sufficiency, arrogance, prejudice, and a host of other things independent of God in one way or another. We emulate the “self-made man or woman”. We believe it is best to “stand on one’s own two feet” rather than on God’s grace. Advertisements entice us to “have it your way”. Vanity rules so that enough is never enough.
We can question, “What is the value of not having the best we can afford?” Beyond the obvious that money spent on excessive luxuries and conveniences can be better spent as donations to reach the world for Christ or solve some other huge problem of humanity, there is the issue of God’s purpose of humiliating Satan. Every time we do not try to be our own god and determine what is best for us but depend on God for those decisions and choices, the devil is denied. Thus, the evil one is humiliated for what he did to God’s heaven and subsequently to God’s earth.
This, alone, is a great reason to be humble and desire only what God wants for us. It is a very meaningful humility that helps one another do this to honor God and humiliate the enemy. God uses our humility to humiliate Satan. Perhaps that is another meaning of fighting fire with fire.
Also, we want to remove pride from one another, which shows up as arrogance, unforgiveness, judging others, not accepting others for who God made them to be, etc. These are all symptoms of the very dangerous sin of pride. Humility is the opposite of pride.
Especially when together, Christians are to practice and spread humility and eliminate pride from both individuals and the group. Each one of us must be helped, through group humility, to recognize our true importance in God's work. It would be wise in the groups within our Christian Inner Circles (friendships, family, marriage) to help one another think of ourselves in God’s way, not too highly or lowly of ourselves. And, we are not to compare ourselves to one another in the sense of value to the kingdom of God. Everyone can practice humility by affirming all friends, family members, and spouse in the strengths God has given them for His own glory.
To be humble is to not think too highly of oneself, nor to consider ourselves inferior. God is the Sovereign Lord and designed each of us as He wanted. To want to be more or less than what God wants is to lack humility. We must accept dependence on Him to decide these things. If God chose an impoverished home for us to grow up in, He wanted us to have specific experiences for some work of His grace. Most likely, He wants us in the world as we are so that we can do something in His Name that could not possibly be done by someone who was raised in a wealthy home. To consider such poverty inferior is wrong if the best place to be is right where God wants us.
What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul?
Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as
the Lord has assigned to each his task.
1 Cor 3:5
Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as
the Lord has assigned to each his task.
1 Cor 3:5
There have been too many times in my life that I have thought, “What is a good Jewish boy like me doing without a lot of money?” (There’s a stereotype that is wrong, but very much a part of Jewish culture. Most Jewish mother jokes have the son being a doctor or lawyer.) In those moments of feeling low about myself, I have not been humble. But, when I have asked myself if, by and large, I had followed God’s calling for my life, I accept that I am okay. I would have been wealthy if that is what God wanted. He did not, and accepting that with joy is my chance for biblical humility.
Additionally, friends, family members and spouses can ask one another what kinds of people they think they are better than. Since everyone struggles with prejudice, or with judging that they are better than some other group of people, Christians in honest and frequent relationship should be able to safely tell one another those against whom they harbor prejudice. They can then analyze the level of pride involved and offer suggestions toward developing humility.
Our reputations do not depend upon making ourselves more than we are, but in making Jesus more of who we are. The choice is simple: do we want to be proud and inflate our goodness or do we want to become humble and access true goodness from Christ living in and through us?
To defeat Satan, we must become more humble in our Christian Inner Circles and ask one another for help more often. Unfortunately, we think that our greatest contribution is in telling how we see things, how we understand things, and how we experience things. Not to say those contributions are not helpful, but let’s also look at the tremendous value of asking questions of others about how they see things, understand things, and experience things.
Let’s be more committed to defeating Satan’s pride by our humility. Let’s depend on God more, build one another up to be the persons God wants us to be, and humble ourselves to ask for help from one another.
How in the Sinful Environment this Together Prepares Us for Heaven
Additionally, friends, family members and spouses can ask one another what kinds of people they think they are better than. Since everyone struggles with prejudice, or with judging that they are better than some other group of people, Christians in honest and frequent relationship should be able to safely tell one another those against whom they harbor prejudice. They can then analyze the level of pride involved and offer suggestions toward developing humility.
Our reputations do not depend upon making ourselves more than we are, but in making Jesus more of who we are. The choice is simple: do we want to be proud and inflate our goodness or do we want to become humble and access true goodness from Christ living in and through us?
To defeat Satan, we must become more humble in our Christian Inner Circles and ask one another for help more often. Unfortunately, we think that our greatest contribution is in telling how we see things, how we understand things, and how we experience things. Not to say those contributions are not helpful, but let’s also look at the tremendous value of asking questions of others about how they see things, understand things, and experience things.
Let’s be more committed to defeating Satan’s pride by our humility. Let’s depend on God more, build one another up to be the persons God wants us to be, and humble ourselves to ask for help from one another.
How in the Sinful Environment this Together Prepares Us for Heaven
Brody’s wife ran off with another man and Brody began treating men who have taken another’s wife from her husband and family as scum of the earth. The Christians in his Inner Circle easily noticed Brody’s arrogant attitude toward men in their second marriage if he learned that they were the one to leave the wife. Everyone thought his lack of humility with these men was understandable, but they questioned if a Christian should feel so superior. For example, they knew that Brody cheats big time on his income tax and overall is not superior to these other men.
Those concerned met to get their heads around biblical humility. Then they took Brody to lunch and continued their discussion about humility accompanied by their advanced understanding. By doing this, Brody was passively confronted with his arrogance. As he joined in the discussion, the others gave examples of people with whom they felt superior and pointed out that Brody did this with men who had left their wives. The men, including Brody, committed to become more humble, not sin-approving, yet not judging or feeling superior either. They all began distinguishing humility from writing people off as hopeless, treating them instead as people who need to change with God’s help. |
Humility that recognizes God as the source of all good things in the present will make us more likely to expect good things we have never even thought of from God later in heaven. And, such desire to seek things from God now out of a sense of dependence will give us added humility in our relationships with the other citizens of heaven. We will more often tell others of things we asked for and received from the new and vast resources of God’s grace in heaven. And, we will inquire what others have asked for and received so that we can do likewise.
If now we only occasionally think of how we are dependent upon God for things we need and want, we will begin our life in heaven with less belief that if we ask we will receive. This aspect of humility, that of remembering our dependence upon God and need to ask, will likely be able to grow in heaven. But, beginning with more ability to consciously and prayerfully depend on God will keep us ahead for all eternity of where we would have been if we had not grown much in being humble before God prior to death.
Heaven will be greater than the best candy shop we ever visited as a child! We will want to ask for things we don’t even know exist when we get there. Who knows, they might be available. If we remember now to ask God to be able to see a soothing waterfall on our vacation, we will be more likely in heaven to ask to see a waterfall more magnificent than any we have ever seen. If we don’t ask to enjoy a visit with a friend and find out something important about her or him now, we won’t naturally think to ask God to have us visit a new and exciting saint who was an Olympian athlete. Since there are a million such examples, think of what we might miss out on if we do not more fully grasp the humility that is dependence upon God for everything.
We also do not want to go to heaven with an arrogant attitude that we don’t need anyone else’s help. In heaven we won’t be able to feel superior to others, the feeling that we have to overcome today to seek help from another Christian. Humility now will give us a natural tendency to seek others for help in heaven when we find out that they have asked God for and received something for which we not have thought to ask.
For example, perhaps we have in this life heard of someone who knows all about cars,. We don’t want to forget that such a person might have advice for us regarding our car. And, we certainly don’t want to be so haughty as to not want to lower ourselves to ask for such help. We really do not want to go to heaven without the humility that makes it natural to ask for help from others.
And, finally, we do not want to go to heaven and not have a natural bent to give help to everyone. If we ask for and find that magnificent waterfall, we will praise God for such beauty. But, we will also want to automatically tell others about the waterfall so that God can get more praise than just from our lips.
Hopefully, we have all discovered something that was just too good to keep to ourselves. If so, we know the satisfaction of passing on that something and seeing others take advantage of it. Humility now will have us finding things we can depend on God for. Suggesting to others that they can ask God for the same thing, especially not withholding it because we feel superior or inferior, will prepare us to be generous with everyone later in heaven. It is humility that will allow us to tell many others about the waterfall.
We also want to go to heaven with more ability to treat others in heaven with heart-felt humility rather than obligatory humility.
The following example is purely hypothetical and makes a questionable assumption that everyone in heaven will be allowed to live on the New Earth as they lived on the old earth. In this potential foolishness, enjoy this possibility to illustrate how greater humility acquired now will glorify God in heavenly relationships.
Think of traveling a road in heaven and coming upon someone from the time of Joshua’s great victory over Jericho. You stop your car and invite them to hop in. They refuse, saying that they would rather walk. Will your mind shut off at this point? It might if on earth you would have considered them “backward”. That would not be humble. You will consider them your equal because in heaven you will not be able to sin. But, most likely you will not be able to feel connected to them. Hopefully, we can see that there would be greater joy if we felt equal because we achieved that level of humility rather than feeling equal because that is just the way of heaven. (The difference is subtle, but important.) There is great value now in progressing spiritually to not consider others below us.
But, if you had learned to think of poor people as your equal back before death under the interference of sin, then you would admire that person from Joshua’s time and his or her customs. After all, they saw the walls of Jericho fall when they shouted, and that is greater than comfortably traveling in a car.
Far-fetched most likely. However, the principle is not. Greater humility now will help glorify God in heaven. A mind that must go to sleep, so-to-speak, because a situation requires greater humility is not as glorifying as a mind that appreciates another person’s preferred method of travel.
Here’s another example that is probably all around us. A wife or husband feels superior to the other. What would be missing for the one treated as less valuable? And, what would be missing for the one who assumed superiority? The first being more obvious, let’s look at the second.
Does the spouse who feels superior mistreat his or her spouse? Maybe, maybe not. Is the one who mistakenly feels superior enjoy being with the downgraded spouse as much as he or she would if that person was valued equally? Not really. The superiority might bring enjoyment because it flows from a low self-esteem that needs to create and maintain the muse of superiority. But such is sad joy, lacking true satisfaction.
The spouse who assumes superiority will not expect, and thus miss out on, the talents of the other made invisible because they were downgraded. Every day something good that could have been mined from the love of the one seen as inferior will be missed. Day after day, year after year. If thought about, the person who feels superior misses out a hundredfold more.
It is important to understand that we are talking about ultimate value, not superiority and inferiority in knowledge, talents or morality. For example, an abusive husband and a victimized wife are both equally valuable humans, but one has made himself less valuable than he really is. And, if we speak of Christians, one who disregards praising God regularly has made himself or herself less valuable in worship. Being reborn in Christ, that person has the spiritual power through the Holy Spirit to praise God with the best of them. But, by holding back what would naturally come forth from the indwelling Holy Spirit, he or she demeans himself or herself. In God’s eyes, and in a humble Christian’s eyes, that person is valuable and not inferior, only holding back potential and needs our help.
So, we can say that the abusive man is horrible, while still maintaining that he is valuable. In many cases we will even pitch in to help his abused wife leave him for safety. And, if as is the usual case, he does not change, we will help her leave him for good to assure her safety and that of her kids. Will we treat him as without value? No, but we will treat him as dangerous to his wife and kids and not living up to his value. If we lacked humility, we would give up on him and not suggest, even as futile it usually is, that he get help and change. If we were humble with him, we would tell him that we will not cooperate in his attempts to get his wife back unless he rids himself of over-dependence on her for his emotional well-being, which in turn should eliminate the abuse.
This is all to try to understand the subtlety of having different levels of strength in humility for relating to people in heaven. Deep humility must develop by overcoming resistance to realizing that all are equally valuable. Some are harder with which to have a humble attitude, and overcoming that challenge increases our humility. This, in turn, is very advantageous for heaven.
How in heaven will we be able to catch up on humility that had to be developed in an environment of sin? We can’t. So, let’s be open to letting the Holy Spirit make us more dependent on God and more humble with others – now.
How this Together Can Make It Really Good in Heaven
If now we only occasionally think of how we are dependent upon God for things we need and want, we will begin our life in heaven with less belief that if we ask we will receive. This aspect of humility, that of remembering our dependence upon God and need to ask, will likely be able to grow in heaven. But, beginning with more ability to consciously and prayerfully depend on God will keep us ahead for all eternity of where we would have been if we had not grown much in being humble before God prior to death.
Heaven will be greater than the best candy shop we ever visited as a child! We will want to ask for things we don’t even know exist when we get there. Who knows, they might be available. If we remember now to ask God to be able to see a soothing waterfall on our vacation, we will be more likely in heaven to ask to see a waterfall more magnificent than any we have ever seen. If we don’t ask to enjoy a visit with a friend and find out something important about her or him now, we won’t naturally think to ask God to have us visit a new and exciting saint who was an Olympian athlete. Since there are a million such examples, think of what we might miss out on if we do not more fully grasp the humility that is dependence upon God for everything.
We also do not want to go to heaven with an arrogant attitude that we don’t need anyone else’s help. In heaven we won’t be able to feel superior to others, the feeling that we have to overcome today to seek help from another Christian. Humility now will give us a natural tendency to seek others for help in heaven when we find out that they have asked God for and received something for which we not have thought to ask.
For example, perhaps we have in this life heard of someone who knows all about cars,. We don’t want to forget that such a person might have advice for us regarding our car. And, we certainly don’t want to be so haughty as to not want to lower ourselves to ask for such help. We really do not want to go to heaven without the humility that makes it natural to ask for help from others.
And, finally, we do not want to go to heaven and not have a natural bent to give help to everyone. If we ask for and find that magnificent waterfall, we will praise God for such beauty. But, we will also want to automatically tell others about the waterfall so that God can get more praise than just from our lips.
Hopefully, we have all discovered something that was just too good to keep to ourselves. If so, we know the satisfaction of passing on that something and seeing others take advantage of it. Humility now will have us finding things we can depend on God for. Suggesting to others that they can ask God for the same thing, especially not withholding it because we feel superior or inferior, will prepare us to be generous with everyone later in heaven. It is humility that will allow us to tell many others about the waterfall.
We also want to go to heaven with more ability to treat others in heaven with heart-felt humility rather than obligatory humility.
The following example is purely hypothetical and makes a questionable assumption that everyone in heaven will be allowed to live on the New Earth as they lived on the old earth. In this potential foolishness, enjoy this possibility to illustrate how greater humility acquired now will glorify God in heavenly relationships.
Think of traveling a road in heaven and coming upon someone from the time of Joshua’s great victory over Jericho. You stop your car and invite them to hop in. They refuse, saying that they would rather walk. Will your mind shut off at this point? It might if on earth you would have considered them “backward”. That would not be humble. You will consider them your equal because in heaven you will not be able to sin. But, most likely you will not be able to feel connected to them. Hopefully, we can see that there would be greater joy if we felt equal because we achieved that level of humility rather than feeling equal because that is just the way of heaven. (The difference is subtle, but important.) There is great value now in progressing spiritually to not consider others below us.
But, if you had learned to think of poor people as your equal back before death under the interference of sin, then you would admire that person from Joshua’s time and his or her customs. After all, they saw the walls of Jericho fall when they shouted, and that is greater than comfortably traveling in a car.
Far-fetched most likely. However, the principle is not. Greater humility now will help glorify God in heaven. A mind that must go to sleep, so-to-speak, because a situation requires greater humility is not as glorifying as a mind that appreciates another person’s preferred method of travel.
Here’s another example that is probably all around us. A wife or husband feels superior to the other. What would be missing for the one treated as less valuable? And, what would be missing for the one who assumed superiority? The first being more obvious, let’s look at the second.
Does the spouse who feels superior mistreat his or her spouse? Maybe, maybe not. Is the one who mistakenly feels superior enjoy being with the downgraded spouse as much as he or she would if that person was valued equally? Not really. The superiority might bring enjoyment because it flows from a low self-esteem that needs to create and maintain the muse of superiority. But such is sad joy, lacking true satisfaction.
The spouse who assumes superiority will not expect, and thus miss out on, the talents of the other made invisible because they were downgraded. Every day something good that could have been mined from the love of the one seen as inferior will be missed. Day after day, year after year. If thought about, the person who feels superior misses out a hundredfold more.
It is important to understand that we are talking about ultimate value, not superiority and inferiority in knowledge, talents or morality. For example, an abusive husband and a victimized wife are both equally valuable humans, but one has made himself less valuable than he really is. And, if we speak of Christians, one who disregards praising God regularly has made himself or herself less valuable in worship. Being reborn in Christ, that person has the spiritual power through the Holy Spirit to praise God with the best of them. But, by holding back what would naturally come forth from the indwelling Holy Spirit, he or she demeans himself or herself. In God’s eyes, and in a humble Christian’s eyes, that person is valuable and not inferior, only holding back potential and needs our help.
So, we can say that the abusive man is horrible, while still maintaining that he is valuable. In many cases we will even pitch in to help his abused wife leave him for safety. And, if as is the usual case, he does not change, we will help her leave him for good to assure her safety and that of her kids. Will we treat him as without value? No, but we will treat him as dangerous to his wife and kids and not living up to his value. If we lacked humility, we would give up on him and not suggest, even as futile it usually is, that he get help and change. If we were humble with him, we would tell him that we will not cooperate in his attempts to get his wife back unless he rids himself of over-dependence on her for his emotional well-being, which in turn should eliminate the abuse.
This is all to try to understand the subtlety of having different levels of strength in humility for relating to people in heaven. Deep humility must develop by overcoming resistance to realizing that all are equally valuable. Some are harder with which to have a humble attitude, and overcoming that challenge increases our humility. This, in turn, is very advantageous for heaven.
How in heaven will we be able to catch up on humility that had to be developed in an environment of sin? We can’t. So, let’s be open to letting the Holy Spirit make us more dependent on God and more humble with others – now.
How this Together Can Make It Really Good in Heaven
If you were to look at my engagement calendar and see all the places I have been and experiences I have enjoyed here in heaven, you would think that I am living the life of the rich and famous. Well, the first is true. I am rich, but not famous. That’s okay, I don’t know that concept is the same here as it was back on Earth.
I am rich because heaven is everything you could ever want. Of course, the deeper relationship with God is the most valuable thing. However, that cannot really be separated from His grace which gives us so many things to enjoy here in heaven. My calendar is full because I came to heaven so very aware of asking for things from God. Before death, I would ask to enjoy the day no matter what came and find that God would give joy. I would see billowing clouds in the sky and ask the Lord to help me see their magnificence. It was like putting on spiritual glasses and the clouds came to brilliant life. I came to almost automatically ask God for things rather than only take what I could make happen without His help. That natural motivation to see what God has for me carried over into heaven. And onto my engagement calendar. Oops! I have to go. Friends have just notified me that the flower we all asked God to see open at the top of Mt. Massive is about to flower. |
If now you value the grace of God and ask for things within His will, heaven is going to be more wonderful. There you will ask for things to your heart’s desire. But what if you enter heaven without much learned ability to be humble and ask?
My wife Jean and I just happened to discover a hidden-away national geological treasure in Utah that few other than locals know about. We were surprised at and delighted with what we had stumbled upon. We thought of others we would like to show these unusual rock formations some time in the future. That future is not going to happen for many reasons, the main one being that our daughter is moving and there will be no reason to travel through that part of the country. Second, at our age, our traveling days are numbered. But, in heaven there will be no time limits and we will be able to take people to see whatever we have discovered. That is going to be loads of never-ending fun.
More conscious dependence on God will open heaven’s gates wide to expect more good things from God. If we are prone now to rely on God for bigger and better things, experiences, spiritual growth, knowledge, whatever, we will keep up that level of expectation in heaven. As a result, heaven will expand for us.
Simply put, in a year’s time in heaven, we can be the humble kinds of people who ask God for things because we know we are completely dependent upon Him. Then we will discover a thousand marvelous things per year. Surely, we might want to enjoy more by entering heaven with the spiritual growth to ask more rather than less from God. We don’t want to settle for only a hundred wonderful things when it could have been a thousand.
Plus, we will be able to multiply discoveries if we are humble enough to ask others what they have asked for and received from God. And, let’s not forget the joy of telling others that they, too, can ask and receive from God things we have discovered.
Heaven is going to great for all of us. But, let’s make it better by now becoming more humble in dependence upon God and in relating to one another as equals, even considering others a bit more important than ourselves.
Opportunity for a Closer Relationship with God through Empathy
My wife Jean and I just happened to discover a hidden-away national geological treasure in Utah that few other than locals know about. We were surprised at and delighted with what we had stumbled upon. We thought of others we would like to show these unusual rock formations some time in the future. That future is not going to happen for many reasons, the main one being that our daughter is moving and there will be no reason to travel through that part of the country. Second, at our age, our traveling days are numbered. But, in heaven there will be no time limits and we will be able to take people to see whatever we have discovered. That is going to be loads of never-ending fun.
More conscious dependence on God will open heaven’s gates wide to expect more good things from God. If we are prone now to rely on God for bigger and better things, experiences, spiritual growth, knowledge, whatever, we will keep up that level of expectation in heaven. As a result, heaven will expand for us.
Simply put, in a year’s time in heaven, we can be the humble kinds of people who ask God for things because we know we are completely dependent upon Him. Then we will discover a thousand marvelous things per year. Surely, we might want to enjoy more by entering heaven with the spiritual growth to ask more rather than less from God. We don’t want to settle for only a hundred wonderful things when it could have been a thousand.
Plus, we will be able to multiply discoveries if we are humble enough to ask others what they have asked for and received from God. And, let’s not forget the joy of telling others that they, too, can ask and receive from God things we have discovered.
Heaven is going to great for all of us. But, let’s make it better by now becoming more humble in dependence upon God and in relating to one another as equals, even considering others a bit more important than ourselves.
Opportunity for a Closer Relationship with God through Empathy
Jesus just stopped by in Person and made my year more wonderful than I ever imagined. He thanked me for urging so many people to ask Him to go to the fantastic 1,000 acre botanical gardens He just created on the planet Uron in the Sagula galaxy. He thanked me for making additional praise available to the Father.
I really wasn’t aware I was doing anything so special. I was just being the person I came to heaven as. It wasn’t always that way. About 20 years before I was released from the sin-contaminated culture of Earth through death, I got in touch with how God wanted to make good things available to me instead of my working so hard to make them happen of only my own effort. I then began asking the Lord for benefits, acknowledging that they were beyond my egotistical reach. And, God answered because I asked for them in the name of Jesus, the Anointed One. This was so great that I urged everyone I could to depend on God more and less on themselves. Over the next 20 years it became just second nature to suggest to those in my Christian Inner Circle to take things to God, ask for what they need in Jesus name, and not do it sparingly for only the urgent or necessary things. I guess I came to heaven so used to doing the same that I was not even aware that I was pleasing God so much as to receive a special visit from Jesus. |
If pride puts distance between us and God, surely humility draws us closer. Weak humility draws us a little closer. Strong humility draws us very close to God.
Humbly asking God for things out of dependence will draw us closer to God now and for all eternity. Praising Him for more wonderful things because we humbly asked others for help in seeking blessings they have received from God will make us more aware of His goodness. Passing on to others that God wants them to ask and receive blessings from His grace that we have humbly requested and received will bring more praise to God through them.
God will appreciate all of these results of allowing the Holy Spirit to put humility into our very nature. He will draw closer to us the more we are humble in these ways and bring Him praise and glory.
Praise and Prayer Regarding this Together
Dear Father, You are so ready to give good things and I am so remiss in asking. Increase my faith to comprehend how very much You are interested in my welfare. Then increase my humility to enjoy being completely dependent upon You so that I ask more often for the things You know are good for me and the others around me.
Help me to be humble with the other Christians with whom I fellowship, especially those in my Christian Inner Circle. Help me to treat everyone as important, even a little more important than I treat myself. Help me to allow the Holy Spirit to remove any sense of superiority or inferiority so that I can love all people generously.
I and those in my Christian Inner Circle will need Your help to grow our spirits to be more dependent upon You and humble. Help us to yield to the work of the Holy Spirit for all of us to give You more glory in the way we live humbly under Your sovereignty. Increase our awareness that we are dependent upon You for everything from the breath we take to our salvation and inheritance in heaven.
Please help us all to become more like Jesus and recognize our complete dependence upon You, God. Like Jesus followed Your will for Him with trusting dependence upon Your provision, help us to do likewise. Empower us to not control our own lives but be dependent upon You instead. Aid all in my Christian Inner Circle to humble themselves under Your mighty hand, that You might lift us each up in due time.
May our lives worship You more because we recognize that You are the giver of all that we need. Help us to have more consistent humility to seek from You and give credit to You for anything good we do or have. We want to relate to one another with recognition that we need You for good things to happen. We want to worship You by honoring You, not ourselves.
Make us strong in Your power to defeat the devil by not acting independent of You as Satan did in his rebellion in heaven. We do not want to be like him in any way, particularly in denying You as the source of all good by not asking You for good things as well as taking credit for the good You do in and through our lives.
Help us all to prepare for heaven by increasingly asking You for good things and for You to do good through our lives. Then, in heaven we will be prepared to ask You for so many good things there that we cannot even imagine now. And, we will more fully recognize that You will be always doing good to others in heaven through our life in You.
Humbly asking God for things out of dependence will draw us closer to God now and for all eternity. Praising Him for more wonderful things because we humbly asked others for help in seeking blessings they have received from God will make us more aware of His goodness. Passing on to others that God wants them to ask and receive blessings from His grace that we have humbly requested and received will bring more praise to God through them.
God will appreciate all of these results of allowing the Holy Spirit to put humility into our very nature. He will draw closer to us the more we are humble in these ways and bring Him praise and glory.
Praise and Prayer Regarding this Together
Dear Father, You are so ready to give good things and I am so remiss in asking. Increase my faith to comprehend how very much You are interested in my welfare. Then increase my humility to enjoy being completely dependent upon You so that I ask more often for the things You know are good for me and the others around me.
Help me to be humble with the other Christians with whom I fellowship, especially those in my Christian Inner Circle. Help me to treat everyone as important, even a little more important than I treat myself. Help me to allow the Holy Spirit to remove any sense of superiority or inferiority so that I can love all people generously.
I and those in my Christian Inner Circle will need Your help to grow our spirits to be more dependent upon You and humble. Help us to yield to the work of the Holy Spirit for all of us to give You more glory in the way we live humbly under Your sovereignty. Increase our awareness that we are dependent upon You for everything from the breath we take to our salvation and inheritance in heaven.
Please help us all to become more like Jesus and recognize our complete dependence upon You, God. Like Jesus followed Your will for Him with trusting dependence upon Your provision, help us to do likewise. Empower us to not control our own lives but be dependent upon You instead. Aid all in my Christian Inner Circle to humble themselves under Your mighty hand, that You might lift us each up in due time.
May our lives worship You more because we recognize that You are the giver of all that we need. Help us to have more consistent humility to seek from You and give credit to You for anything good we do or have. We want to relate to one another with recognition that we need You for good things to happen. We want to worship You by honoring You, not ourselves.
Make us strong in Your power to defeat the devil by not acting independent of You as Satan did in his rebellion in heaven. We do not want to be like him in any way, particularly in denying You as the source of all good by not asking You for good things as well as taking credit for the good You do in and through our lives.
Help us all to prepare for heaven by increasingly asking You for good things and for You to do good through our lives. Then, in heaven we will be prepared to ask You for so many good things there that we cannot even imagine now. And, we will more fully recognize that You will be always doing good to others in heaven through our life in You.
Ever increasing practice of the Togethers of Scripture will (1) create in you the loving essence of Jesus, (2) give Jesus the kind of love He requested, (3) provide you with the most significant spiritual lifestyle which is attainable only through Christian community, (4) offer significant worship to God by reflecting his own character back to him through your behavior, and (5) bring God’s kingdom to earth as asked for in the Lord’s Prayer. And for heaven, such growing obedience to Scripture now will later (6) qualify you for a more responsible place of service as reward in heaven, and, (7) most important of all, give you greater empathy with God for a closer relationship with Him for all of eternity.