A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope,
encouragement and exhortation.
Daily
Encouragement on
Tuesday, January
29, 2019
This scene of
snow along the bluffs of the Mississippi River in Wisconsin
was taken by my cousin Georgia. We have a forecast of snow
today so we will see!
"Humility"
Message
summary: Let us
heed the powerful
command from James, "Humble
yourselves before the
Lord, and He will lift
you up" (James
4:10).
Listen to our
message on your audio
player.
"Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, he said, 'Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?'" (Daniel 4:29-30). "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up" (James 4:10).
Knowing our place has always been a real challenge and all through human history pride has been an ancient sin. Pride is listed in Proverbs 6:16-19 as one of the seven sins the Lord hates, "a proud look".
Humility is a foundational Biblical principle. Simply put, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble" (James 5:5). John the Baptist understood this vital spiritual principle, as evidenced by his declaration that "He (Jesus) must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30).
Nebuchadnezzar
reigned over the
Babylonian Empire, one
of the greatest of world
especially empires. But
like many, politicians
it seems, he was a very
conflicted man. His
pride led him to
construct a great idol
and demand that people
worship it which was in
direct conflict with the
Biblically-based
convictions of Shadrach,
Meshach and Abed-nego
and they refused to bow
down, leading them to
the fiery furnace.Following their miraculous deliverance in the third chapter of Daniel Nebuchadnezzar seemed to humble himself and acknowledge God as expressed in Daniel 3:28-30 and Daniel 4:1-3. However this was only temporary. At some unspecified later time, but also in chapter four, he again became proud.
Nebuchadnezzar received a vision and Daniel interpreted it, ending with this challenge: "Therefore, O king, may my advice be pleasing to you: break away now from your sins by doing righteousness and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a prolonging of your prosperity.’
The
vision and Daniel's
interpretation greatly
disturbed him and
perhaps worked on his
mind for awhile, but
he did not respond in
humility and
repentance.
"Twelve months later,
the king
(Nebuchadnezzar) was
walking on the roof of
the royal palace of
Babylon". Likely,
as the months went by,
the burden and
conviction eased. That
tends to happen.In our daily verse he makes one of the greatest statements of pride of all time. "Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?" But God's judgment was swift and sure. (Read the rest of the chapter.)
How is your life going today? Perhaps your health is good. Your family is doing well and loves you. Your finances are in order and your job seems to be secure. These are real blessings from God.
Earlier, just prior to his vision, Nebuchadnezzar had said: "I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace" (Daniel 4:4). Both of these conditions (ease and prosperity) are something we desire as well as security.
Yet we must always remember these are blessings from God and we are to remain dependent upon Him. He deserves all the glory. That will help keep us humble. Pride still comes before the fall. "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!" (1 Corinthians 10:12).
Let us heed the powerful command from James, "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up" (James 4:10).
Be encouraged,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father, we know
that none of us
are completely
humble, for we
are clothed in
these mortal,
fallible bodies.
But we do know
that Jesus is
the model of One
completely
humble in His
humanity and
divinity. He did
not consider
equality with
You, our Father,
something to be
grasped but took
on His
personhood as a
man and became
obedient to
death on the
cross. We look
to Him as the
supreme example
of humility and
obedience. As we
clothe ourselves
in Your
righteousness we
can overcome the
pride that is
ever before us.
We recognize
that no good
thing can come
from us, but all
that is good
comes from You.
Remind us daily
that the
attitude of
gratitude is the
antidote for
feelings of
pride. When we
acknowledge that
everything we
have and all
that we are is
due to Your
merciful
blessings we are
humbled and
grateful to You,
the Giver of
every good and
perfect gift.
Amen.
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Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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