Thoughts From the Bible

Read Luke 18: 9- 14-  We again see Jesus promoting humility in this passage. The haughty Pharisees exclaimed His goodness for all to hear but the tax collector prayed for mercy. In verses 13 and 14 we read, “ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying,’ God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’ (14) I tell you , this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled , but the one who humbles himself will be exalted .   We have seen Jesus speak of humility many times. We should see the repetition of the lesson as a sign to us about how important this is to God.    Proverbs 15: 32- Whoever ignores nutrition despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence.   

Luke 14: 7- 11-   This parable Jesus shares with the people is a finite lesson on how we should act in life. If you want to know how a Christian should behave, this parable gives you a chance to see. We need to maintain a spirit of humility in all circumstances. Some in our society today see that as a weakness but in the eyes of Jesus, practicing humility consistently is how we should live.  We should not make assumptions about our importance. In verse 11 Jesus says, "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." We need to work to develop an attitude of humility. We do not want this to be seen as something we falsely assuming but something we understand within ourselves. We need to understand how important we think we are   is not importan t but what we do for Christ is important.   Proverbs 15:12- A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.  

Luke 9: 46 - 48- ‘ (46) Then a dispute arose among the, as to which of them would be greatest. (47) And Jesus, perceiving the thoughts of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him, (48) and said to them, “W hoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all will be great.”’   So much of our society is built on competition and standing in society. The drive and in many ways, the expectation is to be b etter than others. Jesus wants to see more humility and less arrogance. A person can work to achieve great things and lead others while allowing humility a prominent plac e in their lives. Maybe we should make it a matter or prayer.    Proverbs 13:20- He who walk with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.  

  Read Mark 10: 35- 45-   Jesus was trying to teach the disciples about service and humility, rather than positions of honor and influence. James and John were the two disciples who verbalized their desire to  be honored next to Jesus in His kingdom. Jesus showed them the error of their  request,  but He then followed the lesson with His own example. In verse 45 Jesus said,  “ For  ev e n  the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve  and to give His life a ransom for many.”   I do not think I will be asked to  give  my life so someone else can live. I do know there are things still coming into my life where I can serve.  My concern is that I might miss some opportunities to serve that would show Jesus’ place in my life. I need to continue to work to make sure I find areas to serve and not sit back and coast through the  rest of my life.    Proverbs 10: 7-   The memory of the righteous is bles...

Read Mark 10: 13- 16-   Some people mistakenly think they have done so many  bad things  in their lives, they do not feel God will accept them. We know  that is a mistaken  thought,  but we need to see what Jesus does with the little children to know He will do the same for us. Verse 14 says,  ‘But when Jesus saw it, He was  greatly displeased  and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.”’   Jesus would have us come to Him with humility and with expectation as a child would. I know I need to work on this childlike attitude. I have learned much in this life and I have  accomplished  some good  things,  but I need to make sure I n ever lose the childlike humility and expectation and continue to come to Christ. Jesus will forgive all  sins;  our hearts need to be right.   Proverbs  10:1 -  The proverbs of Solomon; a wise son ma...

  Mark 7:24-30 -  This mother was desperate. Her desperation was for a very good reason. Fighting Satan in a loved one can be nothing but terrifying. This mother knew where she could get the help her daughter really needed. Verses 27, 28, 29 say, this, “ And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” The key lesson in this short passage for me is the humility the mother showed when she would accept the least of Jesus’ grace. Jesus honored the mother’s humility. I want to make sure I stay close to humility and know Jesus honors a humble heart. Proverbs 6: 34-35- For jealousy makes a man furious, and he will not spare when he takes revenge. He will accept no compensation; he will refuse though you multiply gi...

Read Matthew 23: 9- 12 - This principle is being found multiple times in Jesus’ teachings. Repetition  is often  found as a sign of something someone thinks is  very important . Jesus is still teaching the religious leaders about humility. Not only does Jesus want them  to realize God should be the center of their universe and they should place themselves in their proper place ; one of  humility .  Jesus said this  in  verses 11 and 12,  “The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”   Many years ago, the idea of servant leadership took root and began to be something some leaders aspired to. Not everyone understands servant leadership because it does require a leader to do exactly what Jesus  was saying. A true servant leader must be humble and think of others in the span of their authority as greater than they .  It is a mindset Jesus wants ...

Matthew 18:1- 4- The following lesson is one that is difficult for many people to understand much less implement in their lives. ‘At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” and calling to Him a child, He put Him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greate st in the kingdom of heaven.”’ Pride and arrogance are alive and well in our society. Jesus is telling us to learn to put other people first in the things we may be involved. Jesus is also telling us we need to understand we are valuable in His sight if we learn to put others first. Psychologically, we need to know we have value and work to have positive opinions of ourselves but part of that means we value other people for who they are, and we should be helping them achieve in this life. Greater than that, we should be working to m...

Matthew 5:5-   ' “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.'   It is interesting that humility was one of the first thing Jesus taught the people listening to the Beatitudes. Humility is in short supply in our society today.  People are not being taught at a young age to be humble and realize they are who they are because of the grace of God. Humility means putting other people first rather than looking how one can be in front of someone else. Humility does not sit comfortably next to self-promotion.  A humble person sees someone in need and works to help that person and then not looking for public accolades. Humility is reading through the Bible and realizing we need to continue to grow in learning God’s word and principles. Sometimes being humble means being quiet and not looking to be heard.  Jesus gives us a lesson we need to work on each day of our lives.  

Matthew 5: 1- 3- This is one of the most significant passages in the Bible because Jesus begins to teach people how to live a Christ-centered life every day.   'Seeing the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and when He sat down, his disciples came to Him. And he opened His mouth and taught them, saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven .’ There are so many things in our society that people want. We want good houses, good cars, good food and we work to get those things. Jesus wants us to be prepared to give those things away to others if that is what is needed.  How selfless are we? How selfish are we? Are we willing to put other people in our lives before us each day? We are challenged in this ver se to see ourselves as last in line so others can be first.  It is a mindset we need to work to acquire because it will take some time to develop that mindset.  Our society does not promote this level of selflessness, but Jesus is pr...

Read 2 John 1: 1-2 - The human life can be a difficult life. Difficult in that we have been given a challenge to not sin. We are human and we are going to sin even though we may have professed our faith and belief in God. God wants us to continue to work to be the best we can be. We will fail and God knows that. But God shows us His grace in this short passage. Verse 1, “My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father . He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. (2) He Himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins; and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.” I know this short passage is about sin and encouraging us to not sin but the thought that really jumps out at me is that God loved us enough to allow His Son to be our sacrifice and give us a direct pathway to God and the grace He has provided us. That should humble all of us .    

  Read John 13: 1-9- I know we cannot fully realize the enormity of this specific time for Jesus. He knew what was coming. He knew what Judas was going to do. Jesus chose this time to perform the most humbling act anyone could do. Jesus was their Teacher . He was their leader. He was the Messiah. He was part of the God head yet, He bent down and started to wash the disciples' feet. This lesson was an enormous one for the disciples. Peter did not want Jesus to do it, but Jesus knew this lesson would never be forgotten by the disciples. In verse 8, “No, Peter protested, ‘You will never ever wash my feet! Jesus replied, ‘Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.’” In this act, Jesus shows us how important it is to serve others and how important our attitudes are in all we do. Are we humble in all our daily activities? Do we approach life with an attitude of humility and holding others higher than ourselves. That is a goal that is very difficult to achieve in these day...