All men love the truth, for a moment or two or three.
Whisper in their ear, and their eyes alight with glee.
But speak of their obligation, and their lamps quickly grow dim.
For they desire glorious reception. Certainly not to obey Him.
By His Grace
Tag Archives: humility
Pure Water
He lifts the veil, and a man sees. His hand glides through sin to lift it from the man’s face. Forgiveness comes with strength in hand. Compassion is the clothing of the Great Physician.
Pride rests strong on the eyelids of the wicked. Though they try to perceive the holy things of God, their eyes are too heavy to open. Sealed, as if with the dust of sleep, their eyes are stuck shut. But even this their pride cannot perceive.
What does God require of man, that he may open the eyes? Believe. God simply requires that we cast away our own knowledge. He requires that we be willing to learn.
A proud man sees the ways of this world and thinks he knows. In his folly he can produces reason for the things that are. But he cannot produce proof as to why. The sleep of pride restrains his strength. He is blind and cannot walk without stumbling.
But let belief grow. Let a man read the Holy words of God and believe. God reveals in wise measure, according to a man’s willingness. A revealing does come.
God watches the response. Does tiny wisdom retain pride? Or does it produce humility? When the latter is true, roots are set into the soil of eternity that the man may begin to grow.
In his compassion God restrains the unveiling, lest the winds of temptation destroy what is built. As a man sees, he is accountable. As a man knows he must do.
Believe to the fullest you can. Humble yourself as far as you will. You will see a receiving come to you.
Let your roots seek the pure water. Dig and thrust through the water you have found. There is purity to be had. What is pure among men is full of fault before God.
Do you see? Give thanks and search for more. Praise God with your actions. For out the mouth of man comes many beautiful things, even while he himself is full of abhorrent behavior.
He is able to teach and to console. He is able to raise from the dead even while you think you live. And when life comes, he shows us the difference.
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)
By His Grace
Humility Takes Hard Work
Will a man take pride in being a Christian; lording it over others in his own mind? It would do well for him to remember his humble beginnings.
He himself did not ask for salvation. By the provoking and unveiling of God, by this alone he has perceived. Before the Lord touched him he did not even know to ask. How then can the pride of man accompany the Christian faith?
But isn’t this a perplexing ritual? It is as if a caustic liquid that cannot be contained. No sooner do we seal the leak, and judgment of others comes from another place. Even the maturity of a man does not repair what lacks.
From the day of our birth in Christ, to the day we are received, we will find fault with ourselves if we look. It is wise then to humbly consider ourselves every moment we are in this place.
Only with holy, God born, introspection, can a man stem this flood of sin. We not only need the Living God’s Son for the sake of the day of judgement, we desperately need him for every breath.
What is not of God will be stripped away. What does not belong to God will not inhabit his kingdom. Sobriety, prayer, humility, and righteous doing is required. A man should never be able to say to himself, “I have arrived! I am mature!” (Certainly not while in this place of testing).
Renewing a mind of humility is a detestable work to the flesh. But it is primary among the things of God.
It is impossible to command a man to be humble. The best we can do is remind. If there is choice in Christ, is it is to go to him and ask. And we know those who ask in truth, receive.
By His Grace
At the Door
If you leave me like I am, I’ll be filthy, naked and poor.
The fear of that assails me, so I lay me at your door.
Oh wretched me! Oh Glorious you! The rumors MUST be true!
Or I will die a dreadful death; forsaken by even you.
Now I will to cause my hands to bleed by knocking on your door.
What great surprise comes to my eyes you demand not such a war.
“Stand tall my child, and enter in. My body was torn for you.
Come taste and see that I AM good; my promises are true.”
Oh sweet One! Now I find that rest my soul has so long for.
For all you ask is a broken heart, as we lay at your door.
By His Grace
The Invisible Bridge
I have found something interesting, something I have known, but not fully understood. The elders talk about it. The Deacons point toward it. The world denies it with frothing lips. It remains, however, before every child of God to encounter.
The majority of our walk before Christ Jesus is spent in discovery. We cannot use excuse, before the Holy One, for our disobedience. Yet there are reasons why we falter as we do. Discovering these reasons comes hand in hand with growth toward maturity.
We learn not to blame anyone for our fault. Yet we recognize that the whole of humanity has caused every sin. And in this way, the Lord Jesus teaches us to sacrifice blame for personal responsibility.
But what shall a man do when he understands this as fully as his mind is able? What shall we do when a man finds himself repeating offenses yet finds no one but himself to blame?
Here a man comes face to face with the fullness of the gospel. No longer perceiving as a child. Now he perceives as a man. The fullness of blame rests on the one who has sinned, rests heavily.
From here one can receive the forgiveness of Christ with renewed interest. From here the glory of God takes a prominence in all his thoughts. The man no longer tosses about the subject of blame or innocence. Condemnation becomes exceedingly personal. Here the glory of God rages even brighter to consume his enemies. Here the glory of God’s mercy blazes even brighter within the flame.
I have come to discover: the Glory of Christ Jesus is stronger than our sins. Not only in his teaching, but more so in our learning.
If you continue in the way you will discover this also. It is the crossing of an invisible bridge. And I speak of it so that when you yourself encounter this, there will be memory within you.
It is a difficult place to encounter. For here a man is starkly naked before the Holy One. But having reached the other side of the bridge I can testify, “Even in this he is able to save”.
It may well be you do not understand what I’m saying. But the time for every man will appear. I will try it with one example to express this in understandable terms.
As a man goes to a school of learning, he learns enough to do his trade. But he has yet to enter the workforce and apply it. Often the world will scoff at the little bookworm who seems to know all.
But one day he goes to work and understands why they laughed. He presupposed his importance. And difficulties have proved his knowledge insufficient.
Now he grapples with humility. Now he is faced to join them in their derision of the novice. Yet even while he makes fun of pretense, he is forced to remember that he once also walked in that way.
What comes from this place I do not know. It is not as though these things happen among men. But this has come to me before the Holy One in all its brilliance. Stark and true, it shines a light within my soul to illuminate every possible miscarriage of righteousness.
May understanding come in due time. I enter into this place in full view of those who have gone before me. And I speak of this with the humility that knows others have understood this long before I arrived. And I have to confess the question, “Do I yet understand as I should?
By His Grace
Humility Wins, Hands Down
The humble man in Christ Jesus may suffer a great deal of loss.
But the proud man, who fends for himself, suffers no loss at all.
The true Christian will be compensated beyond his wildest imagination.
But the godless man will die with the things which now protect him.
Define loss and gain, as you perceive them. Consider what is written above. Then redefine loss and gain.
When you have read this far you have lost that much more time. How much more time will you squander, o’ godless man of self? The door to your life has closed a fraction more as you read these words, which you are likely to dismiss.
Dear Christian brothers and sisters:
Entice loss to come up on you, even as our spiritual siblings before, enticed the wild beasts. Let the glory of our Lord Christ Jesus excel! He will certainly not withhold his hand from reward.
We suffer but a little while. Then the glory of the Living God explodes upon our soul, and it will never recede. How insignificant this time will become; as we have willingly suffered for his Great and Majestic Glory.
____________
While you, godless men
and women, continue in your willing blindness. The Holy Lord stands ready to give you eyes to see, a mind to understand, and a heart that is willing to obey. But you will have none of it.
Each man decides for himself. Will he humble himself and pray, and seek the Lord’s Holy Face, and read his Holy words, and strive with all his mind, strength and soul to learn? Or will he count all these blessed words as if they are less than trash?
15 “And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24)
Shake the trees with your great in majestic strength, O’ Living God in Christ! Send your righteousness upon all men. Inspect them, Father in Heaven,
even as they live dead among the dead. Rise up and judge your enemy. Bring a close to this great place of testing.
Let the righteous remain
righteous. Let the wicked remain wicked. Let all who seek Your mercy find it in vast abundance. But let all who hate you now be put to utter shame on that great day when you stand to judge the world.
In Christ Jesus, the Holy Son of God, amen.
By His Grace
Words From There 