“The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men — extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess'” (Luke 18:11,12).

JUST AS AGITATION GETS IN THE WAY OF CAREFULNESS, PRIDE GETS IN THE WAY OF WORSHIP. Nothing in the spiritual life is more important than awe and utter respect before God, and so if pride hinders us from being reverent, it’s a deadly danger to our souls.

What is pride, really? It can be thought of in two directions: toward God and toward other people. Toward God, pride is a sense of independence, and toward other people, it’s a sense of superiority. In both cases, pride is a sinful sense of self-satisfaction. Pride sees itself as doing a pretty good job of standing on its own two feet before God; it believes it has the inside track as far as God is concerned, so that God will make special allowance for any mistakes that might be made. And in regard to other people, pride pats itself on the back (secretly, of course, and always with admirable “humility”) that it sees things from a more mature vantage point than some others, especially its rivals and its enemies.

If this is what pride is, then, it should be obvious that it’s a great hindrance to worship. Indeed, one way of looking at pride is to see it as the opposite of worship. The spirit of worship is the spirit of selfless wonder at the majesty of God — the smallness of self in God’s presence. And for sinful beings like us, it’s also the spirit of brokenness and repentance. Our hearts may be proud or they may be worshipful, but they can’t be both. And if they’re not worshipful, we’re lost. It doesn’t matter how many hardships we think we’ve overcome. Without real reverence, we’re lost.

There is no living person who does not need to be constantly vigilant concerning pride. It’s the source of all other sin, and it can creep into our hearts in so many disguises that, too often, it gets in the door and seizes the throne room of our hearts before we know what’s happened. More often than not, it gets past our defenses wearing a cloak of humility. “And the devil did grin, for his darling sin is pride that apes humility” (Samuel Taylor Coleridge).

“Beware of a proud and haughty spirit. This sin puts a great barrier between an individual and God. You will have a hard time being aware of God as long as you are filled with pride. If it gets angels cast out of heaven, it will certainly keep your heart out of heaven” (Richard Baxter).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

“He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding is of a calm spirit” (Proverbs 17:27).

IT IS DANGEROUS TO LET OUR MINDS BECOME SO AGITATED THAT WE CAN’T CONSIDER OUR ACTIONS CAREFULLY. Our adversary, the devil, specializes in confusion. He loves to prey upon minds that are torn and upset by multiple worries, and he often has his greatest success in tempting us when we’re so beset by cares that we act on impulse, failing to consider the consequences of our actions.

Solomon observed that “a man of understanding is of a calm spirit.” But how can we have a calm spirit when many stressful things come at us at once, all of which have to be considered? There surely can be no question that this is one of life’s most difficult challenges, and there are no easy answers. Like most difficult things, however, cultivating a calm mind is a matter of training.

Our brains may have a more complicated connection to our spirits than the other parts of the body, but the brain (i.e., the physiological mind) is still a part of the body, and as such, it has to be trained to serve, rather than hinder, the spirit. Naturally unruly and seemingly with a will of its own, the mind has to be put in its place, disciplined, and taught to help us get to heaven.

Training our minds to be calm is like every other kind of training in that it has to be done in small steps. It’s a matter of incremental growth over time. What we do is put ourselves on a deliberate regimen of training, and we “exercise” every day. We find some little thing we can do today to help calm our minds, and that victory encourages us to do the same tomorrow.

At the very least, we need to consciously value a calm spirit. We need to pursue it, and when we find ourselves without it, we need to be wise enough to see the danger we’re in and make godly efforts to recover our calmness as soon as possible. If we can’t always be calm, we can certainly grow in that direction. Today, like every day, there is some step you can take that will lead to a mind that’s more peaceful — and more careful. What is that step?

“A calm mind is a great asset in this life. Without it your devotional life will not bear much fruit. If your heart is troubled, you are vulnerable to the enemy of the soul. When you are agitated, you are not able to make good decisions. You will stumble into snares” (Lawrence Scupoli).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth.
(Job 19:25)

FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST, IF IT IS GENUINE, IS ONE OF THE STRONGEST FORCES KNOWN TO THE HUMAN RACE. In fact, it’s possible to possess a faith that is, for all practical purposes, invincible.

Invincible faith, however, is not merely the intellectual acceptance of the fact that Jesus is the Son of God. No, the power to withstand great hardship comes from believing that, as the Son of God, Jesus Christ is one day going to gain complete victory over every form of evil and injustice. The person who truly believes this will not be defeated by anything that happens in the meantime.

Toward the end of Revelation, we have this description of one of John’s visions: “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called the Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (Revelation 19:11-16).

Invincible faith comes not from finding a way to be unconquerable ourselves, but from disciplining our minds to believe in the unconquerability of our King. It is impossible that He will be defeated, and this truth is well attested by everything that has ever been known about Him. When, in the face of temporary opposition, we choose to believe the ultimate victory will be His, then we adopt a faith the devil can do little to vanquish. And it is to us that Jesus Christ says, “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne” (Revelation 3:21).

“Perseverance is our supreme effort of refusing to believe that our hero is going to be conquered” (Oswald Chambers).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

“Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it” (Hebrews 4:1).

REACHING THE GOAL OF HEAVEN REQUIRES A HEALTHY MEASURE OF OLD-FASHIONED DETERMINATION. When we’re choosing what kind of inner character we’re going to have, we must choose to have traits like single-mindedness and stick-to-itiveness. We must be tenacious. When it comes down to it, we must be so determined not to miss out on heaven that we refuse to be deterred.

Our assurance of heaven should rest primarily on our confidence in God. There is no doubt as to His faithfulness. But since heaven is only for those who choose to receive it from Him on His terms, there is the question of who will make that choice and who will not. Satan is in the business of persuading as many people as possible to accept his offer rather than God’s, and even after we make our choice to go God’s direction, Satan continues to discourage us, hoping we’ll change our mind. Unfortunately, many do change their minds, and the Hebrew writer was right to warn his readers: “Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.”

Not only do we have an adversary who’s intent on discouraging us, but the world we live in presents its own share of discouragement. Our environment is a sad one, seriously damaged by sin; there is no shortage of circumstances that tend to dishearten us and dash our hopes. This world is a far cry from what it would have been had sin not entered the picture, and it’s a far cry from what we’ll enjoy later, when God has fully restored our created nature and removed the effects of our sin. Are we willing to wait for what’s ahead? There’s more than a little truth to the old Latin maxim: “Endure, and save yourself for happier times” (Virgil).

The only ones who will enjoy heaven are those who know how to be patient, and patience comes down to what the old-timers used to call “grit.” But mark it well: grit is not something some people are born with and others are not. It’s a matter of choice. Furthermore, it’s not a choice that can be made once and then forgotten. While the world still stands, each new day will ask us for another decision. Are we determined to see God?

“He that can’t endure the bad will not live to see the good” (Jewish Proverb).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

“Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator” (1 Peter 4:19).

IF OUR HEARTS HAVE NOT COME TO REST IN GOD, WE WILL SEARCH IN VAIN FOR ANY OTHER PLACE THAT IS SAFE. Our Creator is the only personal being who can be counted on unreservedly. We may commit ourselves to Him without fear, there being no possibility that He will ever betray us or fail to keep His commitments.

From our vantage point, there may seem to be times when God has forsaken us, although that is never actually the case. A child, thinking that a monster is hiding in the dark corner of his bedroom, may fear that his parents have forsaken him, when in reality they’re standing just outside the door. Just so, there may be times when our immediate circumstances cause us to doubt God’s faithfulness, but if we could see everything that is going on, our doubts would disappear. We shouldn’t let either our short-term vision or our feelings call God’s faithfulness into question.

We tend, perhaps also because of short-term vision and feelings, to try to find a perfect source of trust in other human beings. When we do this, we set ourselves up for disappointment. No one except God can be counted on perfectly, and the ways in which we find this out are often heartbreaking. David, who was more than once betrayed by a close friend, knew the sadness of this experience: “For it is not an enemy who reproaches me; then I could bear it. Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me; then I could hide from him. But it was you, a man my equal, my companion and my acquaintance” (Psalm 55:12,13).

We should not become cynical or bitter about our fellow human beings in this regard. Indeed, we must keep our hearts open to trustful relationships. It’s more than worth the risk. But we shouldn’t expect of others what God alone is able to deliver. Only God can be a perfect source of confidence, and it’s sinful on our part to try to make anyone else fill the role that He alone was meant to fill. He is infallibly trustworthy. We may “commit [our] souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.”

“People change and fail. You cannot depend on them. Those that are for you today may be against you tomorrow. They are as variable as the wind. But Christ is eternally faithful” (Thomas à Kempis).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

“But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?” (Galatians 4:9).

IT’S A FOOLISH THING TO DO, BUT WE SOMETIMES TURN AWAY FROM GOD TO SATISFY OURSELVES WITH THINGS THAT ARE FAR LESS SATISFYING. To the amazement of all who love us, we trade the better for the worse, going down the scale of values rather than up. Paul, for example, expressed surprise that his Galatian brethren were turning away from the gospel to things that were, by comparison, nothing more than “weak and beggarly elements.” What sense does it make to do this, he said, “after you have known God?”

Any time we turn back to worldly satisfactions after having known godly contentment, we go backwards from freedom to bondage. There is no allurement the devil has ever offered anyone that does not result in some kind of enslavement. He always promises greater freedom, but what he always delivers is slavery. “Do you desire again to be in bondage?” Paul asked the Galatians.

It’s hard to imagine how “frustrating” our faithless decisions must be to our Heavenly Father. Having offered us, at the price of His Son’s blood, the only thing that deserves the name “contentment,” He sees us act like we’re still looking for something more fulfilling. Unwilling to strip us of our free will and force us to remain at His side, He waits, in love, for us to make good, wise decisions. Too often, we do nothing in return but break His heart.

Rejecting what we’ve come to know of God’s will is so foolish, none of us would ever do it if we weren’t deceived. But therein lies the power of sin. The devil is shrewd enough to make slavery seem, for the moment, like it’s better than what we have.

It would help us if we paid more attention to the grace God has shown us. We need to be more consciously grateful to Him, meditating on the deep, genuine peace that can be found only within the boundaries of the gospel. Do these boundaries limit us? Yes, they do, but let’s not lose touch with reality: what God is “holding back” from us is death. If we forget that fact, we’re apt to find ourselves dissatisfied with what He has graciously provided.

“If we are not nourished by the Bread from heaven, we will satiate ourselves with crumbs from the world” (Erwin W. Lutzer).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

“And you shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God; I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:12).

ONE EVIDENCE OF HOW LITTLE REGARD WE HAVE FOR GOD IS THE FLIPPANT WAY IN WHICH WE SOMETIMES USE HIS NAME. It is possible, no doubt, to be scrupulous in the use of God’s name and still not have any reverence for Him in our hearts. But in today’s meditation, we want to focus on the inside-out problem: the problem of the person who has no inward respect for God and that lack of respect shows up in the person’s outward speech. There are basically three ways we may disrespect God and His name.

Swearing. To swear is to invoke God as the guarantee that we’re going to do as we say. For instance, the person who says, “This is what I’m going to do, by God” is swearing. But Jesus taught that our statements ought not to require any oath to back them up. “Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one” (Matthew 5:37).

Profanity. Profane speech is that which makes common or crude use of words that should be held as sacred and used only with great reverence. It’s not uncommon anymore to hear the words God and Jesus Christ thrown around so casually one wonders if the speakers even realize whose names they are using.

Cursing. When a person curses, he calls down God’s wrath upon someone, verbally wishing them harm. “Damn you” is shorthand for “I hope God will damn your soul to hell.” Even thinking this about someone is serious, but speaking it out loud — using God’s name to vent our anger on others — is a monstrous evil. It is no light matter to wish the loss of someone’s soul.

Why are these things so serious? Might we not consider them harmless foibles, less dangerous than sins that actually hurt other people? Well, the problem has to do with the heart. Crude words, and certainly irreverent ones, are almost always symptomatic of a heart that is turned away from God. So Jesus said, “By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:37). So the next time you feel like “cussing,” check your heart. Where is your spiritual father, above or below? Does your speech show that you’re a humble worshiper of God?

“To curse is to pray to the devil” (German Proverb).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

“For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?” (Matthew 5:46,47).

LOVING THOSE WHO HAVE HARMED US IS ONE OF THE SIMPLEST THINGS JESUS EVER COMMANDED, AND ONE OF THE HARDEST. It’s simple because it’s very basic and goes right to the heart of what’s important in life. Yet it’s hard because it goes so strongly against the grain of the worldly thinking to which we’re accustomed.

It should be noted that our ideas are often quite naive concerning the meaning and practice of loving our enemies. Whatever it does mean, loving our enemies doesn’t mean we enjoy being in their presence or have a warm, fuzzy feeling when we think about them. It doesn’t mean we practice the same social relationship with them that we’d be able to practice if they repented of their wrongs. And it doesn’t mean we never cry out to God for justice to be done. David, for example, loved his enemies with a remarkable love, as evidenced by his treatment of Saul, his worst enemy (2 Samuel 1:17-27). It was not inconsistent, however, for David to pray, “Revive me, O Lord, for Your name’s sake! For Your righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble. In Your mercy cut off my enemies, and destroy all those who afflict my soul; for I am Your servant” (Psalm 143:11,12).

The key is that David had learned to see his enemies in the same light that God did, with both love and a respect for justice. If our enemies refuse to repent of their wrongs, we should not only accept God’s justice but long for it to be done (Revelation 6:10). At the same time, we should be willing to make significant sacrifices, as God did, to make their return from sin possible. God did more than talk about loving His enemies; He went so far as to sacrifice His Son’s life for them. What treasure would we sacrifice — yes, sacrifice — to promote the salvation of our enemies?

Worldly relationships are built on mutual goodwill, but God has set His people a much higher goal. If we’re among His people, we must act with love and justice even when these aren’t reciprocated.

“It is a small thing to wish well and do well to one who has done you no evil. It is far greater — a magnificent goodness — to love your enemy, and to wish and do well to one who is trying to harm you” (Augustine of Hippo).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

“Better a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more” (Ecclesiastes 4:13).

JUST AS THERE ARE SPECIAL CHALLENGES FOR THOSE WHO ARE YOUNG IN THE FAITH, THERE ARE ALSO SOME FOR THE OLDER. One of these is the pride that comes from comparing ourselves to those who are our juniors, spiritually speaking. “May God help us to avoid thoughts such as these: but I have been here the longest. I have worked harder. Someone else is being favored” (Teresa of Ávila).

Pride is especially dangerous because of its subtlety. It can take many different forms, some of which are extremely hard to see when we are the ones who are guilty. If we think only of blatant egotism and arrogance, we may judge ourselves to be free of pride, but we need to think twice. It may be that some of the attitudes we classify as “spiritual maturity” are actually forms of pride, nicely disguised as the virtues of strength and wisdom.

For example, it’s hard for experienced Christians to keep satisfaction with their experience from sliding off into the swamp of smugness. Perhaps we would never say so, and perhaps we’re clever enough to keep others from knowing we think this way, but inwardly we may feel a warm, condescending glow of ever-so-subtle superiority when we think how little others have suffered. “When they’ve been around as long as we have, they’ll see things differently,” we sigh, congratulating ourselves for being older.

If you think you’re not troubled by this particular malady, ask yourself this question: how willing am I to be corrected by someone with far less experience than I? The patronizing, “mature” smile with which you listen to criticism from your juniors is probably a sign of pride, and you may need to listen to Solomon: “Better a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more.” Hasn’t pride closed many an older ear?

Whether we’re young or old in the faith, it’s a good idea to minimize the amount of time we spend making comparisons. It really doesn’t matter whether we are ahead of or behind someone else in life’s experience. We won’t have been in heaven for five seconds before we realize how absolutely silly such comparisons were while we lived in this world.

“Beware of thinking about your seniority” (Teresa of Ávila).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

“. . . always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7).

WE CAN’T GROW STRONG WITHOUT USING THE MEANS GOD HAS PROVIDED TO THAT END, BUT WE MUSTN’T FORGET WHAT THE END IS. The “trees” are sometimes so interesting, we lose sight of the “forest.” We can become so caught up in the activities of spiritual growth that we begin enjoying them alone, just for their own sake. As strange as it may seem, we can lose touch with God while busying ourselves with the deeds of the devotional life.

Everyone is familiar with the concept of the “professional student,” the individual who enjoys college life so much that he just keeps going to school indefinitely, never moving on to the life that college was supposed to prepare him for. There is a similar phenomenon in the religious life. Sometimes we see people who are “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” But before we criticize them, we need to ask to what extent we ourselves have “moved on.” After all our spiritual activity, do we really have a more concentrated focus on God Himself?

One of the hardest things in life to learn is balance. But here is an area where balance is truly needed. The devil would like to see us become obsessed with religion and forget about God, so we must acquire the ability to engage in — and even enjoy — the things that lead us to God without making idols of these things. All these activities, as pleasant as they are, are a means to a great End. We must constantly bring our minds back to that End.

This is hard for all of us, but it’s especially hard when we’re just starting out in the Christian life. Compared to the emptiness of the world, life in Christ offers so many things to enjoy: worship, study, prayer, relationships, and many more. The challenge is to keep moving toward God Himself and not get sidetracked by these preliminary enjoyments, no matter how pleasant and essential they are. These can’t be neglected (spiritual “experts,” take note), but neither can they be allowed to become the main attraction.

“Beginners in the faith often develop a kind of spiritual avarice. They can’t get enough of God. They can’t attend enough services to satisfy them. They join study groups. They read book after book. They spend much time on these things rather than getting down to the basics of living a spiritual life” (John of the Cross).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com