Humility Training Through Authorities

Titus 3:1-2 NKJV

I realized the objective here is to be ready for every good work in humility to everyone around me; and God gives me opportunity to be equipped for this under authorities in surroundings like my workplace where I can hone in on my humility.

Wearing Humility Every Morning

Proverbs 11:2 NKJV

Lord, I will also wear Your humbleness as I get dressed every morning because I need Your wisdom throughout the day.

The Hidden Message

[S] Luke 18:34 --
But the disciples understood none of these things, and the meaning of this statement was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said.

[O] At one point, Jesus' disciples were clueless of what is to come which translates into they were following Jesus for three years without really knowing the ultimate purpose; and that means they were following under their own subjective impressions.  Fast forward from here, I also know that these same clueless bunch of people turned this world upside down with God's message of love.

[A] Especially when partaking in God's ministry, the worst enemy is my own perspective of thinking I know what I am doing because in comparison to these twelve disciples who practically lived with Jesus 24x7 and yet missed the boat I will be worse than the disciples of being on board at all times with God's  purposes in the ministry I take part in.  I need to seek His grace with humility because the moment I think I know something is the when I will know the least because my eyes may be blinded.

[P] Dear Father, just as You have opened the eyes of the disciples despite their inability to comprehend the message of Your love and saving grace, please shower upon this clueless servant the same love and grace which I may pass on to many others in humility.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Humbly Practice Hearing God

[S] Jeremiah 42:4,7 --
4 Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, "I have heard you. Behold, I am going to pray to the LORD your God in accordance with your words; and I will tell you the whole message which the LORD will answer you. I will not keep back a word from you."
7 Now at the end of ten days the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah.

[O] When the people approached Jeremiah to inquire God about what they should do, he responded to them with confidence that he "will tell them the whole message."  This implies that he is very much used to inquiring God and hearing from Him the answers and that is something attained over time and intimate relationship with God.  Even then, as seen in verse 7, the process requires a significant amount of time.  As with any good things, seeking God's will is an involved process that requires perseverance.

[A] I need to increase my prayer time with God to "practice" more of hearing His voice.  In my excuse of being busy, I want instant prayer results and I need to repent from having such an arrogant attitude of demanding God to meet my needs under the umbrella of prayer.

[P] Dear Father, please grant me humble heart before You especially when I approach You with my circumstantial needs.  I want to keep practicing my ability to hear Your word and to obey them with humble heart.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Preparing for Success

[S] 2 Chronicles 32:30 --
30 It was Hezekiah who blocked the upper outlet of the Gihon spring and channeled the water down to the west side of the City of David. He succeeded in everything he undertook.

[O] I'm jealous of being successful in everything he undertook.  What a feeling that must have been for Hezekiah to be in such a position and yet his pride got in the way.  I want to be successful in all that I do but more than that I need to desire humility in God and protect my heart not to be prideful because when God blesses me to be successful I sure don't want to be like Hezekiah.

[A] I need to surrender my grumbling heart of not having everything my way.  Even though I know God is in control and will provide best for me, when things don't go my ways I feel like a loser.  I need to make sure I understand that it's not whether I'm successful or not but whether I am working on my humility first.

[P] Dear Father, please make my heart humble so I would be prepared to received Your blessings in my life to be like Hezekiah who would be successful in everything that I undertake.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Whom the Lord Commends

[S] 2 Corinthians 10:18 --
18 For it is not he who commends himself that is approved, but he whom the Lord commends.

[O] Just like in Olympics, no matter how much the athletes themselves may feel like they deserve the gold medal, it is the judges' scores which will determine the winners.  Likewise, it is the Lord who will commend those He deems worthy according to His "scores" and there is no exception.  Many times, I feel like I deserve a bit more recognition for how much I served in His Kingdom, but my feelings do not matter at all.  In the end I must submit to His leadership and the commendations which come from Him alone.

[A] Stay humble in my services in His ministry, especially when things seem to go well.  Let the Lord commend.

[P] Dear Lord, please be the Lord of my services for Your Kingdom.  May it flourish because You are in the center of it all; but let it not go to my head but instead bring me to my knees in prayer more and more.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Competition vs. Companionship

[S] Daniel 3:19 --
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with wrath, and his facial expression was altered toward Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. He answered by giving orders to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.

[O] This passage brought back memories of the movie "Wolfman" where the person morphs from being a normal handsome man into the hairy wolfman.  Nebuchadnezzar must have gone through this significant alteration of his facial expression when he heard Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego upholding their position with their God of Heaven above him.  More so than the anger in him, I believe the ugly image of our enemy is what surfaced in him, and that's probably the case with me, also, when my pride escalates above God.

[A] Stay humble before God and look for what and how God is moving in other people's lives to rejoice with them rather than being jealous or competitive.  This is not a competition but a companionship with God for the rest of my life.

[P] Minimize me, Lord, and maximize Yourself in me so I will always reflect Your beautiful face and not have my facial expression be altered by the ugliness of my enemy.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Path to Pinnacle through Humble Circumstances

[S] James 1:9 --
9  But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position;

[O] The principle here is that when I stay humble, then God will bring me to high position and that's the right way to reach the "top."  Even though this world points to the way of the material richness, that is not the way God approves.  Quite a contrasting concept and a very difficult one to practice.

[A] Whenever there is a choice, pick the humble circumstance.

[P] Dear Father, You have chosen this path of choosing to humble Yourself in the form of Jesus because that was the only way to raise us up into the high position displaying His glory.  Please remind me daily to take the same kind of intentionally humbling myself for the gain of Your kingdom displayed in this hopeless world.  In Jesus' name.  Amen

How to Fight a Losing Battle

[S] Ephesians 6:12 --
12  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

[O] The categories listed here are awesomely powerful, and may be stating the obvious but much more powerful than what I can be or do.  Therefore there is no doubt my own strength is insufficient to win over these forces coming against me.  This is why I need on daily basis invite the power of Jesus into my life because He is above all and will definitely dominate all of these forces.  It is a foolish thought to even think I can handle it on my own.

[A] In light of how God's been blessing our church to grow and allowing us to unite hearts to prepare for a greater maturity I cannot help but to think that the above anti-forces are ramping up as well to take us out in every which way possible but most importantly by bringing disunity when for a moment we think we can "do" this church on our own efforts and experiences.  Based on this, I humbly bow before the Almighty God to allow His Spirit to guard, protect, energize me, my family, and my church community to bulldoze through the forces coming against us.

[P] Dear Father, may Your awesome armor of protection cover our church so we would stay humble before You and others.  May we continue to invite more and more people to understand the depth of Your heart so more of us would slip into the Spiritual armor You provide for us.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Can You Hear Me, Now?

[S] 2 Samuel 24:3,14 --
3  But Joab said to the king, "Now may the Lord your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king still see; but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?" 14 Then David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of the Lord for His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man."

[O] David responds two different ways to two different counsels he receives from Joab and Gad.  At first, Joab's insightful and wise counsel was overruled by David which leads to God's anger against Israelites to whcih David pays his price for his own sin.  After his repentence, the counsel of Gad was received with humility and submission before God.  When his eyes were blinded by his own greed and pride of counting how many people was under him he was unable to hear the counselor's wisdom and care for him but when his heart was aligned back to God's own heart he was quick to hear God's voice and follow His instructions.

[A] In order to see how our ministry is doing, I am quick to see the headcount and offering amount from previous Sunday.  While this is one of the good metrics to examine, I need to be cautious not to look at it as a way of measuring the success (or not) of our ministry by these numbers.  God is much bigger than the numbers, and I need to trust that for His ministry to flourish.  Additionally, when my focus is on wrong things I will miss all the wise counsels coming from those who care for me.

[P] Dear Father, please keep my mind sharp in order not to fall into the traps of giving credit to what I or we did rather than staying low on my knees because I have not and cannot do anything to please You.  This is why Jesus had to come.  May Your name be the banner over me.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Look Good When Fasting

[S] Matthew 6:17 --
17  "But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face  18  so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

[O] Fasting was (and still is) a way to clear the mind to focus more on what God is speaking.  So this is an effort to control our physical body in order to draw closer to God.  And the purpose of drawing closer to God is to follow His ways better.  However, in this process it is so easy to shift the focus to the people around more than God so it can become an act to look good to others which is far from the original intention.  Verse 17 teaches how I should set my circumstance properly in the first place in order not to get set myself up to derail from my original intentions of drawing closer to God.

[A] All the actions I decide to follow to draw closer to Him have loopholes for me to shift my focus away from God to others around me.  So, as a part of my plan to "do" His will, I should also carefully put in place the safety measures for me to not detail my path away from God.  Just like how I should look "good" when I fast (and not boast about how weak I am without food), I should up front empty my own ambitions for taking part in His ministry so I will be putting in my efforts just for His Kingdom's sake and no one else.

[P] Dear Father, please preserve my heart's purity to serve You and You alone in all that I do for You.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Boldness and Bold Brothers (BBB)

[S] Galatians 2:14 --
14  But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, "If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?

[O] Paul refers to Cephas (Peter) and Barnabas along with others who veered away from the truth and spoke to them directly to point out and correct their hypocrisy.  First of all, Paul's boldness and zeal to stand up for truth really shakes me even harder than last night's 8.9 magnitude earthquake in Japan.  What drove him to be such a committed servant of God?  What makes me such a coward compare to Paul's boldness?  Secondly, even though it might've been difficult to initially accept it, I feel Cephas was a blessed man to have a co-worker like Paul who can point out areas to correct for God's glory. I have not experienced a time when I enjoyed being corrected by others but if they come with genuine care and heart for bringing out the truth, then I would also be a blessed person to have friends and co-workers like Paul around me.

[A] Be discerning and humble whenever I receive "corrections" or even "complaints" from other co-laborers in Christ because if Peter and Barnabas went off the tangent, I am 100X more likely to do that and I would need someone to point that out to me.

[P] Dear Father, I want to wear the boldness of Paul in my walk with You.  I desire to be next to Your godly people who is not afraid to set me straight when I do venture off the main truth. May You be glorified in all aspects of my life and I realize that can only be done through my humbleness.  Thank You for a great lesson (again).  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Struck by Angel

[S] Acts 12:23 --
 ²³And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.

[O] This sounds like a scene out of a Hollywood movie and I cannot imagine what type of worms would eat a person but more so than those details God's striking Herod for not giving glory to Him moved me.  One thing is clear:  God does want my glorifying Him and He hates my pride which goes above God.  He desires humble hearts who bring out God's glory not their own achievements.

[A] God doesn't mess around when my pride goes above God's position and my take away is to stay humble in all I do especially when my works are not recognized by others and feel like I'm nobody.

[P] Dear Father, I'm in awe by how You care so much for me to send me this message of warning against any area of my life which may boast too much of my own achievements.  Please let me stay humble especially when I'm serving in Your ministry.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Go To Where There Is No Lasting City

[S] Hebrews 13:13-14 --
 ¹³So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. ¹⁴For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.

[O] Just like the Mosaic times of giving sacrifices to God (vv. 11-12) the animals used as offering for sin are burned outside the city gate, Jesus suffered outside the gate as well symbolizing that He was our sin offering.  Denying myself to follow Christ is to go outside the gate myself to a place of outcast where Jesus was crushed selflessly.  It is not a place of establishment of a lasting city but a place where God will establish His city in the future for eternity on that foundation.  If you ever looked at the construction site preparing to build a large building, it's a mess with all kinds of equipments and foundational materials digging away into the dirt.  But once that process is over and then the actual construction of the structure takes place, before we know it an awesome building will take place on top of that messy place of nothing but dirt.  That's what I envision here because in the desolate and "messy" scene of the crucified Christ outside the gate is only a temporary and yet necessary foundation for the lasting city to come.

[A] How am I going to join the crucified Christ outside the gate rather than staying inside the comfortable city?  For me, it's about dying to myself more by smoothing out the rough edges of "pride" that sticks out, at times even without my awareness, through interactions with people close to me.  This time it was feeling self-righteous or self-justifiable caused me to pride over others.

[P] Dear Father, why is that I keep failing to follow the footsteps of Jesus' humility outside the gate?  More I reflect, more I am so awed by Christ's complete humility (when He didn't have to at all).  Please grant me just a fraction of that humility to rule my life.  Lead me to that desolate place where there isn't anything so that I will witness Your everlasting city establish itself there to live in there forever.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Stand By Me So Gentiles Might Hear

[S] 2 Timothy 4:17 --
 ¹⁷But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion's mouth.

[O] After mentioning how many people have left him and God's ways as well as those who harmed him, he warns Timothy to watch out for these dangerous people.  He then goes on to say how Jesus stood with him and strengthened him despite all the hardships both mentally and physically.  Trying to think through what Paul must've gone through and yet still testify this encourages and strengthens me a lot especially going through the phase of struggling through various challenges in life both at home and at church ministry because it is the Lord who is going to stand by and with me.  Paul continues with the purpose of God's desire for strengthening him which is so all the Gentiles might hear the great message of His saving grace.  It is not so I may be listed in the Hall of Faith, but so I may bring more people into His fold.

[A] The phases go like this: 1) get bombarded with lots of stuff; 2) get wearied physically and mentally; 3) get lonely as if there is no one who cares enough to collaborate; 4) God reminds me that He will stand by me so be strong; 5) get encouraged and begin to see things in God's perspective; 6) then realize God's ultimate purpose for strengthening me is so I may share His love with "Gentiles"; 7) energized to engaged into His ministry.

I think I'm around phase 3 to 4.  I need to revitalize my purpose in the way of sharing His message with others.  I need to defocus from the snares of various factors in life (but deal with them wisely).

[P] Dear Father, You know where I am more than I know myself.  Please hear my cries and send Your Spirit to minister to me in order my bearings in life will be clarified and refocused to strongly carry out my purpose You intended for me.  I pray for my children so they, too, will be protected by Your angels and for them to continue seeking Your ways in humility.  In Jesus' name.   Amen.

Who's Pleading? God or You?

[S] Luke 15:21,28 --
 ²¹"And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' 
 ²⁸"But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him.

[O] The responses from the two sons in these verses are quite contrasting.  The younger son after repenting of his wrong-doing to his father, he submitted to his father's authority and was willing to be treated as one of the servants while the elder son was angry at the situation at hand where his father's rejoining over his younger brother's return.  The younger son was pleading with his father (which by the way was ignored by his father because he was just too excited to have him back, it did not matter to him) while it was the father pleading with the elder son who by the way was supposed to have been serving his father (v. 29) all these years.  What's wrong this picture here?  Who really understood the heart of his father?

[A] Serving God doesn't mean just being a busy body.  Today's Life Journal reading of Psalm 147:10,11 wrote about this as -- ¹⁰He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He does not take pleasure in the legs of a man. ¹¹The LORD favors those who fear Him, Those who wait for His lovingkindness.  I need to be careful of being like the elder son where I self-justify with all the "hard works" I put in towards God's ministry how well-intentioned they may be.  Stay humble and submissive to His leadership through those leaders He placed over me regardless of their spiritual and physical age or experiences.

[P] Dear Heavenly Father, please guard my hearts against the virus of this elder son; instead instill in me the heart of the younger son's repentances and humbleness as I pour out my life for your ministry's sake.  Thank You and I ask this in Your Son's precious name.  Amen.

Outward vs. Inward Rejoicing

[S] Luke 10:19-20 --
 ¹⁹"Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you.
 ²⁰"Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven."

[O] When the 72 disciples returned from a "successful" mission trips reporting back how powerful it was for them to experience the supernatural miracles, Jesus teaches them the secret of victorious living is not about whether miracles take place in my life but whether God has recorded my name in His book of life.  What this means is that my life even after being recorded in this book may still go through challenges and difficulties so if I gauge the happiness of my spiritual life based on the outward result of defeating the enemy, then I would danger myself of worshiping the manifestation of His power instead of the fact of worshiping His grace and mercy for receiving me into His presence to live with Him in eternity.  This is especially true when participating in God's ministry because it is so easy to be caught up by looking at how well my ministry is going measured by how spiritually "strong" I am.  God is not interested in how spiritually I am (even though I may be) because He already knows that He is stronger than all of our enemies; but what He is interested in is how faithfully I cling on to the amazing grace He poured out for me at the Cross regardless of my spiritual strength against my enemies.

[A] Humbleness comes to mind because when the miraculous power of God takes place in my life, it is so easy to get proud as if I had achieved some level of skills when it's all about being under His grace and mercy.  I need not forget to stay in my posture of humbleness at all times.

[P] Dear God, I am so thankful for Your working in my life to reveal the power of Your love, strength, and victory against my enemies.  Please keep my heart humble at all times because I don't want to get distracted about the outcome of Your working in me instead of Your grace.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Arrogance Hardens Hearts for God's Instructions

[S] Jeremiah 43:2 --
 ²Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, "You are telling a lie! The LORD our God has not sent you to say, 'You are not to enter Egypt to reside there';

[O] These people responded absurdly against what they promised to do -- to follow whatever God speaks to them through Jeremiah -- after actually listening to what Jeremiah told them.  The link between the "arrogant men" and "not listening to God's commands" was what caught my eyes today as I was reading through this story of how foolish these people are.  The foolishness seems to come from the arrogance; in fact these arrogant men asked to hear what God had to tell them but unless their hearts were humbled, they were unable to submit to God's commands.  We studied about how Zedekiah was unable to follow what God told him because he lacked the faith, but here these arrogant men never seemed to have had the faith to begin with but just curious minds trying to outwit everyone including God.

[A] Ask for a humble heart before I do my Life Journaling so I would not just hear the words from God but will also have the submissive heart to follow what He tells me.

[P] Dear God, Your description of what arrogant men will face as a consequence needs to be my life's lesson as long as I live here on earth because the pride in me is almost like a wild lion wanted to jump out at any opportunity possible.  I must tame this lion with my humility and I can only do this in Your power as I surrender my heart and mind to You in Jesus' name.  Amen.

Humility Before Teachable Heart

[S] 3 John 1:9 --
 ⁹I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say.

[O] Diotrephes refused to accept the teachings and leadership of John (the Apostles) because he wanted to be the leader instead.  Leadership positions are not born or claimed but needs to be earned through mutual respect.  This respect is established when we are humble toward each other and seek to be servant leaders rather than the top-down-dictator-style leaders.  And every leader disrespect of his position needs a leader he looks up to for guidance; however, if they all want to be the first among others, then there won't be any unity stirring up pure disorder.  Saying it a slightly different way, every leader must have teachable a heart to be an effective leader.

[A] Never catch myself at the top looking down at everyone; rather, be on my knees looking up to everyone I serve.  With so many factors in life this is not the easiest to do so need to apply wisdom and practical thoughts in order to be the servant leader with a teachable heart.

[P] Dear God, give me a teachable heart so You and other leaders I go under may mold my heart to become a leader that You desire me to become.  I struggle a lot on how to be such a leader at home, work, and in ministry so I ask for Your wisdom to lead me every day.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

What Will People Do When I'm Gone?

[S] 2 Chronicles 24:15b,17-19 --
And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the LORD continually all the days of Jehoiada.
 ¹⁷But after the death of Jehoiada the officials of Judah came and bowed down to the king, and the king listened to them.
 ¹⁸They abandoned the house of the LORD, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols; so wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their guilt.
 ¹⁹Yet He sent prophets to them to bring them back to the LORD; though they testified against them, they would not listen.

[O] Jehoiada left behind a spiritual legacy by being the key influencer to the Israelites to continually worship God.  After he went to be with God, the leaders of the Israelite society almost immediately abandoned following God and turned to their own idols.  I am touched by Jehoiada's charismatic leadership which sustained the people's perspective towards God and to keep Him at the center of their lives.  I hope it wasn't purely based on fear of his power that people followed him and I also hope my life will be used by God to keep people around me focused on God because of my influences on them.

[A] Being an influencer to people around me means disciplines around my own life to do just that first.  I need to stay humble toward God and others at all times while fearing God everyday.  I need to be thankful in all situations for His grace in my life because it's due to that grace that I can even be the person I'm trying to be.

[P] Dear God, thank You for the wonderful grace in my life.  Please continue to humble me so I may stay on my knees as I surrender my life to be one of your influencers for those around me.  Please take this life and use it for shining Your light on others.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.