2021-10-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
This week I’m led by the Holy Spirit to continue writing about God’s perfect love, agape in Greek. PS 10: 4-5, “In his pride the wicked does not seek Him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. His ways are always prosperous; he is haughty, and Your laws are far from him; he sneers at all his enemies.” This citation looks at our common enemy with God. Such a contrast from Him! As believers in Jesus Christ, we have been taught to have the opposite mind from this example. “His ways are always prosperous” could be said to indicate a reliance on material wealth and innate selfishness. This person values money over the things of the Spirit. He is not God-led. Skirting the restrictions of the law is his habit. He is haughty, which means self-absorbed, obsessed with human-crafted criteria for his superiority. He thinks believers in Christ are using their God-centered lifestyle as a crutch to make them feel good about themselves and the world. We must remember this truth, from GA 5: 16-17, which show us that the things of the Holy Spirit always oppose the desires of the natural self.
The believer in Christ desires to be modest, “but the proud will soon be disgraced, as it is wiser to be modest!” [PR 11: 2]. DN 5: 20-21 tells us, “Nebuchadnezzar lost his royal throne and place of honor due to pride, stubbornness, and cruelty.” I found it compelling that this Babylonian king later became a believer in God, something which gives us a demonstration of the extent of God’s sovereign power. This example comes from the little book of Obadiah, OB 1: 3, “The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks and make your home on the heights, you who say to yourself, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’” It reveals the end of the kingdom of Edom, whose citizens were related to Esau. Jeremiah’s sad prophecy about what will happen to Judah is found in JER 13: 17, “I never sat in the company of revelers, never made merry with them; I sat alone because Your hand was on me, and You had filled me with indignation.” While Jeremiah wept in secret, Judah’s captive citizens were taken away by their Babylonian captors. Despite the difficulties of his ministry, the Lord always remained with him.
From reading 2 CH 32: 25-26, one can glean that after God healed Hezekiah [who ruled from 716-687 BC] from his illness, thus giving him another 15 years to live, the Judean king didn’t soften his heart right away. Through Isaiah, the prophet at the time, the king got the message that he was saved from his illness, in response to his tearful prayers. “Then Hezekiah repented of the pride of his heart, as did the people of Jerusalem; therefore, the Lord’s wrath did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.” God allows bad things to happen, like an
illness, to bring us closer to Him or enable him to do something like putting off Judah’s captivity. When the people humbled themselves before God, the Latter was able to prevent their trouble until after the end of Hezekiah’s natural life.
This matter of humbling oneself before God is an important issue. Of course, we, as believers of Jesus Christ, have been commanded to do this. 2 CH 20: 1-30 should be read and then continue reading here. This story relates how Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah who ruled between 873 BC-848 BC. Honored his own relationship with God in leadership. A combined army of Moabites, Edomites, and Ammonites was advancing up the hills toward where the Jews were. A frightened Jehoshaphat turned to God in prayer first. He led the people to do the same. God heard them and caused the armies to become confused, turning against each other. Not one single enemy of the Jews made it to Mt. Zion [the temple mount] or harmed a Judean! When we are in trouble, we should always turn FIRST to God.
The consequence of excessive pride is found in PR 13: 10, “Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.” The stories of what happens to people like Prince Andrew of England, Harvey Weinstein, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo exemplify the truth of this proverb. In today’s society, people running for high office or born to it, are arrogant, have time on their hands, and a lot of money. Often, they have politically or otherwise pushed more humble people out of their way in their quest for power. They get the idea that it’s okay to take advantage of their subordinates, which is what happens with sexual predators like the three men mentioned above. I have always called a personality that is prideful, has time on his hands, and has a thirst for power, the “disaster complex.” The quarrels mentioned in the proverb are the many law suits that follow the subject’s behavior. Let me take this opportunity to mention some godly, humble people, who are still around benefitting society. Dr. Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon, who withdrew from the 2016 presidential race for the presidency to quietly serve as secretary of Housing and Urban Development. President Harry Truman, who was a devout Baptist true to his family, and who made one of the toughest decisions ever, which brought an end to WW II. Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House medical advisor who withstood the cruel rejection of Pres. Donald Trump. He is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. This epidemiologist and scientist is an advisor to all of us on the Covid 19 pandemic. He continues to help us “follow the science” with his opinions on what we should do in response to the Delta variant. These latter three men know how to take advice as well as give it.
PRAYER: O Lord, only Your agape love has the power to help us to be humble and take wise advice. We are in dire need of You and Your intervention in our lives. This means we must be a praying people, who listen for Your responses. We cannot live with integrity and sincerity without You. Your love [agape] is what enables You to never abandon us, even when we disappoint You [PS 9: 9-10] and You remain near to us, so that when we pray You can respond [PS 118: 17-20]. What a wonderful God You are, a God Who will never separate us from His love [RO 8: 38-39]! You are to be forever given praise and thanks, in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I’m led to reiterate what love is, as the Lord inspires Paul to write. These beautiful words are worth repeating. The Holy Spirit had more to say to us on agape love. This lovely subject uplifts us and gives us motivation to honor our relationship with our Deity. As infants, our needs must be met from parents or caretakers around us. We are entirely selfish and will complain if our human desires are not met quickly. Gradually, as we are raised, we learn to become more self-reliant and begin the process of learning to help others, if we have a good emotionally balanced upbringing. However, many children aren’t so blessed as this ideal description. Due to family neurosis and/or abusive or neglectful surroundings, these children learn to dishonor God’s teaching. The early death of a parent and lack of a balanced caretaker has led young people into rebellion and crime. We should be reminded that as believers in Jesus Christ we are called to establish a balance between caring for ourselves responsibly and caring for others with a servant heart. Our God wants us to model the love Christ shows us, and to take joy in the promise of an eternal life, if we do. Praise and thanks be to Him forever!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2021. All Rights Reserved.
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