Don’t be so naive and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence. [1 Corinthians 10:12 (MSG)]
Several years ago, my son’s family made plans to move out of state and sold their house faster than expected. Since their children had several weeks of school left in the semester, the four of them lived with us until the end of the school year. Don’t get me wrong; I loved having them and have no complaints. Nevertheless, the relationship between a mother and the woman her son marries can be a shaky one at best, regardless of how much they love each other. Going from two to six in our home was a major change for us empty-nesters and I’m sure it wasn’t any easier for them as they lived out of their suitcases. Needless to say, I prayed a lot during those weeks and, most of the time, I kept an imaginary roll of duct tape over my mouth.
One day, after mentally congratulating myself for being so tolerant, agreeable, and accommodating, I blew it! Without thinking, I made what I thought was a humorous comment about my daughter-in-law’s habitual lateness. Right after speaking, I realized that just because the words came into my head didn’t mean they should have spilled out of my mouth. But, by then, it was too late to retrieve a comment my daughter-in-law took as disparaging and judgmental. I’m sure I heard Satan’s voice in my ear chuckling, “Gotcha!”
Although my apology pacified hurt feelings, this episode points out the danger both of speaking without thinking and of pride. I’d been congratulating myself for my commendable behavior and patting myself on the back for keeping silent about scattered toys, messy bathrooms, dirty dishes in the sink, and the general chaos that comes with family. Focusing on what I considered to be my virtuous and exemplary conduct, I’d become proud of my restraint, tact, and patience. It’s said that “Pride goes before the fall,” and it sure did in that case.
Pleasure at being praised by others isn’t pride but pleasure at praising ourselves is and it leads to self-confidence rather than God-confidence. As far as the enemy is concerned, pride taken when congratulating ourselves for our self-righteousness is as good as any other sin! “Gotcha!” says Satan!
Bereft that the people of Israel had rejected Jesus, Paul’s words are some of the saddest ones found in the epistles. I can see the tears in his eyes and hear the anguish in his voice as he dictated them to Tertius, his scribe. Young’s Literal Translation translates Paul’s words as having “great grief and unceasing pain in my heart.” Although he knows that nothing could cut him off from Christ, Paul says he’d be willing to sacrifice himself for his people if it were possible. That’s not just his life he’s offering; the word he used was anathema, meaning he was willing give up his salvation. If it would save the people of Israel, he would be delivered over to the wrath of God for eternal destruction: to spend an eternity in Hell!
Every Tuesday, we begin our afternoon Bible study with prayer and by saying the Pledge of Allegiance to the Bible. The words we use are attributed to Homer Grice, a Southern Baptist minister, who wrote them for Baptist Vacation Bible Schools in 1925. He combined two verses from Psalm 119 into this simple vow and versions of it continue to be used by Vacation Bible and Sunday Schools, Christian homeschoolers, and even adult Bible studies. Because it reminded me of elementary school and standing by my desk with my hand across my heart, starting class with this pledge seemed rather childish at first. Once I carefully considered the words, however, I realized that saying this pledge always reminds me that the Bible is at the center of a Christian’s devotion to Jesus Christ. It was in Him that the Word became flesh and, through Scripture, God continues to speak to us today.
As I offered prayers for a good biopsy report, it occurred to me that my prayer was too late. Already excised, the tissue had been sent to a pathologist; for all I knew, the report was written and waiting to be read by my physician. Was God going to rewrite the report? Any troublesome cells in my body had been there awhile. Most likely, the biopsy result was decided months ago so I probably should have been praying about it long before anyone knew a biopsy was needed. Since the pathologist’s report was determined long before my prayers, “Why bother to pray at all?” was the whisper of doubt in my mind.
A.W. Tozer’s words remind me of Jesus’s parable about the Pharisee and tax collector who prayed in the Temple. Acting as if God should feel grateful to receive his prayers, the Pharisee didn’t understand that he should be grateful that God listens! Rather than express thanks for God’s righteousness, power and majesty, the proud Pharisee thanked God for his own righteousness and then listed his virtues! Although it wasn’t required, he fasted twice weekly and was so fastidious about tithing that he tithed not just what was earned but also anything he acquired. If he were unsure that a farmer had tithed his produce, the Pharisee would tithe it again! Standing before God and proclaiming both his good works and his contempt for others (like the tax collector), the Pharisee is a perfect illustration of a man “who believes that he is worthy of heaven.” How wrong he was! Perhaps the Pharisee’s refusal to recognize his own self-righteousness was his biggest sin of all.
John Wesley had an excellent alternative to making a New Year’s resolution that’s unlikely to be kept. Believing that Christians should reaffirm their covenant with God, in 1755, he introduced a covenant service to the Methodist Societies. By 1775, this service was usually held on New Year’s Eve (and called a Watch Night Service) or New Year’s Day. This was a service of renewal in which believers would gather for self-examination and reflection and then renew their covenant with God by dedicating themselves wholly to Him. The practice of a covenant renewal service held on the Sunday nearest January 1st continues in some Methodist churches today and is a practice that has crossed denominational lines.
Devotions of the Heart 