Gotta Get Humble

This is from Wire - A devotional for men. . . . count others more significant  than yourselves—Philippians 2:3 Let’s first get straight on what “getting humble” is not. It’s not trying to think poorly of ourselves or denigrating ourselves or anything like that. It actually involves taking the focus offourselves. Getting humble is checking our tendency to think ourselves better than others, or more important, valuable, worthy of time or mindshare or respect. Getting humble is shutting down our tendency to "size people up” and position them on some scale—based on money, title, education, geography, whatever. Getting humble is recognizing all people as the careful works of God, equally worthy of love and sacrifice. Getting humble is counterintuitive, and it moves against prevailing culture. You see, we men want to feel successful, important—and have others consider us so. Culture trains us, therefore, to promote ourselves; to be strategic with our time and attention; to let positions determine our treatment of others. This training is foolish. It misses the senseand strength of humbleness. Imagine someone humble. They’re often fearless, able to act on convictions, rather than trying to impress. Their decision-making is often sound, unclouded by insecurity or prejudice. They listen and welcome honest differences. They abide critics, crushed not by their criticism. They’re often magnetic, treating all people with respect. They engender loyalty, camaraderie. King Solomon wrote, “with the humble is wisdom” (Proverbs 11:2). We want to work with humble people. We want to work for them and have them work for us. We want them as spouses, friends. But, mostly, we should want to get humble ourselves.

Okay, so what do we do? Practice getting humble. Choose something this week: initiate a conversation and listen more than you talk; serve in a way that’s mundane or difficult (unpleasant, even); help someone anonymously; give someone the credit they deserve (even if you deserve some too).

Be

                                    

Lunch Break Prayer For Missions

Father in Heaven,

During this brief pause in the day I want to thank you for lunch, work, small businesses and my health. God, I lift up to you the Missions Emphasis for the BGAV during this week. I join thousands of your servants who are calling out to You. Hear our prayers. Please say, "Yes." to our request. God, I want to see your Spirit move in a mighty way. I thank You for the mighty work You are doing in Ghana Africa and ask You to do the same in the US. I thank You for the opportunity I have had to plant a Church and I ask that hundreds of more Churches be planted in Virginia. Please provide the servants and funding needed.

Lord, thank you for the ladies who gathered last night and called out to You and participated in mission work - THANK YOU. Strengthen and empower those ladies today. 

Author and Provider of Salvation may all of the mission work through the BGAV bring people to You, develop disciples, and bring You glory.

In Christ's Name, Amen. 

Part 1 - Prayer

Part 1. Prayer - talking, listening, whispering, hearing, screaming, humbling, standing, bowing, crying, rejoicing.

Work Is A Good Thing

Leisure is a beautiful garment, but it will not do for constant wear.

Hope

                                 

Graded With Grace

From ODB 9-6-16.

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

My son’s blue eyes sparkled with excitement as he showed me a paper he had brought home from school. It was a math test, marked with a red star and a grade of 100 percent. As we looked at the exam, he said he had three questions left to answer when the teacher said time was up. Puzzled, I asked how he could have received a perfect score. He replied, “My teacher gave me grace. She let me finish the test although I had run out of time.”  

As my son and I discussed the meaning of grace, I pointed out that God has given us more than we deserve through Christ. We deserve death because of our sin (Rom. 3:23). Yet, “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (5:8). We were unworthy, yet Jesus—sinless and holy—gave up His life so we could escape the penalty for our sin and one day live forever in heaven.

Eternal life is a gift from God. It’s not something we earn by working for it. We are saved by God’s grace, through faith in Christ (Eph. 2:8–9).

Dear God, Your undeserved favor has made it possible for us to be saved from our sin. You have shown us amazing grace. Thank You for

the gift You gave. Use me to tell others about You and what You have done.

Grace and mercy are unearned blessings.

It's Time To Pray

“Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises.” (James 5:13)

Have you ever been in what appeared to be an impossible situation with no way out? Have you ever desperately needed or wanted something, but it seemed as though there was no way you would ever have it? Or, have you ever thought there was no future for you? If so, you need to know about the power of God that can take place through prayer.

One thing that comes out very clearly in the pages of God’s Word is that prayer can dramatically change situations, people, and sometimes even the very course of nature.

But what prayer actually changes the most is you. You change when you pray. The objective of prayer is not to change God or to get Him to do something differently. The objective of prayer is to align yourself with the will and purposes of God.

God will allow hardship and challenges and need—and sometimes even tragedy—so that He can reveal Himself to us and put His power and glory on display. He allows things to happen in our lives so we will turn to Him in prayer.

Yet we usually regard prayer as a last resort: Well, I’ve called all my contacts. I’ve pretty much done everything I can do. . . . So I guess all I can do now is pray.

In reality, the first thing we should do is pray and ask the Lord for His help, His direction, and even His provision. We need God’s help—that is why we pray. When we see our own weakness, we have a greater glimpse of the strength of God.

As someone wisely said, “If you are swept off your feet, it’s time to get on your knees.”

No matter what situation in which we find ourselves, we need to pray.

Taken from YouVersion.com - Grow In Prayer

Bow Down and Worship

Come, let us bow down in worship,

    let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; 

for he is our God

    and we are the people of his pasture,

    the flock under his care.

Psalm 95:6-7

Call Out To God

We Are Relational

We are relational because God is relational. God designed us for relationships with him, others, creation, and self. While all relationships are important, none is more important than God. We should always value our relationship with God above all others. When we rightly value God over other people, things, and ourselves, we have a proper posture in our relationships, one that always honors God first.

Taken from - Is Your Gospel Big Enough - YouVersion.com.

The Bible is Alive

"The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold of me." - Martin Luther

Taken from FB, Leonard Sweet

Just For Fun

                               

Pray Without Ceasing (PWC)

Where and When God Hears Us

“Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

When Cathe and I spend time with our grandchildren, we sometimes ask one of them to pray before the meal. It’s great to get kids to pray, because they are so honest. And when they offer a beautiful prayer, it touches our hearts.

The other day when they were with us, I opened my eyes as we were praying before the meal and saw one of my granddaughters eating a French fry with her eyes closed. I guess she thought it was okay as long as she didn’t open her eyes.

We can pray with our eyes open, or we can pray with our eyes closed. We can pray anywhere, in any position, at any time. The main thing is to pray.

We may feel as though God hears our prayers more in a church sanctuary. But God is not in a place of worship any more than He is in another place. God is omnipresent, which means that He is present everywhere.

At the same time, there is no question that when God’s people gather together for worship and prayer, God manifests His presence in a special way. The Bible says that God inhabits the praises of His people (see Psalm 22:3). Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). When we pray together as a body of believers, there is power in that prayer.

Having said that, God will hear you anywhere. Daniel prayed in a lion’s den, David prayed in a field, Peter prayed on the water and under the water, and Jonah prayed from the belly of a great fish.

The main thing, as Paul wrote, is to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). God will hear your prayer, wherever you are.

Taken from a Reading Plan - Grow In Prayer - found at YouVersion.com. 

A Little Bit of Church

“Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.

Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.

Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down. Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody.”
Romans 12:9-16 MSG

Turn

Turn your worries into prayers. The next time you are gripped by fear and worry, turn it into a prayer like this one: “Lord, I don’t know what to do, but I trust You. You are in control, and I commit this to You right now.” Look to the Lord, and let Him give you His peace.

Taken from Growing In Prayer at YouVerion.com

Give Thanks

Teach Us To Pray

His Choice - God In and Through You

Devotion from Tony Dungy, UNCOMMON LIFE.

His Choice

You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. John 15:16

 

One thing I’m sure of: we’re not going to get the whole debate about predestination and free will cleared up until the day we see the Lord face-to face.

And another thing I’m sure of: no matter how the end times are designed and unfolded by Him, God is in control of everything. Doesn’t that take much of the pressure off? We are not heading out alone. We are called by Christ to make disciples of all nations, but it’s not all up to us. Maybe someone accepts Christ and is assured of eternal salvation through my invitation, nudging, or personal testimony. Or maybe I am the catalyst for that person’s decision for Christ through my example of Bible study, prayer, or other actions. Maybe I simply encourage someone along the way who is struggling with issues in his or her life and faith.

But the remarkable fact is that God chose us. He isn’t surprised by what happened to us, and He won’t be surprised by what might happen to other through us. We are to make the most of our opportunities, to grow and stretch in our faith, and to influence others to come to Christ. And in all of that, we are to trust God, guided by His Word, to not only be there as we walk through doors He is opening, but to realize that He is leading us through and encouraging us along the way.

As Isaiah 55:11 says, “It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.”

God’s Word is what is producing the fruit through the Holy Spirit, not our efforts. We are called to be God’s messengers, God’s ambassadors, while we are here. We are not called to be God. But He will use our humble efforts for good – His eternal good.

 

Uncommon Key > What can you – through God’s power – do to bless others and impact them today?

 

Tyrone R. Lawton

"As iron sharpens iron ...so does one man sharpens another"                                                                      Prov. 27:17

My friend and fellow follower of Jesus Christ sends out a reading every Monday morning to many men. Thank you Tyrone for following God's lead and taking action in obedience.

A Stewardship Prayer

This writer reminds us that our calling is not to own resources but to steward resources that belong to God. Jesus warned people repeatedly to be on guard against allowing a love of money to dominate their lives. Money breeds an anti-God belief in human self-sufficiency, as if it could be the rock, the foundation, of our lives. This prayer is an opportunity to re-order our lives properly.

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. – Psalm 24:1 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. – 2 Corinthians 8:9 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. – Matthew 6:19-21 Lord, everything good in all of creation comes from you. Everything that I have comes from you. I am just a steward of my possessions. I brought nothing into this world and will take nothing with me when I leave. It is only right to acknowledge you as the true and rightful owner. Forgive me for taking credit for my accomplishments, for taking ownership of my possessions, and for not giving thanks for all of your gifts. Forgive me for being envious towards those who have more than I do, for being prideful towards those who have less than I do, and for pining after too many comforts in this life. I know that the measure of a man is not found in his net worth, but I often act as if the opposite were true. Too often, in seeking financial security, I am less than compassionate towards the poor. Lord, through your grace, you gave away your greatest treasure in Jesus Christ, your only son, for our sake. Lord, let your immeasurable sacrifice for me make me a more generous person, a more faithful and thankful person. I know that generosity is not so much about how much I give, but how I live. To be a good steward is not simply giving a tithe or living below my means. It means I need to give up ownership of everything I have and make seeing Jesus in heaven my real treasure. Let me give careful thought to how I spend, save, and give away what you have entrusted to me. I pray that your kingdom will come on earth as it is in heaven, where our treasure is not measured in what we have, but in whom we place our trust. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

About the author: This prayer is written by Dan, a wealth advisor and financial planner who is also an elder at Redeemer. Originally from St. Louis, Dan moved to New York City and found Redeemer in 1994. He is married and lives with his wife and sons on the Upper West Side. First Prayer Memory: “I was 27 when I first came to believe. My first prayer was ‘Lord, save me.’” This is taken from YouVersion.com and Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC.