We can't always figure Christmas out - we just need to enter into the gift that it is.

If you are entering the final few days of Advent, trying to figure out the mystery of the birth of the Messiah, then I invite you to give up trying to figure it out and rather to enjoy the gift of Jesus' birth. There are some things that we can intellectually comprehend, while there are others that we only come to 'understand' in the depths of our being. 

1 Corinthians 1:27-28 – “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things - and the things that are not - to nullify the things that are…”

God still chooses the weak things of the world to shame the strong. Humility and availability are more important to God than our pride or even our talents. Of course, God, we still use these for his glory, but he would prefer us to approach the manger on our knees in worship. 

Luke 1:37 – “For nothing is impossible with God.”

Living in grace

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An empty, open hand

"Faith is like an empty, open hand stretched out towards God, with nothing to offer and everything to receive" - John Calvin

In this week, when we remember the significant changes brought to the Church, through the Reformation, I thought I'd share a few inspiring words from John Calvin. Although he is not everyone's favourite, John did have a remarkable impact on the Church and Theology. Here are a few more of his insights:

"Humility is the beginning of true intelligence."

"People will never worship God with a sincere heart or be roused to fear and obey Him with sufficient zeal, until they properly understand how much they are indebted to His mercy."

Matthew 9:2 - Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”

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What was he well known for?

What was Moses well known for? 

Was it for, being left in the bulrushes as a child? Challenging Pharoah? Being a Shepherd? Receiving the 10 Commandments? Leading the people through the wilderness? 

Well, I guess all of these give us some insight into the events of his life, but they don't fully answer the question. When we turn to Numbers 12:3, we find the answer. This verse says:

“Anav me’od mikol ha-adam asher al penai ha-adama”–the most extremely humble individual on the face of the earth.

Moses was considered to be the humblest individual on the face of the earth. Wow, that is quite an honour. 

Another translation for word 'anav' can also be 'meek.' Moses was chosen by God, because he humbly trusted in God 100 percent. 

"Far more books get written about how to get more people in your church than how to get the people already in your church to have more humility and sincere love." - John Ortberg

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Have I "made it?"

“It is not the person who claims to have “made it” spiritually who finds the kingdom, but the individual who recognizes how poor they are." – L. Richards

Reflecting on the Beatitudes again has really challenged my thinking and raised a number of things to spend time reflecting on. More and more I seem to be noticing how some Christians enjoy giving off the air that they have "made it" and others have not. This is a dangerous practice to fall into, because it is the same trap that the Pharisees found themselves in. 

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (NIV)

Humility is the light of understanding." - John Bunyan

"A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you." - C.S. Lewis

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Time spent in prayer is never wasted

 

The story I shared on yesterday's blog reminded me of the wisdom of Francois Fenelon. As you read through these quotes today, may they offer you some inspiration and encouragement. 

“True prayer is only another name for the love of God. Its excellence does not consist in the multitude of our words; for our Father knoweth what things we have need of before we ask Him.

“It is false humility to believe ourselves unworthy of God’s goodness and to not dare to look to him with trust.”

"Time spent in prayer is never wasted."

2 Chronicles 6:19 - Yet, Lord my God, give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence.

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The practise of humility

I shared a lovely piece of writing on Sunday. I was preaching on the theme of humility, and I stumbled across these words from Mother Theresa. I have found them helpful to dwell on. I offer them to you and pray that they may also be a blessing to you.

“These are the few ways we can practice humility:
To speak as little as possible of one's self.
To mind one's own business.
Not to want to manage other people's affairs.
To avoid curiosity.
To accept contradictions and correction cheerfully.
To pass over the mistakes of others.
To accept insults and injuries.
To accept being slighted, forgotten and disliked.
To be kind and gentle even under provocation.
Never to stand on one's dignity.
To choose always the hardest.”
― Mother Teresa, The Joy in Loving: A Guide to Daily Living

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The test of a truly great person

"I believe the first test of a truly great man (woman) is their humility. I do not mean by humility, doubt of their own power, or hesitation in speaking their opinion. But really great people have a ... feeling that the greatness is not in them but through them; that they could not do or be anything else than God made them." - John Riskin 

I think this quote is spot on. I have met a few remarkably humble people in my life, who have not needed to strut or be arrogant in any way. Their very presence has been enough to reveal Christ to others.

Of course, on the other hand, I have also met a fair share of arrogant people. It is interesting that their attitude and demeanour actually repels you, instead of drawing you in. 

Can you think of anyone who fits the description of being humble or arrogant?

James 4:10 - Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Which one are we? 

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The place of honour

“It is better to deserve honours and not have them than to have them and not deserve them.” - Mark Twain

As you read this quote, think on it in line with the following challenge from Jesus:

Luke 14:7-10 - When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honour, he told them a parable. "When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honour, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, 'Give this person your place,' and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place.

But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher'; then you will be honoured in the presence of all who sit at the table with you.

Is there a clear message in this for us as individuals or even as communities?

Are we as 'the church' also guilty of this in some way?

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The lost art of Humility

Mother Teresa wrote a lovely piece concerning the character of humility. 

“These are the few ways we can practice humility:
To speak as little as possible of one's self.
To mind one's own business.
Not to want to manage other people's affairs.
To avoid curiosity.
To accept contradictions and correction cheerfully.
To pass over the mistakes of others.
To accept insults and injuries.
To accept being slighted, forgotten and disliked.
To be kind and gentle even under provocation.
Never to stand on one's dignity.
To choose always the hardest.”
― Mother Teresa, The Joy in Loving: A Guide to Daily Living

Perhaps Teresa and Solomon are having a discussion about this in heaven right now. Solomon wrote:

"When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom." - Proverbs 11:2

It is obvious that some people have lost the art of true humility.

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18 - Greatness Redefined

The moment Jesus preached his revolutionary ideas people began to look at things in a completely new light. Greatness had always been reserved for the rich and famous, but now Jesus was suggesting that in His kingdom greatness belonged to children and the 'least' of all people. This must have been a huge paradigm shift for all people to come to terms with.

Matthew 18:1-5 - "At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ² He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. ³ And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵ And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

I wonder if one of the "gifts" Covid-19 is giving the world is to rethink all the things that we thought were important and to recapture the ideals of Jesus. This virus is not a respecter of wealth or language or education - we are all susceptible to its dangers.

1 Peter 5:6 - Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

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Pride comes before a Fall

 

"Pride comes before a fall!"
These immortal words come from the mouth of Solomon (Proverbs 16:18) and still ring true in our time. If we had to sum up the message of Ezekiel 28 then this proverb would be more than adequate to do this. Ezekiel's prophetic word bemoans how the king of Tyre has allowed his wealth and fame to get to his head. He believes he is indestructible, but soon he will come crashing down to reality and all his wealth will be taken away from him.

There is an interesting twist in this prophecy, because when you read from verse 11-19, you will note some startling similarities to Satan's demise. Ezekiel says:

“You were the model of perfection,
    full of wisdom and exquisite in beauty. 
 You were in Eden,
    the garden of God.
Your clothing was adorned with every precious stone" (v.12-13)

There are a number of scholars who see this as a re-telling of what happened to Satan. Just like the king of Tyre, Satan allowed all this fortune and blessing to go to his head and soon he was full of pride. In his pride he believed he was better than God and so the Lord chose to bring him back to reality. Please read this chapter for yourself - it is very interesting!

We are barely two weeks away from Easter and this passage is a good reminder that God honours the humble and brings low the arrogant. Jesus came to be the suffering servant and yet he was also exalted as the Resurrected King.

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Looking down on others - C.S. Lewis

“A proud person is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.”- C.S. Lewis (Mere Christianity)

I find these words of C.S. Lewis to be so true. When we are arrogant and consumed with superiority, we constantly have to look down on others - this is usually to make ourselves feel better than the "other." The trouble with pride, as Lewis points out, is that in the end, it stops us from looking up. I see this as a spiritual weakness - we fail to look up to God (not that God is only "UP" there in the heavens) and in so doing, prevent ourselves from receiving God's grace. God can't give grace to those of us who feel that we don't need it.

Romans 12:16 -  Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

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The Great Enemy

The greatest enemy we will ever face, according to Charles Spurgeon, was this:

"The greatest enemy to human souls is the self-righteous spirit which makes men look to themselves for salvation."

In response to self-righteousness, I guess we need to turn to the other extreme, which is HUMILITY and dependence on our Lord. Spurgeon added his thoughts on humility:

Humility is to make a right estimate of one's self.

It is always best to keep ourselves grounded in the love and favour of God.  This is never an attempt to keep us downtrodden, but rather aware of our humble beginnings and the incredible miracles of rising to our fullest potential.

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Inadequate

“We are used to viewing the early apostles as superstars on a pedestal that we can easily forget that they were pitifully inadequate for the task which they were given.” – Phil Moore 

This quote makes me feel a lot more comfortable about serving God "as I am", rather than trying to be a Mega-Star pastor. God certainly desires to use every person to help build his kingdom, and God ABSOLUTELY needs all of us to take our "inadequacies" and to use our lives to honour him. 

Let us not make excuses today as to why we "can't" do something for Jesus, but rather show that we are WILLING to offer what we have.

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"A" is for Attitude

"Everything can be taken from a person, except ONE thing: To choose ones attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose ones way.” - Viktor Frankl, concentration camp survivor. 

Although circumstances can conspire around us we can still choose how we will respond to these circumstances. Attitude is such a key character trait in people and the best example of someone with a great attitude is Jesus. Take a look at these words from Paul - he reveals the humble ATTITUDE of Jesus.

Philippians 2: 5-8 - ^"In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

⁶ Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!"

May the example of Jesus inspire you to choose the best Attitude you can.

 
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Prayer of humility

"When we are wrong,
make us willing to change.
And when we are right,
makes us easy to live with." - Peter Marshall (1902-1949)

How easily are we willing to admit we are wrong?
And when we are right, do we take great delight in rubbing someones nose in it?

True humility is a rare trait to find, but it is worth pursuing in our own lives.

James 3:13 - "If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honourable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom."

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Turtle or Hen

"A turtle lays thousands of eggs without anyone knowing, but when the hen lays an egg, the whole country is informed." - Malayan proverb.

We all know people who like to brag about their accomplishments - no matter how small or big they are, these people love to cluck like a hens and shout so the world can hear. We may be impressed by what they have achieved, but we will still think they are loud and arrogant.

On the other hand, the person who achieves much, without bragging or boasting, impresses us much more. Their humility seems to add to their achievements and we want to honour those people more.

In a Spiritual sense, we can also have 'hens' and 'turtles' in the church. Some people like to tell the world what they have done, but the 'turtles' who get on and quietly do the work of laying the 1000 eggs, end up being noticed in the end.

Worth thinking about, don't you think?

Proverbs 25:14 -  Like clouds and wind without rain is one who boasts of gifts never given

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Prayer of a True leader

In the context of great political upheaval, as well as the greatest week in the Christian calendar, it seems appropriate to consider a prayer of true humility. I believe that leadership is a huge gift, responsibility and burden, but we should bear it with Christ-like humility. Jesus' attitude of obedience and humility won him billions of followers - so, surely we would do well to emulate his heart. This prayer is adapted from a prayer written by William Barclay.

 

"O Father, give us the humility which realises our ignorance,
Admits our mistakes, 

recognises our need, 

welcomes advice,
Accepts rebuke. 

Help us always to praise rather than to criticise,
To sympathise rather than to discourage, 

to build rather than to destroy,
And to think of people at their best rather than at their worst.
This we ask for thy name’s sake. Amen."
–  Prayer adapted from William Barclay

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