Proverbs 16
Not every impulse of
my heart is from the Holy Spirit. The plans I come up with need
testing, and I need discernment. More than anything, I need the mind
of Christ, which is a heart of wisdom.
Paul says in 1
Corinthians 2:16, “But we have the mind of Christ.” We. I need
godly companions who will help me to understand the difference
between my flesh and the Spirit of Christ that dwells within us.
Arrogance in not a
fruit of the Spirit. The Lord hates it. But Christ atoned for my
arrogance. With His patient love, He is using the communion of saints
to bring me a better heart.
Godly friends remind
me what my renewed heart really desires. I want Jesus Christ. Wealth
and fame are very poor substitutes for Jesus. He will establish my
steps. He is my righteous King and a friend of sinners. I have found
life in the light of His face.
Every day I need to
give thought to the Word of God. It is the only way for me to
discover good sense again for the day ahead. It is the way that my
Savior leads me to refreshing waters. We can hear that Word together.
I am looking for the
fruit of His love in my life today. Will my heart be patient? Will my
words reflect the grace that I have received from the Lord? Or will
I just fall into an old rut, an arrogant way of thinking and speaking
that seems right to my flesh?
But the Lord will
protect me. I will pray for you, and you will pray for me, and the
body of Christ will find a new way of life. Jesus will win. His
powerful death and His glorious resurrection were not in vain. We
have been given a gift. You and I have the mind of Christ.
posted by Pastor Magee @ 7:09 AM
1 Comments:
"But the Lord will protect me."
This strikes me. The Lord's wisdom is so much more profound than ours - and from an eternal mindset so that we cannot understand his motions with our limited view. Like Psalm 88; a life of suffering. The Psalmist would not know that his life, given to misery, would impact the world for thousands of years. From his limited view - darkness was his closest friend. He felt abandoned by God.
We are often ungrateful and we show that in a myriad of ways. Our humor is often unfeeling. Our hunger controls our mood. Even in self-pity the world revolves around us. Arrogance - not knowing our place and taking an opinion on it, generally placing ourselves at the center of the problem.
Humility - knowing that our place is low and being satisfied anyway.
I have devoted much of my prayer this year in a foreign manner, using monastic "pre-ordained" prayers as opposed to my own extemporaneous scribbles in a journal. Not to say that my former prayers were not spirit filled, but to see how Christ has worked with the ancients. Or - other ancients with differing opinions on the word ( hardly a rejection of good teaching ). And I am struck with a different view of time and space. I have joined an ancient conversation with words that have been prayed for hundreds of years; still filtered through my own perspective - but filling me in a new view. The same God - freeing me through a pre-written conversation.
After a year of this, I am changed. I cannot even find strength to write my own prayers in a journal, for mine seem trite in comparison. My needs, still filtered through the cloud of witnesses and their writings, are hardly uncovered. My needs become less and the richness of the Lord becomes more.
If I am ever to lead a church again, I would be a different man. Quiet. Sitting at the feet of the parishioners who have more to say than I ever gave credit. I would seek the Spirit's presence in them and celebrate his handiwork - instead of imposing my own culture on their theology and trying to convince them that they need to be more.
Arrogance...preaching the word without serving orphans and widows in quiet application and service. Breaking bruised reeds instead of mending them.
But the Lord will protect me. When our arrogance abounds, he corrects - often in abundance.
May the Lord protect me even as I share these thoughts.
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