The message: don’t hold grudges. Forgive quickly. For our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, rebuke if one of us sins, but be ready to forgive if they show a true repentant heart. And even if they don’t, forgive them anyway.
We are called to become like Jesus. What does that look like? What is the practical application?
Where is your heart for God and for others?
For me, it means always striving, ever failing. The good news is that I don’t think God ever expects us to be perfect like Jesus through our own efforts. That’s why Jesus had to offer Himself up for us in the first place. Every day, I make mistakes. Every day I say things I shouldn’t say, think things I shouldn’t think, and make choices I shouldn’t make.
The real question for me, and for all of us is where is your heart for God and for others? Are we on a journey to mature and transform into Christ-likeness or are we just someone who said an alter call prayer of confession once a long time ago…stagnant and spirit-less.
We are called to love others, even give our lives for one another. We are called to help each other in times of need. We are called to act…not just pay lip service to loving others. I know many many good Christians who help others when they are in need. Many Christians are incredibly generous with their time and money. They are living breathing examples of Jesus Christ walking the earth today.
My confession is I often come up short when opportunities to love others presents itself. A beggar is standing next to an entrance. He asks for any change I might have. I say I don’t have any on me. Yet in my car, 10 feet away, I have some change. One day, that change will get put into a bag, accumulated and eventually taken to a bank so I can make a deposit of $7.32. It does me no good, but to a homeless man it may mean a warm cup of coffee on a cold day. A simple gesture of love, and I pass it up. God please forgive me.
When we shower others with love, we literally are the hands and feet and face of Jesus Christ that the world so desperately needs to see.
My prayer for myself, and for everyone out there, is that we have the strength to love others in those simple fleeting moments. It’s easy to love when a huge tragedy occurs to someone we know. Let’s you and I commit to love others-simply in the moment.
Our mission is to help Christians be more like Jesus Christ. To be more like Jesus Christ, we need to love others. When we shower others with love, we literally are the hands and feet and face of Jesus Christ that the world so desperately needs to see.
It’s easy to be smug. Being self-righteous seems to be so easy and natural.
God is clear about the type of attitude He seeks; humility.
We live 24/7 in our own skin and who walks around thinking they aren’t right about most things? It takes incredible effort to even acknowledge we MAY not be right, we MAY not have the best answers, or we MAY not deserve something. However, God is clear about the type of attitude He seeks; humility.
Let’s hear from God word on this issue. And for those of you new to the Bible, Pharisee’s were priests and religious teachers considered by the Jewish people to be most righteous. Tax collectors on the other hand were considered no better than common thieves because as they collected taxes from their own people, they often collected more than was due for their own personal gain.
Summary of Luke 18:9-14: It’s better to be a humble sinner, than to think of yourself as better than anyone else. If you think highly of yourself and have a big ego, you will eventually be corrected and humbled by God. If you realize your actual situation is that of a sinner, unworthy of God’s approval through your own efforts, you will be exalted by God. If you recognize your own sinful nature and do not pretend to be better in God’s eyes (or any man’s eyes), you show yourself to be the type of person that God truly approves of.
King David in the Old Testament was “a man after God’s own heart”, even though he was a murderer and adulterer. Why? Because he recognized his sinful ways. He confessed openly to God about his own depravity.
Now, here is my own confession. I need to hear this over and over again. I too have been tempted to glorify myself and think I’m better than other people. This of course is not true. I am like everyone else; no better. The Holy Spirit has convicted me that maintaining a haughty attitude is a destructive path.
I seek God’s glory, not my own. I seek God’s approval, not the approval of men. Luke 18:9-14 is exactly what I need to hear. I need correction anytime I start to think of myself as better than others. I expect the Holy Spirit to correct me every time.
God, be merciful to me, a sinner! As I do your work, please help me to do it in your power and for your glory…not my own. Lord, increase my humility and shield me from the evil one. Father God, protect me from evil and selfish desires, and the sinful desires of my own ego. I confess I don’t always think as you think on these issues. God, renew my mind and help me to daily be more like Jesus Christ in my attitudes and behaviors.
I will trust in you alone God and humble myself so you don’t have to. I will put away my self-righteous attitude. God, I will seek your glory and approval, and reject the approval of men. Amen!