Pastor Stephen Dedman

Category: Faith

He Who Humbles Himself

Encouragement, Faith

He Who Humbles Himself

For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
‭‭Luke‬ ‭14:11‬

A Lesson of Humility

In Luke 14:1-6 Jesus was invited to a prestigious dinner with the religious leaders. He was the honored guest but only for evil intentions. There was also another man invited that day who had dropsy (known as edema). The lawyers and Pharisees were trying to trap Jesus into breaking a law on the Sabbath but their plan backfired. Jesus asked them if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath but they remained silent. Jesus then healed the man and sent him away. The lawyers and Pharisees were speechless.

The miracle of healing should have been enough to demonstrate that Jesus was God but Jesus wanted to teach them a valuable lesson concerning the Kingdom of God. He used His position of honor to honor God.  The Pharisees used their position of honor to elevate themselves.  Every person who was honored would then honor someone else, as this was their custom.  It was all about being recognized.

Jesus used this opportunity to share another parable. He said, “Instead of placing yourself at the end of the table where the most distinguished guest should sit, move further down the table.  In doing so you will save yourself from shame when the host comes to you and asks you to move because that seat was reserved.  Sit further away and let the host move you to the position of honor.  Then you will be honored by all.”

God does not look lightly upon prideful people. James 4:6 says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Every Christian needs to learn the important principle of humility.  Let’s learn from the Master and use our God given positions to praise Him and not ourselves.

Prayer

Ask the Lord to make you more aware of your sin and position yourself at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ.

 

What Sort Of Man Is This

Faith

What Sort of Man Is This

And the men (disciples) marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭8:27‬

A Marvelous Man

Jesus calmed the wind and waves and the disciples were in complete astonishment.  They had just witnessed a miracle. They went from fearful to fascination in matter of seconds.  The disciples thought they were going to drown but instead they saw God in action.  It’s like the fans in the stands that are praying for a miracle and then their favorite team suddenly wins in the last seconds and they are stuck in disbelief.  Why are we in disbelief when God does something so amazing?  Especially when we are praying for it.

This same event is paralleled in Mark 4:35-41.  The disciples woke Jesus and said, “do you not care that we are perishing?”  I wonder how many times we think in our minds that God does not care about what we are facing?  Believe me, He cares!  He cares about the big stuff and he cares about the small stuff.  How awful it is for a child of God to think He doesn’t care for His own.

The disciples realized at that very moment that they were in the presence of God.  God was in the boat.  Now they know Jesus is God.  This truth was revealed to them and they knew they were following the true Messiah.  How awesome to know that the One who has power over nature is living inside our life and will do supernatural wonders that will make us marvel.  If you believe in God’s love and power you can weather any storm that comes your way.

Read Psalm 107:23-31 and be marveled.

Prayer

Pray Psalm 107:30 and “thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!”

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A Joyous Perspective

Encouragement, Faith

A Joyous Perspective

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
‭‭James‬ ‭1:2-3‬

Dealing With Difficulties

When was the last time you had a smile on your face when you were dealing with the difficulties of life?  Never!

Of course it’s easy to praise the Lord when things are going well.  It’s actually a very nice situation to be in.  But what about when God tests our faith and trust with the things that are near and dear to us?

We can experience joy when we endure trials and suffering as long as we have the right perspective. Praising the Lord for the suffering and trials we face reflects how we view God.  God uses our trials to purify and perfect us. We must always remember that God does not delight in seeing His children suffer.

I once heard a talk radio show host say that he called his brother on the phone to pray for him after he had recently lost his job and then seriously injured his back.  He said he was praying for God to remove the pain and suffering from his life.  But the brother replied and said, “I don’t want the pain and suffering to be removed until I have learned what God wants me to learn from it.”  Now that is a joyous perspective.

Prayer

Wouldn’t you love for God to tell you why you go through certain trials?  Well, you can and you need to. Pray for God to reveal his plans and purposes to you.  Pray for the ones you know who are going through some difficult times.