Humility: True Greatness

Tonight as I looked out over the ocean and saw the huge star-filled sky above me, I suddenly felt very very small. Even my shadow, which was magnified to about 5 times as big as me, was swallowed up in the vast black beauty of the night and the ocean. It seems that to suddenly feel so small would create an overwhelming feeling of loneliness or bring a sense of fear. But instead it only created inside of me an awe and a wonder that transformed into a wonderous praise for a magnificent God.

As I stood there I continued to think about the greatness of our God. I realized how often we go througout our lives with a sense of our bigness. We don't often get that sense of being small and insignificant next to the Lord's greatness. We walk around with an attitude of pride. Everything we do and say is centered around how we can make ourselves appear better, how we can become more well-liked, how we can seem like better Christians and how we can bring glory to ourselves. A few months ago, I would have been quick to say that pride could probably be found in my life, but at that point I did not realize how pride can permeate every part of everything we do. Now, as my Bible study has begun to study the book Humility, by CJ Mahaney, the Lord has put a conviction in place that is not easily brushed aside.

Let me just share a few eye-opening definitions. Humility is defined as honestly assessing ourselves in light of God's holiness and our sinfulness; On the other hand, Pride is when sinful human beings aspire to the status and position of God and refuse to acknowledge their dependence upon Him.

Wow. When it comes down to it, when we seek to and bring glory to ourselves instead of to the Lord, we are trying to be God, we are aspiring to His status. We are idolizing ourselves as we put our own desires and worth above that of His. And what is our purpose here on this earth in the first place? Is it not to bring God glory? When we display pride in our daily lives, we are going against all that he has called us to and the purpose he has created us for. I don't think we realize how serious that is.

The way I see it, it all comes down to motivations. Are they pure? Am I serving these people in this way because I want to carry out the will of God or because I want that person to see me and be impressed with my servant heart? Am I saying these words because my roomates will think what a great Christian I am when I would say something totally different around my other friends? Am I seeking to grow in the Lord simply to attract and impress certain people or is it because I truly desire Him? These are hard questions to ask but they have to be honestly answered if we really desire to rid our lives of the pride that so easily consumes us.

Look up at the sky, look out over the ocean, notice the intricate detail of a flower or the number of trees on just one mountain. How can we contend with the creator of these things? How can we even think about taking credit or increasing our own worth when such a God is before us in all his might and glory? When will be finally realize that nothing we do is without him? That nothing we say or accomplish is in our own strength? It is through Him and Him alone, and he deserves ALL the glory and ALL the praise.



" Ascribe to the LORD, O mighty ones, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness." Psalm 29:1-2

Mountain Getaway

With the spontaneity that only college can give you, I and five great friends decided to take a one night "camping" trip to Mountain Rest. Leanna's family has a camp up there and we spent an evening shooting bows and arrows, playing soccer, volleyball and exploring the summer camp. After collecting groceries at a nearby gas station in which "I'd rather be hunting" bumper stickers could be bought, we drove about five minutes to a nice campfire spot. By this time, the night was dark and we used Leanna's car lights to build ourselves a nice campfire for roasting hotdogs, baked beans, marshmallows. Sparklers, cigars and an intense game of "Grill" entailed. After gazing at the beautiful star-filled sky and having excellent conversation, we prepared to leave. The night then became especially exciting as we realized the car battery had died. We began our 2 mile trek back to Leanna's house in the pitch black night while knowing full well the possibility of a bear's appearance or the attack of the ferocious sounding dogs in the distance. We sang several songs and clung together in fear. At one point it is reported that Nick sang heartily, "Man, I feel like a woman!" We arrived back alive, just to reassure anyone who may have wondered. And here is the evidence that what I say is true.

For His Glory!

Yesterday morning Pastor Lewis continued our study on the book of John and we discussed the life of John the Baptist. John does get plenty of credit now as we look back on his life and the great job that he was given, but I never really thought of the strength of his character until yesterday morning.

John's purpose in life was as a forerunner of Jesus, sounds pretty cool right? But what this meant was that he preached and taught about the One to come and was able to lead a successful ministry for a time. But then once Jesus came along, he had to take all that he had accomplished in his whole life in the ministry and hand it over to Him. Even John's disciples couldn't understand it at first and they got jealous and confused about why Jesus was coming in and taking over the attention and place that John had held for so long. But this was the purpose of John's life, to bring the glory ultimately to Christ. He was able to accept this job and so humbly and willingly turn over everything to Jesus because of several things Ken shared with us. When you take these things and turn them into application for the Christian life today, this is what it may look like.

EVERYTHING that we own and have is from the Lord, he is the reason that we are alive, he is the reason we have a roof over our heads, peace when we get into bed at night, friends and family that we can enjoy. God is sovereign, everything of eternal significance is controlled by him. We are mere stewards of the money, people and time that he has given us to be used towards our purpose of glorifying him. If we truly believe that God is sovereign then we will realize that anything less than complete and utter devotion to him is not acceptable. Anything other than God that we try to place within the mix is an idol. Boyfriends, girlfriends, school, attention, work, accomplishments, etc. If we truly believe God is sovereign not only will we realize he is everything we need but we will desire him more than anything else in the world. We will serve the Lord in the place that he has called us to, whether it seem big or small and do so humbly, with the joy that only comes from living to please him. We will want to do whatever it takes so that every bit of glory goes to the Lord and him alone.

If only we could live like that. Every moment of every day. So enthralled and in love with our Savior that we never let anything else get in the way of pleasing him and giving him all the glory. Let it be our prayer that he is first and foremost and that we spend each day with him on our hearts and minds, sharing him with those around us, and growing deeper in love with him.

Pastor Lewis' sermon dissected the life of this man of God and extracted a plethora of wisdom and practical application from it. It also gave me a whole new perspective on the incredible life of John the Baptist. Now let's live it!