“Little faith will save a man, but little faith cannot do great things for God.” – Charles Spurgeon
KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Thursday, March 14, 2019
Chapters: Deuteronomy 8-10
Message: Hard To Be Humble
Hello My Friend,
As I was reading the chapters for today, and Charles Spurgeon’s devotion, which was surprisingly about boasting in grace, this parable that Jesus spoke came to mind. “Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” – Luke 18:10-14.
“for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased;” Let me tell you, there are Christians just as guilty as the Pharisee in boasting in their salvation. While we ought to be a witness and testimony of how Jesus saved us, we must also be humble. Those who are too boastful about their salvation will take their eyes off Jesus, and get caught up in sin because they forgot to be humble. “Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” – James 4:5-6.
“but giveth grace unto the humble.” Humble; Made low; abase (reduce low); rendered meek and submissive. In other words, being humble means to let go of pride, and be submissive to the authority of God. Anyone who rejects Jesus, or God for that matter, has a heart full of pride, just as the Pharisee, they look down on everyone, and boast about all their accomplishments. If we are honest with ourselves, no one wants to be told what to do all the time, we tire of being told we cannot have something or do something, but there really is more freedom in submitting to the authority of God than man or religion. Think about it, compared to mans laws, God’s are pretty simple, and if we keep them we can endure anything that life throws at us, and we get God’s protection and provisions as well. Moses reminds Israel that as long as they keep God’s commands they will live happily.
“All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers. And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live. And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish. As the nations which the LORD destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the LORD your God.” – Deuteronomy 8:1-3,19-20.
“to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart,” We all must spend some time in the wilderness for God to humble us, prove us, and find out what is truly in our heart. We will find that we may not have been as humble as we ought to be. And this is why God does send us in the wilderness, it can be easy to forget the things that God has done, and gotten us through, especially when we are basking in His blessings. It takes us to be humble to realize we are, but sinners saved by grace, and need Jesus every second of every day to get us through. You know, while we are truly blessed through our obedience, we do not deserve any of the things we have, God gives them faithfulness, not our righteousness. Moses reminds Israel of this very thing.
“Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee. Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Understand therefore, that the LORD thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people. Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the LORD thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the LORD.” – Deuteronomy 9:4-7.
“and that he may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers,” God never goes back on His word, which is why He puts up with our sin nature, He promises eternal life to all who receive His Son, and He will never repent of that. We do not realize it, especially when we are facing difficulties, everything that God allows us to go through is because we are His, we were chosen by Him because of our faith in His Son, and affliction is used that we might humble ourselves to Him, and be obedient. “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” – James 4:8-10.
Did Israel understand why they spent forty years in the desert? Probably not, other than their fathers rebelling. Moses reminds them that they are stiffnecked, and have been that way from the day they left Egypt. If there is one thing I have learned over the years as a Christian it is that God has protected me and had a lot of mercy on me when I was wandering around in my wilderness. Moses takes Israel down memory lane to remind them of why they were in the wilderness, of all the things they did to provoke God, how He was their intercessor through it all, and how quickly they turned from God the second they got the chance. We get this idea in our heads that in order for God to do something in our lives we have to be a certain way, and while there is some truth to that, it is often not what we think. You life is yours, it is the one God gave you, what He chooses for you is not necessarily what He chooses for someone else. We can accept that, trust Him, and let Him guide us or we can rebel, and in the end have nothing to show for it. Moses tells Israel exactly what God requires from every one of His people.
“And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good? Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked. For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.” – Deuteronomy 10:12-13,16-20.
“but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him,” Fearing God is walking in His ways, loving Him, and serving Him with all our heart and soul. Do you know why humility is our greatest asset? It keeps us closer to Jesus, and Satan further away. Think about it, when we boast in the graces of God, we take our eyes off Jesus, and at that second here comes Satan, ready and willing to make us fall. Many Christians live in sin today, boasting over God’s grace in that they will never lose their salvation, what they do not tell you is the pain they face daily because they are going against God. Humbling ourselves to God does not mean we are a lesser Christian, it means we acknowledge we truly are sinners saved by grace, and cannot take our eyes off Him for one second, even when things are going well.
“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” – I Peter 5:6-10.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.” – Deuteronomy 10:17.
Today’s Prayer: God, It is not always easy following Your commands, but I know the freedom I have in doing so, thank You for releasing me from bondage, and for Your grace that never runs out. It is only by Your grace and love, that You picked me up out of the rut I was in, and gave me a new life. As much as the world hates me, it still tries to drag me in, but I know You are always with me, right there in front of me, making sure that I am safe and secure. Lord, I know I will mess up, but thanks to Your amazing grace all I have to do is come to You and You will make it right. Lead me and guide me, keep me fearing You, keep me humble, keep me looking to Your Son, and never let me take my eyes off Him. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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