| |
| |
|
Just Between Us - FREE Spiritual Information for anyone interested. |
|
|
|
Mankinds Ten Worst Enemies: #1 Pride
We have a proclivity to think of individuals and nations as our adversaries when they present a threat to our personal or national well being. But, I submit, that our greatest adversary is Satan and he makes his assaults from within not without. It is an inside covert operation. Pride We have all heard people boast of all the things they do not do. What they often omit is what it is they do do. We all do something. Some of us engage in the same acts of others but we do it in a more subtle or different way. We may not drink, but we overeat. We may not murder physically, but we murder spiritually. We may not abuse a child, but we abuse those of a different ethnic group. We may not curse, but we demean and degrade others. Our pride blinds us to our failings. We seem hell bent on making ourselves look good to ourselves and feel good about ourselves and think God is satisfied with us. Some of us have never truly prayed but merely stood in the presence of a god we have created, because we refuse to see ourselves for what we really are. Pride is based in a real desire to be God and to be worshipped. What does Scripture have to say on the issue of pride? A man's pride brings him low... (Proverbs 29:23a) Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18) The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee... (Obadiah 1:3) This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of the LORD of hosts. (Zephaniah 2:10) When pride cometh, then cometh shame... (Proverbs 11:2) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. (1Timothy 3:6) Before his downfall a man's heart is proud... (Proverbs 18:12a) For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. (1 John 2:16) Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud. (Proverbs 16:19) What we so often fail to realize is that we need God to discipline us and draw us closer to Him that we might feel our status as creatures. God is the Creator and we are the creatures. We need God, He does not need us. As Robert Brown points out, We know we need God because even when we strive to be humble, to the extent that we are successful, we become aware of how humble we are, and, regardless of how hard we try, we are unable to avoid the thought that we are "good" because we are so humble. Surely God must be pleased by our humility. Well, what has happened here? We have become proud of being humble. So then the question becomes does our recognition of this solve our problem? Of course the answer is no, because even when we are aware of this fact, we are in danger of being proud of the fact that we recognize that we were being proud of being humble. Thus, we cannot escape this evil of pride without God's intervention. It is only when we stand in His holy presence do we come to an understanding of who we are and who He is. Satan, God's most formidable enemy, will have us believing we are more than what we are. And, only God can defeat the enemy within: pride. Rev. Saundra L. Washington, D.D., is an ordained clergywoman, veteran social worker, and Founder of AMEN Ministries. She is also the author of two coffee table books: Room Beneath the Snow: Poems that Preach and Negative Disturbances: Homilies that Teach which can be reviewed on her site. Her new book, Out of Deep Waters: My Grief Management Workbook, is expected to be available soon. You are welcome to visit AMEN Ministries: Your Soul's Service Station for spiritual refreshing, soul edification, browse our newly expanded mini shopping mall or review our recommended books you may want to add to your personal library. Blessings to all!
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
The Centre of Our Existence! Most of us have heard talk or have read something about the seven centers of energies that we refer to as Chakras. I do believe these are very important centers of our being in terms of our energy field, our aura, and most of all our own balance that can manifest into our physical body. Connecting to Spirit Every soul that is currently experiencing life on any level begins and ends as a whole. Our essence - the very core of our spiritual being - remains One with God. Are you Bringing Light or Discord? We are living in highly challenged times. Our mass consciousness directly reflects the discord in which many of us find ourselves within our own personal lives. Its Always Divine So I met a friend recently and we went to see the movie Garden State, which I had been anxious to see since its release. Written and directed by a young (29-year-old) New Jersey native, I had read that it was about "coming home" to New Jersey. Discipline of Prayer: Always Connected Every workday, five days a week, I take the light rail into downtown Dallas. Only last week, this routine finally taught me a lesson about prayer. The Power of Namaste I honestly am not sure why this hit me so strongly, but it did."Namast is a salutation which essentially means that I greet and acknowledge the God-Spirit that resides within you. Law and Order of the Spiritual Kind There is no such thing as a coincidence. Albert Einstein reasoned that, "God simply does not play dice. Your Gift and Talent is Not for YOU! Although your creative ability and talent is something that God has given TO you, it's primary purpose is not meant FOR YOU only. God's purpose for your gift is to be a benefit or solution for someone else who needs it. How A Grudge Can Affect You As we go through life we all have to deal with feelings of anger, resentment or bitterness when people hurt us. Can you think of someone who has hurt you so badly that you are finding it really hard to let go of the pain or grudge?Tracey's first husband beat her every time he got drunk. Finding Freedom! "You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place. " Psalm 31:8, NIVDuring this weekend we're reminded of all of those who've gone before to fight for our country so that we can remain America the Free. Will Science Get Closer To God Than Religion Has? A subject of debate for thousands of years, spirituality will no doubt spark much debate for another thousand years. That is how it should be. Gentle Whispers Today we do not experience great manifestations of God as Moses did many years ago. God has not spoken to us out of a burning bush and neither have we heard His voice as He walked in the cool of the day in the Garden of Eden. Spiritual Belief The atmosphere surrounding the earth is still a matter of special interest for scientific research. Some physicists have discovered and suggest that we are living within a field of energy that surrounds and envelops the earth, like an invisible halo. Fatal Distractions There is so much going on in the world around us that it is easy for us to become distracted from keeping our focus on Christ and spiritual things. And our vision slips away from us when we turn to glance at the things of the world. The Power of God's Word in Your Prayer Life Prayer. It's the foundation of a Christian mom's life. Fulfillment A feeling of fulfillment is something we all seek. Here I would like to address this in a way that many of you already know at some level but which I feel is necessary to highlight. A Short Journey to Your Divine Self By invoking an external God to whom we look for help we often lose sight of the fact that we have within us the very power that we seek in such an external force. Now of course I don't just expect you to believe this in the way that religions of the world expect you to believe the converse. Humility, Not Pride: Keeping Ice Off Your Bow Tony was a professinoal salt-water fisherman. He explained how he cruised out to sea each morning, coming back each evening with his catch. Special Washes Attract and hold your family at home with some unique spiritual & New Age special washes inherited from the Hoodoo practice which combines elements of African and European magical, religious, and witchcraft traditions and a little bit of the Native American use of herbal and botanical wisdom.What is known in the southern United States as Hoodoo is simply a traditional form of magic, not a religion, which uses the occult and supernatural elements of the Christian, Jewish and European practices. Religion and Spirituality - What Differentiates Religion from Spirituality? Religion is "absolute truth of life" of the physical manifested world. It is Religion and not Spirituality which forms the basis of the present society we live in.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
