Category: Pride

3/6/2025 0 Comments

By the Strength of His Hand

Dave and Terri Legg

On 5 November 1992, three officials from the Russian Ministry of Education asked Christian educators to join the CoMission—a group of over 80 Christian organizations formed to instruct Russian public school teachers how to teach Christian ethics. This unusual invitation originated from the JESUS Film Project’s efforts to show the JESUS film in Russia.[1]

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12/24/2024 0 Comments

Insignificant

He was born in a lowly place—a smelly stable in a manger, nursed among unclean animals because his parents were required by edict to register in an obscure village—Bethlehem, the town Micah, the prophet, foretold (Micah 5:2). His father, Joseph, nearly in secret divorced the unborn Child’s mother, Mary, until an angel intervened and informed him that she conceived through the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:19,20). Joseph was a humble carpenter, whose trade he would pass on to his Boy, raised in the Galilean town of Nazareth. “‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Nathanael asked him. ‘Come and see,’ Philip answered” (John 1:46).

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12/3/2024 0 Comments

The Seeking Trifecta

Marine Captain Ray Smith, while serving as a military advisor to 250 Vietnamese Marines, was attacked by an overwhelming Viet Cong force while defending a hilltop outpost. The assault was so savage, and the weather was so bad (preventing close air support) that Smith had to lead the remaining 28 Vietnamese Marines to the safety of friendly lines. Because he was carrying a radio, Smith courageously threw himself backward on top of their own booby-trap-infested wire barrier so 28 Marines could move over the crushed wire, stepping on his prostrate body to safety. Despite severe cuts and bruises, Smith successfully fought and led those under his care to safety, winning him a Navy Cross.[1]

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11/19/2024 0 Comments

Hidden Things

Jesus performed many miracles in the cities He walked, which should have authenticated His message, and yet most of those He encountered would not repent of their sins. Their hardheartedness kept them from recognizing the hand of God’s Son at work and connecting their need to listen to Him. He criticized them for their attitude and warned them of God’s impending judgment (Matthew 11:20-24).

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11/17/2023 2 Comments

Blind Faith

Johnny* bought a car, a really nice new shiny red car. His wife counseled him not to make the purchase. His financial advisor warned him it could put him in unsustainable debt. But Johnny didn’t care to listen. This car was going to make up for all the “beater,” used, ordinary cars he was tired of driving. It would let everyone know he was doing well—after all he served the King and those who serve the King deserve the best. Right?!

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8/23/2023 0 Comments

Ability

Susana got up in front of everyone at the funeral and shared that she was sure she would be in heaven because she was a good person. Her expression is a classic belief held by countless people that because of their capacity for good, God cannot but let them into His place of dwelling.

Joe struggles with life. He feels he is not very good at anything and questions his value to God even though he has a strong relationship with Jesus. Because his abilities are limited, his self-esteem is relatively low. He weakly understands how valuable he is in God’s sight.

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7/1/2022 0 Comments

Inability to See

Meditation
John 8:25-27—“Who are You?” they questioned. “Precisely what I’ve been telling you from the very beginning,” Jesus told them. I have many things to say and to judge about you, but the One who sent Me is true, and what I have heard from Him—these things I tell the world.” They did not know He was speaking to them about the Father.

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2/10/2022 0 Comments

The Bad Leader

We have all experienced them—leaders, who exhibit selfishness in the midst of a crisis. One of the reasons why I believe the Bible is the greatest book on leadership is the plethora of examples of good and bad leaders. So let’s look at a man who shows us what not to do.

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12/31/2021 0 Comments

Finding Stasis

Meditation
Daniel 5:26-28--This is the interpretation of the message: MENE means that God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end. TEKEL means that you have been weighed in the balance and found deficient.PERES means that your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.

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3/14/2021 0 Comments

Separated Ones

A group of people determined to separate themselves in the pursuit of holiness. They gave themselves a name—Perushim, which means separated ones. Over time as they concentrated on holy living, they became proud and self-righteous. On the outside they looked great but on the inside they rotted.[1]

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9/30/2020 0 Comments

The Return

Abraham Lincoln proclaimed, “It behooves us then to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.” On April 30, 1863, Lincoln's National Day of Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer was observed. Two days later, Lt. General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson was mortally wounded in a freak accident where he was shot by his own troops. The loss of this powerful Confederate leader changed the course of the war.[1]

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7/18/2020 1 Comment

Self-Dependent

Meditation
Isaiah 22:10,11--You counted the houses of Jerusalem so that you could tear them down to fortify the wall. You made a reservoir between the walls for the waters of the ancient pool, but you did not look to the One who made it, or consider the One who created it long ago.

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12/10/2019 0 Comments

Isolated and Insecure

Meditation
Proverbs 18:1—One who isolates himself pursues selfish desires; he rebels against all sound judgment.

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6/7/2019 0 Comments

Hail

Hail is mentioned 36 times in the Bible. The majority (16x) are recorded in the book of Exodus. Thirty-one times hail is used as an instrument of God’s anger and judgment. We see this particularly evident when God devastated Egypt with hail as one of the ten plagues to force Pharaoh to release the Israelites from captivity. Forty some years later, God used hail to wipe out the armies of five Amorite kings who attacked Israel.

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9/18/2018 0 Comments

Power of the Word

John George graduated into heaven recently. He was a man for whom I will eternally be grateful. At a time when I was a cocky senior at West Point, he accurately confronted me about pride and forever changed my life. John knew that the Bible warns us in Proverbs 16:18 that “Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall.” His exhortation scared me to death that God would not use me for His kingdom.

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12/13/2017 0 Comments

Pray Like This: And Do Not Lead Us Into Temptation

I’m convinced that prayerlessness is a major factor when I give into temptation. If I’m tempted and I run to the Lord in prayer immediately my will is altered and I’m fortified to do what I know I ought to do. When I neglect seeking His help every fiendish aspect of rationalization works to my detriment. But even in praying for God’s help to resist evil there is a responsibility on my part to be committed to God’s truth and will. Jerry Bridges notes in The Discipline of Grace, “There’s no point in praying for God’s help in the face of temptation if we haven’t made a commitment to obedience without exception.”

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5/6/2017

Arrogance

Meditation
James 4:13-17--Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” You don’t even know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like smoke that appears for a little while, then vanishes. Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So it is a sin for the person who knows to do what is good and doesn’t do it.

2/8/2016 0 Comments

If You See the Donkey

Meditation
Exodus 23:5—If you see the donkey of someone who hates you lying helpless under its load, and you want to refrain from helping it, you must help with it.

If I see that my enemy, Joe, is in trouble, my natural reaction is to think, “He is getting what he deserves for his poor behavior and attitude!” and to walk past him without providing assistance. Basically Joe’s misfortune is deserved because of past, poor behavior and I should not interfere with his karma.[1]

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12/17/2015 0 Comments

Vladimir--The Atrocious Leader

General Vladimir Sukhomlinov was the Russian Minister of War from 1909-1915. He was a cavalry officer and a war hero during Russia’s war with Turkey in the 1870s. Unfortunately, Sukhomlinov decided that he knew everything that there was to know about warfare. His decorations, record and position bolstered his self-importance despite the fact that Russia lost territory and huge numbers of dead and wounded to the Japanese from 1904-1905.

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11/6/2015

Rage

Michael "Mikey" Weinstein allegesthat while a cadet at the Air Force Academy (AFA) he was psychologically harassed, faced anti-Semitic slurs, death threats, and “two incidents of hazing where he was ambushed, beaten, and in one case hospitalized.”[1] Both of his sons who also attended the AFA, also experienced Christian proselytizing and derogatory statements directed at their Jewish heritage. Weinstein decided that the best approach to eliminating anti-Semitism and Christian proselytizing was to launch the Military Religious Freedom Foundation(MRFF),“formed as a watchdog organization to protect religious freedom in the military in accordance with Department of Defense Directive 1300.17, Accommodation of Religious Practices Within the Military Services.” MRFF was nominated on five occasions for the Nobel Peace Prize.