How do you end a Bible Study on Humility, because it is really only the beginning.  I will do my best, to do this in writing.  I believe that humility is something that we desire and seek each morning when we wake.  We descend to the foot of the cross moment by moment with our thoughts, and deeper still, our emotions and our hearts.  Understand that your spiritual self is connected to your emotional self.  The same heart that you are hiding your emotions in, is the same heart that you are loving God in.  That’s why it is so important to hide (ponder; meditate; memorize) God’s word in our hearts.  It transforms us into new creatures.  God’s word will replace those issues in your heart that should not be there.  The Word truly is miraculous.  As we pour it into our minds and hearts, it replaces the bad and the ugly.  No other book you read, will do that for you.  I praise God for teaching me this over the past year.  You might think this a silly thought, but I am walking deeper in The Holy Spirit because of my anger~sin.  It led me into God’s revelation of Walking In Humility.  I now have a spirit of compassion and mercy for our family offender.  I pray each day that God will help me to not ever slip into the pit again.  I pray each day that my thoughts would be taken captive to The Obedience of Christ.   It has released me from the power and penalty of my sin (FREEDOM IN CHRIST).  These are the positive results it has had on my life.

1. Peace in my heart
2. Less stress in my life
3. My focus has been placed on my relationship with God and not on myself
4. Less confusion and chaos in my life
5. I make better decisions
6. I am healthier spiritually, physically and emotionally
7. My relationships with God, my family and friends are more intimate and focused
8. My life is FUN
9. More relaxing atmosphere…every thing or issue is not intensified
10. The shear humility of it all has created compassion and mercy IN me
11. I have made some much-needed changes in my life including prioritizing
12. I am moved to tell anyone who will listen of the Saving Grace of Jesus Christ, more than I ever have been in my life
13. And on and on and on…..

Does it mean I’m perfect, I’ve made it?  No!  Allow me to let someone else give you an explanation of it all.  One of my favorite Authors is Philip Yancey.  This is a quote from his book, What’s So Amazing About Grace,  page 273.

“Strangely, God is closer to sinners than to saints.  (By saints I mean those people renowned for their piety–true saints never lose sight of their sinfulness.)  As one lecturer in spirituality explains it, God in heaven holds each person by a string.  When you sin, you cut the string.  Then God ties it up again, making a knot–and thereby bringing you a little closer to him.  Again and again your sins cut the string–and with each further knot God keeps drawing you closer and closer.”  End Quote

Descend to the foot of the cross and God will draw you close.  Ask for Humility, and you will Walk Deeper In The Holy Spirit.  Life is not all about us or what we do.  It is truly all about who we are and who we become IN JESUS CHRIST.

Scripture to Ponder:

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God ,in whom I trust.”  Psalms 91:1-2  NIV

My God, who I rely on.  You are my secure defense and you hide me from danger.  You are my place of security.  You are high above every other power.  AMEN! 

If you were to follow me for a day, or I to follow you, what would we see?  What would we see in those unguarded moments?  I am not sure I want you to follow me around for a day?  Are you sure you want me to follow you around for a day?  Guess what?  God follows us around all day, all night long, 24/7!  He desires to see His Humility in us not only in our prayers, or those times when we find ourselves in a humbling position or state, or when we really need Him, but also 24/7 as He follows us around all day.  Although, if I never needed Him, I wouldn’t know how VERY MUCH I need Him.   I believe that what He truly wants from us is meek and lowly hearts manifested in love for each other.  He wants us to BE humble, not DO humble. 

What does Humble look like?  Let’s look at The Picture Of Humility.

Remember the illustration I gave you on Day 7 about the woman being humiliated by the person in authority?  This poor woman was being humiliated for the purpose of punishment.  It was most definitely a control issue, not only for her benefit, but for the benefit of those watching (don’t do what she’s done or you might just find yourself in her position). 

Read, again, Philippians chapter 2:1-11. It is Paul’s incite and encouragement, to Be Like Christ.  We will see that the humiliation of Christ was for the purpose of dying, sacrificing Himself for you and for me.  It is the most beautiful and thoughtful expression of humility there has ever been or ever will be.  Those who placed Jesus on the Cross may have thought they were controlling the situation, but you and I know that God the Father was in complete control.

As you read and meditate on the Word, paint a picture in your mind and your heart of The  Picture of Humility.

The Picture Of Humility In My Head and Heart

Philippians chapter 2:1-11

This passage of scripture deals with the humiliation of Christ for the purpose of dying on the cross, for you and for me.  Key points-Illustrations of Humility:

• vs 3 & 4, Humility is expressed in thoughtfulness of others.  (see also: Romans 12:10 & 1 Timothy 5:21)
• vs 5-8, Christ’s thoughts were not of himself, but of others, you and me.

The picture in my head is of the Cross.   The two cloud forms beside the cross are: that place I call floating in and out of Grace.  They are filled with those times when I take my eyes off of Christ.  Those are the times (and things) that should be descending to the foot of the Cross with my heart.  I picture my heart at the foot of the cross, descending by choice.  With each new revelation from the Holy Spirit, resolve in my life, those floating clouds should become smaller and smaller.  My heart should become filled with the Humility of Christ, more and more and more.  Through the power of the Cross, God the Father…God the Son…God the Holy Spirit and the Word, humility should burst forth from my life in the form of The Fruit of The Spirit.  (see Galatians 5:22-23)

Today, think about where your heart is.  Is it at the foot of the cross?  Or, are you a floater (we all are sometimes)?  What are those things, or issues, that you need to descend (take) to the foot of the Cross?  Write them down._____________________________________________________________

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Thoughts to Ponder:  Words from the hymn, Beneath The Cross Of Jesus; Words penned by Elizabeth C. Clephane, 1830-1869; Music by Fredereick C. Maker, 1844-1927

Beneath the cross of Jesus, I fain would take my stand, the shadow of a mighty rock within a weary land; a home within the wilderness, a rest upon the way, from the burning of the noontide heat, and the burden of the day. 

Upon that cross of Jesus, mine eye at times can see, the very dying form of One who suffered there for me; and from my stricken heart with tears, two wonders I confess: the wonders of redeeming love and my unworthiness. 

We will move closer and closer to the Humiliy of Christ as we descend with our hearts to the foot of the Cross.  

As I wondered to myself, Did I Get It, I really felt the Spirit telling me this.  “If you want a deeper walk with me, begin by descending“.  Remember the quote I gave you on Day 6?

“Do you wish to rise?  Begin by descending.  You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds?  Lay first the foundation of humility.”  Quote by  Saint Augustine

As I read through Andrew Murray’s book I began to place his words in my mind.  As I did, I felt them sinking deep into my heart.  They were words like:

• Relationship to God can only be one of unceasing, absolute, universal dependence.
• Present yourself an empty vessel, in which God can dwell and manifest His power and goodness.
• Humility, is the place of entire dependence on God.
• In Heaven and earth, pride, self-exaltation, is the gate and the birth, and the curse of Hell’.
• Jesus Christ took the place and fulfilled the destiny of man, by his life of perfect humility.  His humility is our salvation.  His salvation is our humility. Philippians 2:8
• Humility is not a thing that will come of itself, but that it must be made the object of special desire and prayer and faith and practice.   All Quotes by Andrew Murray

We may feel we are honestly and actively practicing what we believe, but is it rooted in humility?  All of our personal effort will not overcome pride or place in us meek and descending hearts.  Andrew Murray says, “It is only by the in-dwelling of Christ in His divine humility that we become truly humble.”  

On the first Sunday of each month, the youth at our Church, have a breakfast to raise money.  Last month as Ed and I were finishing our breakfast, I saw something very special in one of our youth.  There was a young lady, who has a physical challenge, trying her best to walk to a table with a cup of coffee.  It was very difficult for her physically.  As I watched, a young man got up and took her cup of coffee and escorted her to the table.  I think it is in those everyday acts of kindness and caring that we show “who we are”.  Certainly this young man was exhibiting his meek and descending heart.  He is learning this, I’m sure, from the very heart of Christ.  It is a love that totally forgets oneself and finds blessing in blessing and honoring another.  Our true test of humility will come in our concern and service toward one another.  It has nothing to do with what we can do, and how well we do it.  Or, the attention we get from doing it.

So, I found myself and I am still finding myself in the descending mode.  I pray that I will always find myself in that mode.  I find myself hiding in the Word, to hide it in my heart.  One of the passages of scripture that I believe has been a blessing and help to me is in 2 Corinthians chapter 10.

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.  On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.  We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

2 Corinthians 10:4-5

Today, if there is anything in your life, any thought(s) that you need to take to Christ in obedience, just do it.  Hide the words in your heart, Lord, take my thoughts and life captive so that I might descend to a life of humility.  None of us will ever write that book, Humility and How I Attained It.  That would not be a humble heart at all, would it?  But, because we are Christ’s followers  we must make it the object of special desire and prayer and faith and practice. 

Now, it’s back to ~ Dinner With A Friend + A Great Book.  As I said back on Day 2, after a long dinner and discussion, my friend told me about a book she had read.  The title is Absolute Surrender by Andrew Murray, just to remind you.  When I received the book, I got a bonus.  The title of the book was Humility and Absolute Surrender.  I just couldn’t skip over the first part.  I was totally drawn to the very word humility.

One of the firsts things that I did (I always do this, because it helps me grasp the meaning) is check out my trusty online Dictionary.  This is what I found.

“Humility is the quality or state of being humble.  Humble: not proud or haughty: not arrogant or assertive: reflecting, expressing or offered in a spirit of deference (respect and esteem due a superior or elder; regard for another’s wishes) or submission”  Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

I am reminded of  a  sight that I saw, while we were on mission in an Asian country a few years ago.  We were walking around in a public area and we noticed a crowd hovered around something.  As we looked closer at what was happening, this is what we saw.  An authority person had put an older lady on the ground.  She was on her knees with head bowed down, and the authority person was humiliating her.  We don’t know why.  She may have been caught in an act of  theft. We can only speculate.  She was being subjected to severe embarrassment. There were at least 25 people standing around this woman, gawking at her shame.  I will never forget the picture of mortification  planted in my mind.

Humility, as a spiritual virtue, is different from the act of humiliation or shame.  I want to give you a quote I found from an article that incorporates text from the public-domain ‘Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.

“Humility is defined as, a quality by which a person considering his own defects has a humble opinion of himself and willingly submits himself to God and to others for God’s sake…Humility is said to be the foundation of the spiritual edifice (structure) and inferior only to faith.  However, humility is considered the first virtue inasmuch as it removes the obstacles to faith.  It removes pride and makes a man subject to and a fit recipient of grace; according to the words of St James, God resisteth the proud, and giveth his grace to the humble. (see James 4:6) True humility is distinctly different from false humility, which consists of deprecating (play down or make little of) one’s own sanctity, gifts, talents, and accomplishments for the sake of receiving praise or adulation (admiration) from others.”  End Quote (I added the definitions where needed-Pam)

Yes, I agree, that is a lot to swallow.  But you have to admit, it is very thought-provoking (read it 2 or 3 times). 

I was in a Sunday School class and we were discussing righteous (the standards of God) behavior.  One person brought up the subject of our reactions and judgmental comments toward people who are not easy to deal with, and those who do things to draw attention to themselves.  One person gave an example of someone she knows that does a lot of drawing attention to themselves.  And she said, “You could never talk to this attention getter about their character flaw, so I just give them attention.  That’s what they want, so that’s how I deal with them!”  Add a little tone of sarcasm (I’ll kill ya with what you want) and you get the drift of the statement.  This person making the statement obviously didn’t get it.  And I wondered to myself, do I get it?  Do you get it?

Today, think about what it means to Be Humble.  Read Philippians 2:1-17 (Christ’s Humility)

Write, in your own words, a definition of humility.  __________________________

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Quote to Ponder:  “Humility is the bloom and the beauty of holiness”  Andrew Murray

Most of us would not intend to fall into a pit.  I certainly did not intend to fall in. I was angry with the situation.  I was hurt by the family offender.  I was frustrated when this person wouldn’t even acknowledge that the offense happened.  I had no idea how to deal with a person who protects themselves to the point of throwing their own child to the wolves, to protect themselves. When this person kept lying in defense, the situation became intense.  It was an unintentional pit that I fell into because I took my eyes off of Jesus.  I was blinded by my emotions.  Please hear me, I am not trying to justify my emotions.  There’s no excuse for sin. 

How do we get out of the “pit”?

First of all, we apologize.  Apologize to God.  Ask for forgiveness and the wisdom from above that only He can give!  Apologize to the person you are angry or frustrated with.  The perfect apology is:  I’m sorry for what I have done, with no justification attached and no strings attached.  Hard?  You bet! 

Next, we wait patiently on the Lord.  Psalms 40:1-3a says,

“I wait patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire;

he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

He put a new song in my mouth.”  NIV

If you read Psalm 27 (Day 5) you know that the Lord is our stronghold, in any situation we face.  Again we are reminded to seek Him and ask Him to teach us and lead us in a straight path.

Luke 10:41-42 says,

“Martha, Martha, the Lord answered, you are worried and upset about many things,

but only one thing is needed.  Mary has chosen what is better,

and it will not be taken away from her.”  NIV 

We all know the story of the sisters, Mary and Martha.  For us the moral of the story is:  Each day presents it’s options for dealing with life and where we place our focus.   The choices we make give insight into what our values are.  Jesus clearly tells his friend Martha that she is focused on and worried about many things.  But, only one thing is NEEDED, and that one thing is to make herself AVAILABLE TO HIM.  That one thing is to place her focus ON HIM and HIS PRESENCE in her life, just as David did, in the passage of scripture (Psalm 40:1-3a) above.

Today, I want to leave you with this quote.

“Do you wish to rise?  Begin by descending.  You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds?  Lay first the foundation of humility.”  Quote by Saint Augustine

The last thing I want to share with you that I learned about the pit is this.  It is the frosting on the cake; it is the best part; it makes everything sweeter; it is a Big Bonus!  Last night my family celebrated my birthday with an evening out, at a local pizza restaurant.  My niece, Erica, made my birthday cake.  She’s makes great cakes.  She made me an  m&m cake (If you knew me, you would know that I really like m&m’s).  It was so good.  It would have been great without the frosting, but THAT INCH THICK CHOCOLATE FROSTING made it really sweet! 

So, not only have I learned the previous 4 lessons.  I have learned, or maybe I should say, I have been reminded of THE SWEETEST THING OF ALL! 

You don’t have to Live In The Pit!  Sometimes we can slip in so far that it feels like we’ll never get out.  We can become so accustom to the pit, we think we can’t function outside of it, or we can’t (or we don’t want to) work up the energy to get out.

I have  GREAT NEWS for YOU (and me)!  On Day 4 you read Romans chapter 8.  Let me just hi-light for you.

• There is NO  CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ Jesus. vs 1
• We are not CONTROLLED by the sinful nature. vs 9
• The Spirit himself TESTIFIES with our spirit that WE ARE God’s children (Daughter’s of God). vs 16
• Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that WILL be revealed to us. vs 18
• The Spirit HELPS us in our weakness.  He INTERCEDES for us in accordance with God’s will. vs 26,27

I love point 5 above.  The Spirit intercedes for us, in accordance with God’s will.  That’s Great!  I can use a lot of that!  What about you?

• We are MORE THAN CONQUERORS through Him who loved us, AND NOTHING CAN SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD! vs 37-39

Again, I say That’s Great!  If all that doesn’t make us want to live life through the Spirit, what does?

How do we get out of the pit?  Read Psalm 27.  Fill in the blanks below for verse 4.

“One _________ I ask of ______ _________,

This is what ____ _________:

That I may _______ in the _______ of the Lord

All the ______ ____ ____ _____,

To gaze upon the _______ of the Lord

And to _____ _____ in his temple.”  NIV

Read Luke 10:41-42.  In your own words, write what you feel Jesus is telling Martha.

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In your own words answer the question:  How do we get out of the pit?

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The fourth thing I learned about the pit was that it causes stress.  There is a movie called The Nuns Story staring Audrey Hepburn.  It’s a great movie.  It’s about a Nun’s inner struggle with humility and losing herself to Jesus Christ.  This is a quote from the movie.  “Tension is the sign of an exhaustive inner struggle”.  My struggle came from within.  It was that sinful part of me (pride) struggling with the spiritual (the side that knew better because of Christ in me) side of me. 

The tension (stress) from that inner struggle comes out in different ways, and it will come out.  It can come out physically, mentally and spiritually.  We can become physically ill.  Our minds can become confused, foggy and we have difficulty making good decisions.  As women, we can become more emotional than is normal.  We can develop a short fuse.  We can become critical and judgemental.  The list can go on and on.  We become slaves to that inner struggle.  We all have those inner struggles at one time or another in our lives.  Everything that happens in the midst of this becomes intensified.  It could be a family member passing away (as in my case), an illness in the family, the fact that we are over committed or just everyday life.  There is a reason the sinful nature and the Spirit are in conflict with one another.  Read the following passage of scripture and write down why they are in conflict.  

Galatians 5:16-17

“So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.  For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature.  They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.”  NIV

The Spirit and the sinful nature are in conflict with one another, so  ________________________!

I think that this is an important issue in our lives, as women.  I think it is important because the Lord wants us to enjoy our lives by finding our joy in Him. If we are not focused on Him in our daily lives, for whatever reason, we lose sight of this.

Today, I want to leave you with a statement and Scripture to ponder.

Statement:  It is difficult to be spiritually fit when we have issues (or inner struggles) in our lives to deal with.  With the same heart we are hiding what needs to be dealt with, is the same heart we are trying to love God, and others with. 

Scripture to Ponder:  Read Romans chapter 8.  We have the ministry of the Holy Spirit to guide us because we are Christ’s Daughters (see Romans 8:16).  Wow, and Praise God!  

In Day 2, I began my story for you, hi-lighting 3 defining moments.  Before I finish my story, I want to stop and talk about something that I did extremely well, in the situation, I found myself in.  That is, I very quickly dug myself a pit when I experienced my Family Offender crisis.  It is so easy to do when we focus on how a particular situation is affecting us personally.  The crazy thing is that we walk right into the pit with our eyes wide open.  Once we get in the pit, it’s hard to get out.

We lived on a farm, when I was a teenager.  One day, my dad sent me to shovel the manure out of the hog barn. Silly me, I set off to do what I was asked to do, with my flip-flops on my feet.  What I did was scoop the manure directly out the door onto the ground (silly me again).  At one point, I stepped out the door into the manure and (oh no, silly me again) I got my foot stuck in the manure. I struggled for awhile to pull my foot out.   Finally I pulled my foot out of the stinky stuff, but lost my flip-flop.  If I had the correct equipment on (a pair of boots), and would have shoveled out away from the door (instead of scooping directly outside the door), I might not have struggled so hard to pull my foot out, and would not have lost my shoe.  I might also add that I had to shovel, a second time, away from the door.  Yes, Silly Me!

The first thing I learned about the pit I had dug for myself was that the equipment I used to handle the situation, was faulty.  I made the mistake of thinking I could fix this person,  and could handle the situation myself.  In reality, I was relying on myself instead of relying on the Lord and I was just moving the stinky mess around.

Read the following passages of Scripture and fill in the blanks.

Psalm 69:1-2

“_ _ _ _ me, O God, for the waters have come up to my _ _ _ _.  I sink in the miry depths, where there is _ _   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.”  NIV

The second thing I learned about the pit was that If I had not been focusing on myself (how the situation was affecting me and my world), I would not have dug the pit.  This is called pride, which is, totally, at the opposite end of the spectrum from humility (which we will discuss later)

Hebrews 12:2

“Let us _ _ _ our eyes on _ _ _ _ _, the _ _ _ _ _ _ and _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ of our faith, who for the joy set before him _ _ _ _ _ _ _ the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  NIV

The third thing I learned about the pit was that revenge is not a good thing.  What happens in a situation like this?  We keep running the offense over and over in our minds until we make it an issue in our hearts.  (see Proverbs 4:23)

Romans 12:16-19

“Live in _ _ _ _ _ _ _ with one another.  Do not be _ _ _ _ _, but be willing to associate with people of low position.  Do not be _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.  Do not  repay anyone evil for evil.  Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.  If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  Do not take revenge…”  NIV

I will try to make this as brief as possible, but I feel I need to start at a point so that all of this will make some sense.  It was on New Years day 2005.  We were spending New Years with my parents (a 3 1/2 hour drive from where we live).  I received a call from a family member about something another family member had done to upset (I really mean upset!) the family.  It was incredibly foolish of this person to do and say what they did.  I think it would have blown over very quickly, except for the fact that the offending person denied the offense numerous times.  It really was a mess, for a long time.  It affected all of our family gatherings, and really affected me personally.  I asked this person to please stop trying to lie about what happened and even dared ask that they apologize.  It became apparent that this was never going to happen.  So, I took it upon myself to try and teach this person a lesson by setting some boundaries, among other things.  BIG MISTAKE!  Have you watched the television show Everybody Loves Raymond?  If you have, you know Raymond’s mother Marie and his wife Debra.  I felt like Debra trying to take on Marie.  No matter how hard I tried to expose this person in my family for who they are and what kind of stuff they are capable of, I ended up being made out to be the guilty person.  My husband told me my problem was, “I didn’t have it in me to be as ruthless and manipulative as the offender”. 

Anyway, right in the middle of all of this, my father became ill and passed away in August of 2005.  They say the grieving process can take up to four years.  I think I hit it right down to the minute.  Now, in August of 2005, I’m missing my daddy and pondering my own mortality, along with an anger issue that’s hiding somewhere in my heart.  At one point all I could think about was, Lord, I don’t want to waste the rest of my life, and I would play over in my mind, what can can I say or do to this family offender to put him (or her) in their place.   As time went on I moved through the grief process, and it had been long enough since the offense in the family that it was somewhat out of sight and out of mind.  I began to really feel like the Lord was drawing close and I was desiring very much to deepen my relationship with Him.  I felt my focus changing from ME to HIM.    I was seeking and praying and asking the Lord For A Deeper Walk ~ A Deeper Walk In The Holy Spirit.  I was reading and  studying the Word, on a regular basis.  In Sunday school class and in my Pastor’s sermons, I would be drawn to hear in my mind and heart,  Holy Spirit…Holy Spirit.  I just couldn’t think about anything else.  Another thing I was noticing about myself, was that during all of this I was becoming very critical and judgemental.  Everything seemed to be intensified (all a part of my lingering anger issue, which will be discussed later). 

We had gone to our Daughter’s Church one Sunday and as I was waiting on our group to assemble,  I was looking around in the Church book store. Staring me in the face was the Pastor’s teaching Cd’s on The Holy Spirit.   So, I bought them.  They really were a great resource.  So now, I’m thinking this is great.  I’m learning, I’m being enlightened and I really feel good about all of this.  My husband was mentoring me as we were listening to the Cd’s.  Instead of thinking Lord, I don’t want to waste the rest of my life, I was thinking Lord, I can only imagine what you are going to do.  I wanted everything the Holy Spirit had to offer.  Pretty positive turn around, don’t you think?  That’s what I thought, but it was just the beginning.  I’ve learned that the Lord is always teaching us.  Remember the quote from yesterday?  “There has yet to be a book written, Humility and How I Achieved It.” 

Next, in the tale of my defining moments, I had dinner with a friend that was in town for an evening.  As we talked, we began to realize that we were both seeking the same thing.  We were both desiring a close, intimate walk in the Spirit.  She told me about a book she had read titled Absolute Surrender by Andrew Murray, and how it had impacted her life.  So, I went home and ordered it.  When I received the book, there was an added bonus.  It was not only Andrew Murray’s Absolute Surrender, it was Humility and Absolute Surrender.  The Lord always knows what we need and what is best for us, doesn’t He?

So far my defining moments are:  A Family Offender crisis;  The death of my Father; and Dinner with a Friend + A Great Book.

Today, I ask you to ponder on two passages of Scripture.  Open your Bible, and read them for yourself.  The first is James 4:8, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”  I said, above, that I really felt the Lord drawing close to me.  Part of the reason for that was that I was drawing myself to Him.  The second passage of Scripture is:

“Have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus:

who emptied himself, taking the form of a servant;

and humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death.”

Philippians 2:5-8

Write down your own thoughts about these two passages of Scripture.

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What is a defining moment? 

To define means:  “a: to determine or identify the essential qualities or meaning of<whatever defines us as human>b: to discover and set forth the meaning of.  You define yourself by the choices you make… Characterize or Distinguish yourself.”  Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (definitions for define and moment)

Moment means: “a:  a minute portion or point of time: An Instant b:  a brief period of time.”  As in 1 Corinthians 15:52  “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”  “The ‘Greek word for moment is ‘atomos.”  If I understand it correctly, it means the very smallest particle of matter.  In this passage of scripture I take it to mean, when Christ comes it will be very sudden without advance notice.  ‘Greek translation taken from The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible. 

I believe that our lives as Christians are made up of many moments, that continue to define who we are.  In these moments we make choices that distinguish us, that shape our character as we press on  to BECOME like Christ.   Twenty five years ago my life looked very different from the way it looks today.  Many times, I did not consider the consequences of my decisions.  Every choice we make has consequential results, good or bad.  Our choices affect the outcome of our lives.  Our choices affect our families.  Our choices affect our relationship with Christ, our intimacy with Him and the progress we make toward becoming like Him.

What does a defining moment look like?

For a woman named Ruth, who was born and raised in a pagen’ culture (Moab),  we can see some of her defining moments and only imagine others.  What we can see is that one of her most important defining moments was her decision (choice) to marry into a family from Bethlehem-Judah, that traveled to Moab’ because of a famine in their land.  After her father-in-law and husband died, her defining moment was to make a choice between her old life of living with the gods of her land, or following her mother-in-law and the living God of Israel back to Bethlehem-Judah.  We know that she came to know the living God of Israel and she entered the family of God through the redemptive act of a kinsman-redeemer.  It is through Ruth’s story that we see the power and demonstration of God’s grace and redemption.

Tomorrow I will share with you, what some of my defining moments look like.  Your assignment today is to write down the defining moment, or event, that I asked you to think of.  Did you make a decision as a result of the defining moment, or event?  Did your defining moment, or event, bring about a change(s) in your life?  __________________________________________________________________________

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Quote to Ponder:  “Humility is a paradox.  The moment you think you’ve finally found it, you’ve lost it.  There has yet to be written a book titled, Humility and How I Achieved It.  And yet, God expects (and rewards) an attitude of servant-like humility in His followers.”    Author Unknown