Proud vs. Broken People

Excellent tool:  Nancy Leigh DeMoss’ produced a list (PDF) years ago which ” contrasts characteristics of proud, unbroken people whom are resistant to the call of God on their lives with the qualities of broken, humble people who have experienced God’s revival. Read each item on the list as you ask God to reveal which characteristics of a proud spirit He finds in your life. Confess these to Him, and then ask Him to restore the corresponding quality of a broken, humble spirit in you. ”   Here is the list in chart form courtesy of Feeding on Christ.

Proud, Unbroken People	Broken People
1. Focus on the failure of others	1. Are overwhelmed with their own spiritual need (Matthew 5:3, 7:3-5, Luke 18:9-14)
2. Are self righteous; have a critical, fault finding spirit; look at own life/faults with a telescope but others with a microscope	2. Are compassionate; have a forgiving spirit; look for the best in others (Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 3:12)
3. Look down, in a condescending spirit, at others	3. Esteem all others as better than self (Phil. 2:3, Rom. 12:10)
4. Are independent; have desires for everyone else to meet own personal needs	4. Are dependent on God and His grace; recognize others’ needs and seek to meet them (2 Cor. 3:4-6, Phil. 2:4)
5. Always manipulating circumstances to maintain control; must have everyone do it their way	5. Surrenders control by giving freedom for others to do or see things differently (Rom. 12:1-2)
6. Have to prove they are always right	6. Are willing to yield to the possibility that they could be wrong, and thus, yield the need to always prove they are right(Rom. 15:2)
7. Claiming personal rights	7. Yielding personal rights (Eph. 5:21)
8. Display a demanding spirit	8. Have a giving spirit (Rom. 12:13)
9. Self-protective of time, rights, reputation	9. Are self-denying (Luke 9:23)
10. Desire to be served	10. Are motivated to serve others (Matt. 20:26-28, Phil. 2:20-21)
11. Desire to be a success	11. Desire to be faithful to make others a success (John 3:30)
12. Desire for self-advancement	12 Desire to promote others (John 3:3)).
13. Are driven to be recognized and appreciated	Have a sense of unworthiness; are thrilled to be used at all; eager for others to get credit, honors and awards (I Tim. 1:12-16)
14. Cringe when others in the same field are praised, wishing it was them	14. Rejoice when others are lifted up (Rom. 12:15)
15. Think ‘the ministry is privileged to have me!’	15. Think ‘I don’t deserve to serve in this ministry (2 Cor. 4:7)
16. Think of what they can do for God	16. Know they can offer nothing to God, and seek for God to work through them in His power (Phil. 3:8-9, Titus 3:5)
17. Feel confident in how much they know	17. Are humbled by how much they have not learned and wish to learn (Phil. 3:12, Prov. 1:7)
18. Are self conscious	18. Have little concern with how others view them (Gal. 1:10)
19. Keep people at arm’s length	19. Risk getting close to others; are willing to take those risks for the sake of love for others (2 Cor. 6:11-12)
20. Are quick to blame others	20. Accept personal responsibility; can see and acknowledge personal failure (Matthew 7)
21. Are concerned with being ‘respectable’	21. Are concerned with being real (2 Cor. 4:3-5).
22. Are concerned about what others think	22. Know all that matters is God and what He knows (I Cor. 4:3-5)
23. Work hard to maintain image and protect reputation	23. Die to own reputation (Phil. 3:7, Rom. 14:7)
24. Find it difficult to share their spiritual needs with others	24. Are willing to be transparent with others (2 Cor. 1:12)
25. Want to be sure no one finds aout about their sin	Are willing to acknowledge and confess one’s sin; brokenness is the ultimate sign of personal success (Ps. 51:17)
26. Have a hard time saying, ‘I was wrong. Will you forgive me’	Are quick to admit fault and seek forgiveness (I John 1:9, James 5:1)
27. Deal in generalities when confession sin	27. Deal in specifics (Ps. 51:17)
28. Are concerned about the consequences of their sin	28. Are grived over the root of their sin (Ps. 51:5)
29. Wait for other party to come and ask forgiveness in a conflict	29. Take the initiative to be reconciled; gets their first (Matthew 5:23-24)
30. Compare themselves with others and feel deserving of honore	30. Compare themselves with God and feel desparate for mercy (Luke 18:9-14)
31. Are blind to their true heart condition	31. Walk in the light of true knowledge concerning their own hearts (I John 1:6-7).
32. Do not display any spirit of repentance, because they don’t need it	32. Continually display a spirit of repentance, sensing their need for fresh encounters with God and the filling of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5;18), Gal 5:16)
33. Spent time reading these words and wondering if _____________ was reading it	33. Thanked the Lord for using words on the internet to bring brokenness to their lives.

 

 

Read Full Post »

Has tolerance now intolerant?

Ravi Zacharias speaks at UCLA to a packed auditorium:

Read Full Post »

Spring and sanctification: both are inevitable!

Elisha notes spring is inevitable

“This has been the week when the color of life has changed. We have been watching closely, knowing it was coming. A few days ago buds were forming on the trees, and branches, though still brown, had subtly changed shape as bud concealed blossom. Every spring, though expectant, there is always the delight of one day waking up, looking out, and life has changed color.

What yesterday was barren is today fresh, green, flowering, altogether new.

I was commenting to a neighborhood friend that even though I always know spring is coming and the process has begun, it always seems so sudden when the landscape changes and, one day, the trees are adorned in flowering buds. “Well,” my friend mused, “it was never a question of if, it was always a question of when.”

My mind replayed her words. It was never a question of if, it was always a question of when.

And this is, according to Elisha, an analogy about “The Inevitability of Sanctification“

Read Full Post »

Do you really understand the cross?

Does anyone truly understand the message of the cross apart from brokenness, contrition, repentance, and faith? To repeat rather mechanically the nature of the transaction that Christians think took place at Golgotha is one thing; to look at God and his holiness, and people and their sin, from the perspective of the cross, is life-changing.

— D. A. Carson, The Cross and Christian Ministry (Grand Rapids, Mi.: Baker Books, 2003), 64

Read Full Post »

That was strange (fire)

R. C. Sproul has an article about an OT story about two priests who offered strange fire–an incident which costs them their lives.  In “Strange Fire”, R. C.  answers questions such as:  1) Why was it strange fire?  2) Did God act too harshly in killing these new priests  3) and did God do anything previously that would have tipped them off to such judgment?

Here’s a choice quote:

One aspect of the modern church that most saddens and concerns me is that believers are no longer encouraged to have a healthy fear of God. We seem to assume that the fear of the Lord is something that belonged to the Old Testament period and is not to be a part of the life of the Christian. But fear of God involves not simply a trembling before His wrath, but a sense of reverence and awe because of His glorious holiness.

Even though we are living on the finished side of the cross, the fear of the Lord is still the beginning of wisdom (Ps. 111:10a). God is still a consuming fire, a jealous God (Deut. 4:24). When we come into His presence, we are to come as children, as those who have been reconciled, but there is to be a godly fear inspired by respect for the One with whom we are dealing.

Read Full Post »

How to respond to homosexuals in the workplace

Jesse Johnson offers six suggestions here of how Christians should respond to homosexuals in the workplace. The comment section is very interesting as well.

Read Full Post »

There is nothing that. . .

Oh that the Christian reader would seriously consider these twelve things:

There is nothing that the great God hates–but sin.

There is nothing that He has revealed His wrath from heaven against–but sin.

There is nothing that crucifies the Lord of glory afresh–but sin.

There is nothing that grieves the Spirit of grace–but sin.

There is nothing that wounds the conscience–but sin.

There is nothing that clouds the face of God–but sin.

There is nothing that hinders the return of prayer–but sin.

There is nothing that interrupts our communion with God–but sin.

There is nothing that embitters our mercies–but sin.

There is nothing that puts a sting into all our troubles and trials–but sin.

There is nothing that renders us unserviceable in our places, stations, and conditions–but sin.

 

There is nothing that makes death the king of terrors, and the terror of kings, to be so formidable and terrible to the sons of men, as sin. And therefore under all your sorrows and sufferings, crosses and losses–make it your great business . . .
to arm yourselves against sin,
and to pray against sin,
and to watch against sin,
and to turn from sin,
and to cease from sin,
and to get rid of sin,
and to stand forever in defiance of sin!

The complete works of Thomas Brooks – Volume 6 – Page 276  

HT: REF21

Read Full Post »

Our military: Evangelize but not proselytize?

Gene Veith has the latest on the ability of Christian servicemen and servicewomen to witness to others in the military and asks among other things, “Who is going to determine what is what?”

Read Full Post »

Life: not this but this. . .

HT: Facets of Grace

Read Full Post »

Joy, a violin and a tuning fork

Tony Reinke on “The Tuning Fork of the Soul” (just an excerpt):

The heart, let’s say, is a violin — a beautiful and delicate instrument made to make beautiful pleasing notes in the ear of its Maker. Previously stringless and useless, now refurbished in Christ, the violin fluctuates daily, finds itself so often out of tune, expands and contracts by the humidity or dryness of the seasons and the situation. Every day, several times throughout the day, the soul must be re-tuned again.

Joy in God is the pitch for our lives. Every day, several times throughout the day, the soul must be re-tuned again. But joy is the aim

This metaphor is especially striking when we assume our screeching, scratching tuneless heart-conditions cannot be justified by our circumstances. Rejoicing in God is a 24/7 command. The pitchfork hum is the sound of Philippians 4:4 — “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”

This means joy transcends circumstances, and prepares us for what’s to come our way in life, writes Puritan Richard Sibbes. Here’s how he said it in a sermon:

What is our life without joy? Without joy we can do nothing. We are like an instrument out of tune. An instrument out of tune it yields but harsh music. Without joy we are out of joint. We can do nothing well without joy, and a good conscience, which is the ground of joy. Without joy we cannot suffer afflictions. We cannot die well without it. Without joy, and the ground of joy, we can neither do, nor suffer, anything.¹

This is why joy is the pitchfork hum we aspire to live in without ceasing. Joy is how we gauge the spiritual condition of our souls. Joy is the aim. Joy is the goal. Joy in God is the tuning fork for our hearts, and our shared joy is a mutual symphony to our Maker’s glory. Joy is not the frosting over the highlights of our lives, it’s the tune God intends for our 24/7 lives.

¹ Richard Sibbes, Works, 3:223.

 

Read Full Post »