pride PROBLEM

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

ARE YOU SEEKING?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

“A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.”

― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Pride.

The BIBLE warns us about it.

Proverbs 16:18

Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

But our culture sure glorifies it huh?

“Everybody look at me!” “I’m the man!”Plastic surgery, Botox injections, reality TV, everyone is an EXPERT, striving to be noticed, put on a pedestal, and glorified. Everyone looking for their 15 minutes.

We even glorify dysfunction. Divorces and bad relationships get the ratings. We watch shows where others are humiliated, punk’d, and “dissed”. As long as “WE” end up on top that is all that matters!

What is wrong with this picture?

It is, to coin a phrase from my good buddy Tom Thompson, “JACKED UP.”

Truth is GOD is not a fan…

James 4:6

That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble.”^[a]

Instead, Jesus' life exemplified humility; in fact He cloaked himself with humanity choosing a path of humility and service not arrogance and haughtiness.

Philippians 2:5-7

Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

⁵ In your life together, think the way Christ Jesus thought.

⁶ He was like God in every way,
but he did not think that his being equal with God was something to use for his own benefit.
⁷ Instead, he gave up everything, even his place with God.
He accepted the role of a servant, appearing in human form.
During his life as a man,

We need to do the same!

Never forget, Christ was the leader of a counter-cultural revolution and HE STILL LEADS US in the same way.

Clearly our world does not value an attitude or lifestyle of humility; rather, our culture applauds high achievement, outward beauty, elevated positions, and exceptional skills. But God assures us that if we choose meekness - living in submission to Jesus as Master of our lives - He will reward us in both this life and the life to come!

Matthew 5:5

Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

⁵ Great blessings belong to those who are humble.

I know it is tough in a culture that preaches pride to go against the grain.

I know it is tough to be patient, to remain in the backseat while CHRIST DOES THE DRIVING, but trust me when I say that when we humble ourselves before the Lord and yield to His authority, and choose to obey Him, He will be our source of confidence and strength.

He won’t steer you wrong! Trust Him!

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Put down the pride.

Have a blessed day!

I love you all.

Freedom Church

Pastor GDelaney

TRADITION TRAP

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

ARE YOU SEEKING?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

I spent a little time yesterday with someone who is early in his recovery. And as we were in the car, he shared a little observation. To paraphrase... he was discovering that even though he felt like he “knew” the WORD, that he “grew up” DOING church, that GOD through this recovery experience was revealing HIMSELF to him through the WORD.

He even went so far as to label his “church” experience up until now as an exercise in tradition rather than a pursuit of truth and GOD.

Boy could I relate to that.

So I have a question for us today. Is our time with GOD more about “habit and tradition” or is it about cultivating a relationship and seeking to know Him intimately?

Are we more about what we “do” (church attendance, camp in the summer) to please GOD rather than embracing a "moment by moment" focused and loving relationship with Him?

You see a healthy, growing faith is always focused on the person of God Himself. A healthy faith begins and ends in God, not in traditions, the “do’s and don’ts and duty. GOD, not religious customs, should be at the core of a robust Christian faith and is essential to a successful recovery!

Step 3 makes that clear!

Step 3: We took a decision to turn our life and will over to the care of God.

Romans 12

The Message (MSG)

Romans 12

Place Your Life Before God

^1-2 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

I love the way Peterson puts this verse in the MESSAGE. It is about a minute by minute relationship with GOD, “our ordinary life.” There is no mention of tradition or regulations. GOD is asking us to hang out with Him but more importantly to defer to HIM for our choices, decisions, and our attention!

We are to lessen our attention from trying to perform and conform out of obligation and instead choose Christ’s way, which asks us to love God with all our heart, mind, and soul.

Mark 12:30

New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

³⁰Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’^[a]

Simply put, GOD wants us to EXPERIENCE His love and get to know Him INTIMATELY and that takes elevating our view and perspective of HIM beyond the “subject at church” to friend, mentor, confidant and guide! That is what He wants from us!

2 Corinthians 5:20

…Become friends with God; he's already a friend with you.

So, grow closer to Him. Make Him—not your “good deeds”, customs or anyone or anything else—the focus of your life. You’ll never regret it. Focus on Him and find rest peace but more importantly THE RELATIONSHIP and friendship that will sustain you day after day!

Have a blessed weekend!

I love you all.

Freedom Church

Pastor GDelaney

ASK FOR HELP!

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

ARE YOU SEEKING?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

I think we all intellectually “get” spiritual warfare.

Temptation, sin, challenges, the lures and trappings of a sinful world are around every corner, behind the next building, one channel away, or up the street bathed in neon lights. We get that. Sometimes we don’t want to admit its potential impact on us, but we do “get” that the "option" for sinful behavior permeates every nook and cranny of our culture.

I also believe that we understand that these temptations are vying for our attention 24/7, 365!

So "let’s be real" for a second.

There are times for all of us where this battle for our minds and our decisions seems impossible to win. There are occasions when the pull of the temptation feels too strong and the enticement is well, just too “enticing”. We all have moments where the words of the enemy seem sweeter, more persuasive, and more convincing.

And when that happens, we can’t fool ourselves into thinking we can handle an advance from the enemy like that alone.

We MUST PAUSE and ASK FOR HELP!

Way too often we feel that we alone can weather the temptation. Too often our pride gets in the way.

We fool ourselves into thinking we can “resist” the temptation on our own.

And WE KNOW 99 times out of 100 THAT DOESN’T CUT IT!

Come on...I said "let's be real" for a second.

Trust me!

Take it from someone who has tried to “white-knuckle” my way through a night without drinking, who has driven past “the club” at 7pm only to return at 9pm, fighting this battle alone just doesn’t work.

We must utilize our HELP! For it is FROM our help (“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-presenthelp in trouble – Psalm 46) that we can not only weather the challenge, but we can overcome them!

Don’t think so…think again!

Romans 7:24-8:13

The Message (MSG)

²⁴I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question?

²⁵The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.

Romans 8

The Solution Is Life on God's Terms

^1-2With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ's being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.

There is NO QUESTION that this battle for the hearts and minds of those who love Jesus is raging. I have had several conversations this week with dear friends who are weary from the attack. I witnessed it first-hand yesterday as a dear brother wilted under the weight of temptation and sin and ran away from his help.

I know I have fought and lost many battles already this week.

That is why I want to encourage all of us to PAUSE and ASK FOR HELP!

Our Lord, our Savior, our intercessor is not a stranger to the temptations, the lures, the exhaustion, the battle and the intensity of our struggle. He has "been there, done that" and has great compassion for our situation!

HEBREWS 4:

The High Priest Who Cried Out in Pain

^14-16Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let's not let it slip through our fingers. We don't have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let's walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.

So take that scripture, that truth to heart today. If you’re personal battle is furious; if temptation and sin are pelting you from every side, WALK RIGHT UP AND GET WHAT HE WANTS TO GIVE…HIS LOVE, HIS HELP!

“His love is deep His love is wide

And it covers us

His love is fierce His love is strong

It is furious

His love is sweet His love is wild

And its waking (and bringing) hearts to life!”

I love you all.

Have a blessed day

Freedom Church

Pastor GDelaney

FAN the FLAME!

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

ARE YOU SEEKING?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

“Just ain’t feelin’ it.”

The excitement has died down. It’s been a while since that “day”. Life has done what life does and has returned to its normal ebb and flow.

Get up…coffee…kids to school…coffee…go to work…eat my lunch…come home…soccer practice…guitar lessons…warm-up a left-over or two…back to bed…get ready to repeat tomorrow.

Church Sunday…Meeting Monday…Meeting Friday…Church Sunday…

Sigh…..

You are settled in.

Oh the recovery is “fine”. My situation is “fine”. The meetings are "fine". Even church is “fine”.

Be careful when everything is “just fine.” Watch out when things are not too hot…not too cold… and are just “fine” there GOLDILOCKS...

Why?

Because GOD is not a fan of “just fine”. He asks more of us!

He even warns us about being “lukewarm” aka “fine”in our walk and in our faith!

Revelation 3:16

So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

We are not “designed for JUST FINE”.

HAIR IS FINE! But believers, CHRIST FOLLOWERS, and RECOVERS are to be PASSIONATE!

We are to be continuously FANNING the FLAME of the excitement and passion we felt and experience when GOD pulled us out of our mess!

We MUST DAILY remember…

Titus 3:3-8

It wasn't so long ago that we ourselves were stupid and stubborn, dupes of sin, ordered every which way by our glands, going around with a chip on our shoulder, hated and hating back. But when God, our kind and loving Savior God, stepped in, he saved us from all that. It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit. Our Savior Jesus poured out new life so generously. God's gift has restored our relationship with him and given us back our lives. And there's more life to come—an eternity of life! You can count on this.

So ask yourself this morning. Have I “settled in”? Have I become comfortable with the routine? Am I okay with being “fine”?

If so, re-stoke your passion and get back to fanning that flame!

Luke 10:27

²⁷He said, "That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself."

²⁸"Good answer!" said Jesus. "Do it and you'll live."

Devote time this morning to stir the coals of your passion and devotion to the GOD who saved you! Encourage yourself in HIS WORD this morning!

Cross references:

A.Isaiah 41:10 : Deut 20:1; 31:6; Josh 1:9; Ps 27:1; Is 41:13, 14; 43:2, 5; Rom 8:31

B.Isaiah 41:10 : Is 41:14; 44:2; 49:8

C.Isaiah 41:10 : Ps 89:13, 14

Don’t settle for a lukewarm life; for being just “fine”, that is way too dangerous to consider!

Instead let’s reignite our pursuit and passion for Him today!

Lamentations 5:21

Amplified Bible (AMP)

²¹Turn us to Yourself, O Lord, and we shall be turned and restored! Renew our days...

Have a blessed day!

I love you all.

Freedom Church

Pastor GDelaney

COUNTERPUNCH!

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

ARE YOU SEEKING?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

Chaos.

Unrest.

Confusion.

What is around the corner? When is the next shoe going to fall? Is the next encounter just another disappointment?

Anxiety and trepidation got you on your heels?

I know some of you are experiencing these things.

Some of you are facing them right now as you spread the cream cheese on the bagel or pour the milk on your RICE KRISPIES you are thinking to yourself what “surprise”, what message of bad news, what unexpected punch to the gut is lurking outside the front door today?

My question is are you going to stand there and “take it” or would you rather counterpunch that chaos with some tactical truth?

Start with this little jab…

John 14:1
[ Jesus Comforts His Disciples ] “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God ; believe also in me.

John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not beafraid.

Anxiety taking a swing?

Duck and pound it backwards!

Philippians 4:6-7

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus

Got worry attempting a sneak shot from the side? Give it the bob and weave, it’s got NOTHIN’

Matthew 6:25

New Life Version (NLV)

Jesus Teaches about Cares of Life

²⁵ “I tell you this: Do not worry about your life. Do not worry about what you are going to eat and drink. Do not worry about what you are going to wear. Is not life more important than food? Is not the body more important than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds in the sky. They do not plant seeds. They do not gather grain. They do not put grain into a building to keep. Yet your Father in heaven feeds them! Are you not more important than the birds? ²⁷ Which of you can make himself a little taller by worrying? ²⁸ Why should you worry about clothes? Think how the flowers grow. They do not work or make cloth. ²⁹ But I tell you that Solomon in all his greatness was not dressed as well as one of these flowers. ³⁰ God clothes the grass of the field. It lives today and is burned in the stove tomorrow. How much more will He give you clothes? You have so little faith! ³¹ Do not worry. Do not keep saying, ‘What will we eat?’or, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘What will we wear?’ ³²The people who do not know God are looking for all these things. Your Father in heaven knows you need all these things. ³³ First of all, look for the holy nation of God. Be right with Him. All these other things will be given to you also. ³⁴ Do not worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will have its own worries. The troubles we have in a day are enough for one day.

Uppercut of fear? Block and counterpunch it right in the mug!

2 Timothy 1:7

New Life Version (NLV)

⁷ For God did not give us a spirit of fear. He gave us a spirit of power and of love and of a good mind.

My friends the enemy can and will step into life’s ring with all the chaos, anxiety, worry and fear he can muster.

But you don’t have to stand there and take it!

You have been trained on the truth and in the face of TRUTH the enemy CAN’T stand!

So stand your ground and counterattack!

Get off your heels!

Beat the enemy at his own game. Thwart the lies with GOD’s all-powerful and all-sustaining truth. This truth is your haymaker and your knockout punch!

So let him have it!

John 8:32

32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

I love you all.

Freedom Church

Pastor GDelaney