Bulletin

House Cleaning

““When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”” (Luke 11:24–26)

A man who seeks after Christ but wants him on his own terms will never find Him. This passage from Luke reminds me of the addict who works hard to become clean. He will get all cleaned up and start a new life, sometimes reaching great heights in his job and life. Then he falls back into his addiction, and it becomes even harder for him to escape it the next time he tries. When man relies upon himself and not Christ, he is doomed to fail. A man such as this quickly succumbs to his own destruction.

We must realize that we, in our own power, cannot overcome the temptations of this world unless we place our love of God above all.

Paul, when addressing the church at Philippi about their generosity and how he has learned to be content in every situation, wrote, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13).

Are we walking daily in the Word and Prayer to strengthen us in who we are in Christ?

Humbled Before God

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:3–8, ESV)

In the world today does one even know what true humility is? Jesus demonstrated it for us as noted in scripture, our example is He.

When one of the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, His response was, “Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9–10)

Jesus focused their attention, not on themselves or on their needs, but on God. Our prayers reflect the way that we view Him. And the first thing we are to ask is for God's will to be done rather than our own.

Prayers that are not prayed in submission to God's will cannot be proper prayers. Prayer is not a means for us to get our own way, or to receive what we think we deserve. Prayers that put our will first are dangerous. They may be answered, but we will not be pleased with the result. When the Israelites decided they were tired of having manna drop from Heaven day after day and insisted on having meat to eat, God sent quails into the camp in huge numbers. Yet the psalmist warns “he gave them what they asked, but sent a wasting disease among them.” (Psalm 106:15, ESV)

Humility is asking for what God wants us to have first, our prayers are protected from getting us something that will not be for our good. It is perfectly acceptable to let God know what we would prefer (indeed He already knows even before we pray), but that must always be secondary to what He knows will be best for us.

When we approach God in prayer, we must do it in all humility, acknowledging He is God and our provider who knows what is best for us.