“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” - Prov 16:18 (NIV)
Pride is an old enemy of mankind that we should all guard from. The story of the fall of Lucifer starts with his being so impressed with his beauty and apparent power that he found God of no much use. “Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the Earth. I made a spectacle of you before kings (Ezekiel 28: 17).
Just as back then the genesis of pride starts when one gets puffed up with himself usually based on some achievements or new status. “By your wisdom and understanding you have gained wealth for yourself and amassed gold and silver in your treasures. By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth and because of your wealth your heart has grown proud” (Ezekiel 28: 4-5).
With pride often comes consequences. Lucifer was thrown out of the kingdom of God and lonely has been beating about since looking for captives.
The thing with pride is the deception that you are in charge and no longer in need of God. This is what we see in many prosperous nations of the West that have literally thrown God out of their lives. And at an individual level of course it always happens once one of us believes he has arrived. Then why need God!
But let us be humble: for He is the source of life and anything worth counting is because of His grace. For as it was written, “He must increase; but I must decrease,” (John 3:39, ESV). Then humble God shall bless us even more.
Prayer for today: Lord Father in heaven, today I pray in the mighty name of Jesus of Nazareth, that I never let pride take captive of my life!
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08/05/2024 - 09/05/2024 All day“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15)
The culture of sharing gifts runs through scriptures and is at the heart of the Gospel. Upon realizing that Jesus Christ had been born the three wise main did not just go empty handed. “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh” (Mathew 2:11).
When Jacob decided to return to his country, he went with gifts to soften the heart of his twin brother Esau, whom he had left maddened at him for various wrongs. “Then he selected these gifts from his possessions to present to his brother, Esau: 200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams, 30 female camels with their young, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys, and 10 male donkeys” ( Genesis 32: 13-15). The reason was, Jacob thought, “I will try to appease him by sending gifts ahead of me. When I see him in person, perhaps he will be friendly to me.” So the gifts were sent on ahead, while Jacob himself spent that night in the camp” (vv 2—21).
Esau was already a wealthy man and had no need of the gifts presented. But Jacob pleaded with him. “Please take this gift I have brought you, for God has been very gracious to me. I have more than enough.” And because Jacob insisted, Esau finally accepted the gift” (Genesis 33: 11). This symbol of good touched Esau, brightened his heart, burying the old acrimonious relation.
Taking after these two instances believers should be in the habit of sharing gifts. We should visit each other not empty handed but like the wise men with gifts, not so much that those we are gifting are lacking, but as a way of blessing them. Proverbs 11:25-26, says, “Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.”
Most importantly we bless each other with gifts because we have received the most important gift there is in life, the gift of salvation. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, today I thank you for the most precious gift of all that you gave me of eternal life through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and so I pray that I may not hesitate to share this gift and bless those with as much whom you enable me to meet, this I pray in Jesus’ name.
