Loving Jesus Style

  Scripture: Micah 6:8 (ESV) 8  He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you        but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Devotion:             In this short but powerful verse, God himself speaks these words through the mouthpiece of His prophet, Micah. God has just finished telling the people that He does not need their animal and oil sacrifices, no matter how vast the quantity. The people he addressed had mistaken ideas of what God required from them in their worship. God had told and shown them all through their history of walking with Him that He cared more for the state of their souls than all the sacrifices they could offer Him.                   Don’t we make the same mistake today? It seems the church always stresses the form and c...

  Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (ESV) Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Devotion:             Weakness is usually not a trait that we boast about in our society. Both men and women are taught that being strong and in command is the way to get ahead. Everyone likes to be seen as competent and confident. That fact is why today’s scripture seems so out of place. Paul, here, is not only admitting that he is weak and subject to all kinds of indignities but is proud of that fact. The fact that Jesus himself tells Paul to be proud of his weaknesses in the verses preceding the ones we are considering here does little to change our modern sense that one ought not to be proud of one's weakness. ...

Scripture: Proverbs 16:18-19 (ESV) 18           Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.             19           It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud.   Devotion:             The meaning of the word pride has changed dramatically in our present age. To the author of the book of Proverbs, pride was a sin. Today, pride is almost always used in a positive sense. What has changed and why? The answer can be found in today’s pair of proverbs. The usage in verse 18 is purely negative. The opposite of pride is “lowly spirit,” which is found in verse 19. This pair of proverbs not only defines pride but also underscores the importance of humility in the Christian faith.     ...