Showing posts with label Pride. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pride. Show all posts

Sunday, January 18, 2026

The Remedy for Pride

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit” — yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. (James 4:13–16)


James is talking about pride and arrogance and how they show up in subtle ways. “You boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.”


When you take three categories of temptation to self-reliance — wisdom, power, and riches — they form a powerful inducement toward the ultimate form of pride; namely, atheism. The safest way for us to stay supreme in our own estimation is to deny anything above us.


This is why the proud preoccupy themselves with looking down on others. C.S. Lewis said, “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” (Mere Christianity).


But to preserve pride, it may be simpler to just proclaim that there is nothing above to look at. “In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 10:4). Ultimately, the proud must persuade themselves that there is no God.


One reason for this is that God’s reality is overwhelmingly intrusive in all the details of life. Pride cannot tolerate the intimate involvement of God in running the universe, let alone the detailed, ordinary affairs of life.


Pride does not like the sovereignty of God. Therefore, pride does not like the existence of God, because God is sovereign. It might express this by saying, “There is no God.” Or it might express it by saying, “I am driving to Atlanta for Christmas.”


James says, “Don’t be so sure.” Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live, and we will get to Atlanta for Christmas.”


James’s point is that God rules over whether you get to Atlanta, and whether you live to the end of this devotional. This is extremely offensive to the self-sufficiency of pride — not even to have control over whether you get to the end of the devotional without having a stroke!


James says that not believing in the sovereign rights of God to manage the details of your future is arrogance.


The way to battle this arrogance is to yield to the sovereignty of God in all the details of life, and rest in his infallible promises to show himself mighty on our behalf (2 Chronicles 16:9), to pursue us with goodness and mercy every day (Psalm 23:6), to work for those who wait for him (Isaiah 64:4), and to equip us with all we need to live for his glory (Hebrews 13:21).


In other words, the remedy for pride is unwavering faith in God’s sovereign future grace.



John Piper 

Saturday, January 18, 2025

The Remedy for Pride



Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit” — yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. (James 4:13–16)

James is talking about pride and arrogance and how they show up in subtle ways. “You boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.”

When you take three categories of temptation to self-reliance — wisdom, power, and riches — they form a powerful inducement toward the ultimate form of pride; namely, atheism. The safest way for us to stay supreme in our own estimation is to deny anything above us.

This is why the proud preoccupy themselves with looking down on others. C.S. Lewis said, “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” (Mere Christianity).

But to preserve pride, it may be simpler to just proclaim that there is nothing above to look at. “In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 10:4). Ultimately, the proud must persuade themselves that there is no God.

One reason for this is that God’s reality is overwhelmingly intrusive in all the details of life. Pride cannot tolerate the intimate involvement of God in running the universe, let alone the detailed, ordinary affairs of life.

Pride does not like the sovereignty of God. Therefore, pride does not like the existence of God, because God is sovereign. It might express this by saying, “There is no God.” Or it might express it by saying, “I am driving to Atlanta for Christmas.”

James says, “Don’t be so sure.” Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live, and we will get to Atlanta for Christmas.”

James’s point is that God rules over whether you get to Atlanta, and whether you live to the end of this devotional. This is extremely offensive to the self-sufficiency of pride — not even to have control over whether you get to the end of the devotional without having a stroke!

James says that not believing in the sovereign rights of God to manage the details of your future is arrogance.

The way to battle this arrogance is to yield to the sovereignty of God in all the details of life, and rest in his infallible promises to show himself mighty on our behalf (2 Chronicles 16:9), to pursue us with goodness and mercy every day (Psalm 23:6), to work for those who wait for him (Isaiah 64:4), and to equip us with all we need to live for his glory (Hebrews 13:21).

In other words, the remedy for pride is unwavering faith in God’s sovereign future grace.

John Piper

Tuesday, August 27, 2024

Are You Following a Man-Made Religion?



PRAY OVER THIS

“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”
2 Timothy 3:1-5
 
PONDER THIS

You need to beware of the devilish pride of false religion. This is the pride that made the devil the devil. He’s self-centered. He said exactly the opposite of what the Son of God said. The devil said, “Not thy will, but mine be done.” This is the way the devil tempted Eve with the first temptation in the Garden of Eden. He essentially said, “If you will do this, you will be like God” (Genesis 3:5). He appealed to her pride.

All false and devilish religion is built on pride. We have a generation of people who are religious, but their religion is self-centered. It is focused on what I want from God, what I want Him to do, or what I think about Him. You need to examine yourself and assess whether you have repented of your sin and been broken in the dust before the Lord Jesus Christ. We must dethrone self and enthrone Jesus Christ. Most people in America are egomaniacs, strutting their way to Hell, thinking they’re too good to be bothered. They have never repented of their sin. They’ve never made Jesus Christ Lord. It is a man-made religion, and it is a false religion that will lead many astray.

What are some areas of pride in your life?
Why is it natural for us to lean toward pride over submission to Jesus?

PRACTICE THIS

Ask God to strip the pride from your heart and help you walk with Him.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Thursday, August 15, 2024

Are You Clothed with Humility or Pride?


PRAY OVER THIS


“But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?’” Acts 5:1-3

 

PONDER THIS


What can we learn from Ananias and Sapphira’s sin? It was rooted in pride. They wanted to be praised. They gave to be seen of men. They weren’t giving to Jesus; they were giving to themselves. When there is pride in your heart, you are a sitting duck for the devil. Pride, more than anything else, makes you putty in the devil’s hands.


Peter wrote in 1 Peter 5:5, “Be clothed with humility.” We are to wear humility like clothes. Then he said in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”


There is nothing that puts you further out of the devil’s reach than genuine humility. And there is nothing that makes you more susceptible to the machinations of the devil than pride. When you have pride in your heart, you share the very nature of the devil. Ananias and Sapphira allowed pride to seep into their hearts, just as pride came into the devil’s heart so long ago. Let us guard against making the same mistake.


What are some signs of pride you can identify in your life?

Who has been an example of genuine humility to you?


PRACTICE THIS


Talk to someone who has been an example of humility to you; ask your friend to share how to depend on Jesus for this.



LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Friday, June 21, 2024

Guard Against Pride in Religious Leadership


PRAY OVER THIS


“Another parable He spoke to them: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.’” Matthew 13:33

 

PONDER THIS


During His time on Earth, Jesus addressed various groups that were filled with pride. First were the Pharisees—the deeply religious people. They had heads full of Scripture but hearts full of sin. Their religion was external, not internal; they had laws but not life. The Sadducees said, we don’t believe in angels; we don’t believe in spirits; and we sure don’t believe in the resurrection. They were the sophisticated crowd. Herod was a pleasure-mad king: he lived in opulence, and he really didn’t care much for legalism or liberalism, he simply cared for himself. He was a lover of pleasure more than a lover of God.


Though we are far from Jesus’s time on Earth, we are near to these forms of pride—legalism, liberalism, and license. We must be on guard that these forms of pride don’t grow in our hearts and in our churches.


Which of these forms of pride do you see the most in yourself?

What results when these things come into the Church?


PRACTICE THIS


Pray for God’s protection over His Church and His people against legalism, liberalism, and license.



LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Thursday, January 18, 2024

The Remedy for Pride


Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit” — yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. (James 4:13–16)


James is talking about pride and arrogance and how they show up in subtle ways. “You boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.”


When you take three categories of temptation to self-reliance — wisdom, power, and riches — they form a powerful inducement toward the ultimate form of pride; namely, atheism. The safest way for us to stay supreme in our own estimation is to deny anything above us.


This is why the proud preoccupy themselves with looking down on others. C.S. Lewis said, “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” (Mere Christianity).


But to preserve pride, it may be simpler to just proclaim that there is nothing above to look at. “In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 10:4). Ultimately, the proud must persuade themselves that there is no God.


One reason for this is that God’s reality is overwhelmingly intrusive in all the details of life. Pride cannot tolerate the intimate involvement of God in running the universe, let alone the detailed, ordinary affairs of life.


Pride does not like the sovereignty of God. Therefore, pride does not like the existence of God, because God is sovereign. It might express this by saying, “There is no God.” Or it might express it by saying, “I am driving to Atlanta for Christmas.”


James says, “Don’t be so sure.” Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live, and we will get to Atlanta for Christmas.”


James’s point is that God rules over whether you get to Atlanta, and whether you live to the end of this devotional. This is extremely offensive to the self-sufficiency of pride — not even to have control over whether you get to the end of the devotional without having a stroke!


James says that not believing in the sovereign rights of God to manage the details of your future is arrogance.


The way to battle this arrogance is to yield to the sovereignty of God in all the details of life, and rest in his infallible promises to show himself mighty on our behalf (2 Chronicles 16:9), to pursue us with goodness and mercy every day (Psalm 23:6), to work for those who wait for him (Isaiah 64:4), and to equip us with all we need to live for his glory (Hebrews 13:21).


In other words, the remedy for pride is unwavering faith in God’s sovereign future grace.



John Piper 

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

Are You Cozy with a Friendly Enemy?


PRAY OVER THIS


“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” 1 John 2:15-17

 

PONDER THIS


The word cosmos means, “a system or an order of things.” It is a way of doing things. For example, we talk about the “world” of finance, sports, or fashion. That’s the way the word world is being used here. The Bible says: “Do not love the world,” or cosmos. There is a system that we are not to love. John was not talking about planet Earth; he was not talking about the people, either. He was talking about an ungodly system set against our Lord and His Christ. You’re not to love that world. Although it may act very friendly toward you or cozy up to you, it is a friendly enemy.


It is important to see what the Bible has to say and understand why we’re not to love the ungodly world system. When we feel tempted to join the worldly system, we need to think about where it is headed and the consequences of following and loving the world.


What are some things in the world’s system that are tempting to you?

What are some things of the world you’ve held onto in the past?


PRACTICE THIS


Make a list comparing the system of the world and the system of God’s kingdom. Consider how they are different.



LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Wednesday, January 18, 2023

The Remedy for Pride


Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit” — yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. (James 4:13–16)


James is talking about pride and arrogance and how they show up in subtle ways. “You boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.”


When you take three categories of temptation to self-reliance — wisdom, power, and riches — they form a powerful inducement toward the ultimate form of pride; namely, atheism. The safest way for us to stay supreme in our own estimation is to deny anything above us.


This is why the proud preoccupy themselves with looking down on others. C.S. Lewis said, “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” (Mere Christianity).


But to preserve pride, it may be simpler to just proclaim that there is nothing above to look at. “In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 10:4). Ultimately, the proud must persuade themselves that there is no God.


One reason for this is that God’s reality is overwhelmingly intrusive in all the details of life. Pride cannot tolerate the intimate involvement of God in running the universe, let alone the detailed, ordinary affairs of life.


Pride does not like the sovereignty of God. Therefore, pride does not like the existence of God, because God is sovereign. It might express this by saying, “There is no God.” Or it might express it by saying, “I am driving to Atlanta for Christmas.”


James says, “Don’t be so sure.” Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live, and we will get to Atlanta for Christmas.”


James’s point is that God rules over whether you get to Atlanta, and whether you live to the end of this devotional. This is extremely offensive to the self-sufficiency of pride — not even to have control over whether you get to the end of the devotional without having a stroke!


James says that not believing in the sovereign rights of God to manage the details of your future is arrogance.


The way to battle this arrogance is to yield to the sovereignty of God in all the details of life, and rest in his infallible promises to show himself mighty on our behalf (2 Chronicles 16:9), to pursue us with goodness and mercy every day (Psalm 23:6), to work for those who wait for him (Isaiah 64:4), and to equip us with all we need to live for his glory (Hebrews 13:21).


In other words, the remedy for pride is unwavering faith in God’s sovereign future grace.



John Piper 

Tuesday, January 18, 2022

The Remedy for Pride


Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit” — yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. (James 4:13–16)


James is talking about pride and arrogance and how they show up in subtle ways. “You boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.”


When you take three categories of temptation to self-reliance — wisdom, power, and riches — they form a powerful inducement toward the ultimate form of pride; namely, atheism. The safest way for us to stay supreme in our own estimation is to deny anything above us.


This is why the proud preoccupy themselves with looking down on others. C.S. Lewis said, “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” (Mere Christianity).


But to preserve pride, it may be simpler to just proclaim that there is nothing above to look at. “In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 10:4). Ultimately, the proud must persuade themselves that there is no God.


One reason for this is that God’s reality is overwhelmingly intrusive in all the details of life. Pride cannot tolerate the intimate involvement of God in running the universe, let alone the detailed, ordinary affairs of life.


Pride does not like the sovereignty of God. Therefore, pride does not like the existence of God, because God is sovereign. It might express this by saying, “There is no God.” Or it might express it by saying, “I am driving to Atlanta for Christmas.”


James says, “Don’t be so sure.” Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live, and we will get to Atlanta for Christmas.”


James’s point is that God rules over whether you get to Atlanta, and whether you live to the end of this devotional. This is extremely offensive to the self-sufficiency of pride — not even to have control over whether you get to the end of the devotional without having a stroke!


James says that not believing in the sovereign rights of God to manage the details of your future is arrogance.


The way to battle this arrogance is to yield to the sovereignty of God in all the details of life, and rest in his infallible promises to show himself mighty on our behalf (2 Chronicles 16:9), to pursue us with goodness and mercy every day (Psalm 23:6), to work for those who wait for him (Isaiah 64:4), and to equip us with all we need to live for his glory (Hebrews 13:21).


In other words, the remedy for pride is unwavering faith in God’s sovereign future grace.



John Piper 

Monday, June 21, 2021

Being Needy for Jesus


PRAY OVER THIS


“And he answered and said to Him, ‘Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.’” Mark 10:20

 

READ THIS


Mark 10 tells the sad story of the rich young ruler who, when given the opportunity to follow Jesus, turned away. This story offers four insights to help avoid striking out at the opportunity to follow Christ.


First, proud men at their best are sinners at their worst.


This man in Mark 10 was quite proud of his achievements; he was eager, full of strength and the vigor of youth. Outwardly, he was morally clean; he knew the commandments and had kept them in his youth. But Jesus taught him things he didn’t expect: the young ruler, in himself, was not good, and also, Jesus Himself is God.


Second, God’s perfect law condemns man’s sinful pride.


God is a holy God with holy laws; the purpose of the law is to show us our need for Christ. God’s grace means nothing to us until we first see ourselves as sinners in the sight of a holy God. When a person has been wounded by God’s law, then he or she is ready for the healing balm of salvation.


CONSIDER THIS


Have you been deceived to believe that you can be good in God’s sight?

How does recognizing our own sin make God’s grace more precious to us?


DO THIS


Beginning with Jesus’ sacrifice on your behalf, make a list of ways God has shown you His grace despite your sinfulness.



LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Monday, January 18, 2021

The Remedy for Pride


Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit” — yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. (James 4:13–16)


James is talking about pride and arrogance and how they show up in subtle ways. “You boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.”


When you take three categories of temptation to self-reliance — wisdom, power, and riches — they form a powerful inducement toward the ultimate form of pride; namely, atheism. The safest way for us to stay supreme in our own estimation is to deny anything above us.


This is why the proud preoccupy themselves with looking down on others. C.S. Lewis said, “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” (Mere Christianity).


But to preserve pride, it may be simpler to just proclaim that there is nothing above to look at. “In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 10:4). Ultimately, the proud must persuade themselves that there is no God.


One reason for this is that God’s reality is overwhelmingly intrusive in all the details of life. Pride cannot tolerate the intimate involvement of God in running the universe, let alone the detailed, ordinary affairs of life.


Pride does not like the sovereignty of God. Therefore, pride does not like the existence of God, because God is sovereign. It might express this by saying, “There is no God.” Or it might express it by saying, “I am driving to Atlanta for Christmas.”


James says, “Don’t be so sure.” Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live, and we will get to Atlanta for Christmas.”


James’s point is that God rules over whether you get to Atlanta, and whether you live to the end of this devotional. This is extremely offensive to the self-sufficiency of pride — not even to have control over whether you get to the end of the devotional without having a stroke!


James says that not believing in the sovereign rights of God to manage the details of your future is arrogance.


The way to battle this arrogance is to yield to the sovereignty of God in all the details of life, and rest in his infallible promises to show himself mighty on our behalf (2 Chronicles 16:9), to pursue us with goodness and mercy every day (Psalm 23:6), to work for those who wait for him (Isaiah 64:4), and to equip us with all we need to live for his glory (Hebrews 13:21).


In other words, the remedy for pride is unwavering faith in God’s sovereign future grace.


John Piper 


Saturday, January 18, 2020

The Remedy for Pride



Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit” — yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. (James 4:13–16)

James is talking about pride and arrogance and how they show up in subtle ways. “You boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.”

When you take three categories of temptation to self-reliance — wisdom, power, and riches — they form a powerful inducement toward the ultimate form of pride; namely, atheism. The safest way for us to stay supreme in our own estimation is to deny anything above us.

This is why the proud preoccupy themselves with looking down on others. C.S. Lewis said, “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” (Mere Christianity).

But to preserve pride, it may be simpler to just proclaim that there is nothing above to look at. “In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 10:4). Ultimately, the proud must persuade themselves that there is no God.

One reason for this is that God’s reality is overwhelmingly intrusive in all the details of life. Pride cannot tolerate the intimate involvement of God in running the universe, let alone the detailed, ordinary affairs of life.

Pride does not like the sovereignty of God. Therefore, pride does not like the existence of God, because God is sovereign. It might express this by saying, “There is no God.” Or it might express it by saying, “I am driving to Atlanta for Christmas.”

James says, “Don’t be so sure.” Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live, and we will get to Atlanta for Christmas.”

James’s point is that God rules over whether you get to Atlanta, and whether you live to the end of this devotional. This is extremely offensive to the self-sufficiency of pride — not even to have control over whether you get to the end of the devotional without having a stroke!

James says that not believing in the sovereign rights of God to manage the details of your future is arrogance.

The way to battle this arrogance is to yield to the sovereignty of God in all the details of life, and rest in his infallible promises to show himself mighty on our behalf (2 Chronicles 16:9), to pursue us with goodness and mercy every day (Psalm 23:6), to work for those who wait for him (Isaiah 64:4), and to equip us with all we need to live for his glory (Hebrews 13:21).

In other words, the remedy for pride is unwavering faith in God’s sovereign future grace.


John Piper 

Saturday, November 21, 2015

Today Is Tomorrow



BIBLE MEDITATION: 
“Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” Proverbs 27:1

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
I read some research by psychologist William Morriston who reported that 94% of the 3,000 persons he surveyed were enduring today in order to get to tomorrow.

Do you know anyone like that? Perhaps you are one of those.I read some research by psychologist William Morriston who reported that 94% of the 3,000 persons he surveyed were enduring today in order to get to tomorrow.

Tomorrow, you’re going on vacation. Tomorrow, you’re going to get the house cleaned. Tomorrow, you’re going to start your diet. Tomorrow, you’re going to balance your checkbook. Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow.I read some research by psychologist William Morriston who reported that 94% of the 3,000 persons he surveyed were enduring today in order to get to tomorrow.

The only problem is…tomorrow never arrives. When it gets here, it is today. And today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday. I read some research by psychologist William Morriston who reported that 94% of the 3,000 persons he surveyed were enduring today in order to get to tomorrow.

ACTION POINT:
It is always today. Act accordingly!

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Submission Must Come Before Victory


BIBLE MEDITATION:
“A man's pride shall bring him low: but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit.” Proverbs 29:23

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Have you ever taught someone to drive? What was the first thing you showed him? If you’re like me, even before I showed my children the ignition switch, the accelerator, or the blinker, I showed them the brakes.

Now suppose your learner said, “I don’t want to know anything about the brakes. I just want to know how to make this thing go!” You would probably reply, “You aren’t ready yet to learn to drive! Forget the accelerator. Before you can go, you’ve got to learn to stop.”

ACTION POINT:
Put this in a spiritual realm. What if I asked you to submit to God and you said, “I’m not interested in submission. I want the victory!” God is not going to pour out His power upon you until He sees in you a spirit of submission.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers