But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” – James 4:6 (NIV)
Most of us don’t have a goal of humility. Why? Because it’s not something our culture deems important. We look at people who have accomplished a lot as heroes. We celebrate singers and celebrities. Often, the last thing on most of our minds is practicing humility.
However, in today’s verse, we see that God opposes the proud.
Whoa. That’s a pretty strong statement. Especially in a world that feels like we have to be right and defend ourselves all that time.
Today’s Truth: Pride is an ungodly attitude.
But the truth is, God opposes the proud and gives us more grace and favor if we’re humble. So if you want to be walking in God’s grace and getting more of it in your life, you’ve got to practice humility. It’s not always easy trusting God to bring justice and to exalt you, but it’s the best way.
God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. – Ephesians 1:5 (NLT)
Have you ever been guilty of leaving a school project unfinished until the last possible moment? And then you’re in a panicked frenzy trying to finish up the night before? Maybe you even had to stay up all night to finish. I’ve had my share of last minute projects.
The great thing about God is that He didn’t wait last minute to bring us into His family. He wasn’t panicked and He didn’t have to stay up all night working on it. He had it planned for us in advance and it wasn’t something like a school project that He hated doing or dreaded. He wanted to do it and it gave Him pleasure.
Today’s Truth: You aren’t a mistake. God planned ahead and made a way for you to know Him.
If nothing else, this fact can really make us feel important. God wanted us and thought we were important enough to put a plan together to bring us into His family. He wanted to have a friendship and a relationship with you. When you get ahold of this truth, it can set you free. If you realize that God wanted you. He wanted a family with you. You aren’t an accident or a mistake. God planned ahead and made a way for you to know Him.
Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. – Proverbs 16:18 (NIV)
In our lives, pride never leads to good things. However, it’s really easy to fall into pride.
Maybe you worked really hard, defied the odds, and got a great grade on your history project. You want to scream your accomplishment to every person everywhere. Or perhaps you did amazing at your school’s swim meet and you want nothing more than to be recognized for your accomplishments and hear everyone talk about how great you are.
And so you become proud of what YOU did.
Here’s the truth: pride doesn’t lead to good things.
If we begin to think about how good we are, how good we did, how hard we worked, we often leave God out of the picture. We start to think that we did it all on our own, and as a result, we deserve all the attention.
When we leave God out of the equation of our success, that’s never a good thing. We should always be looking to God, asking His advice, and seeking His approval, rather than the approval and attention of others. It’s God’s help we should want to live out each day of our lives. When we include Him in our success and look to Him to bring us the belonging and attention we crave, that’s when we will be the most fulfilled.
In an article entitled “Foundations for Christian Students – Part 1” Patricia Engler briefly describes her experience in a secular college, and then suggests ways of building up solid spiritual foundations. In this description, she mentions that the college she was at had a particular worldview that could be summed up in this way: “God did not create people; people created God.”
This worldview can be stated another way: there is no God. Ms. Engler is quite correct that this worldview, this way of perceiving reality, defining truth, and establishing morality is in conflict with the Christian worldview. The only way to truly stand against it is to have an understanding of what your own worldview is.
The Foundation of a Christian Worldview
The foundation of a Christian worldview starts with the idea I discussed in my previous article: that deity exists and is active in the world around us. But it is not enough to say there is a deity. There have been and still are many people who believe that divine hands are at work in the universe, but these people have a fundamentally different worldview than a Christian. So as soon as we say that God is active in the universe the natural question that comes after this is: God who? The simplest answer is found in Deuteronomy 6:4 which says,
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!” (NKJV).
Whenever you see LORD in all capital letters this is an indication that in the original Hebrew the divine name was written. This name is Yahweh, and it is very important to recognize that the confession of the Hebrews and the Christians is that we don’t just believe in one God; we believe in a specific God, and His name is Yahweh.
As soon as we have a name and specific God, then immediately our worldview comes into conflict with others. Why? Because the Bible reveals that Yahweh does more than receive worship. He establishes what is true and what is false, what is good and what is evil.
This can be seen as early on as Genesis 9:6 where it says,
“Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man.”
This tells us not only that is murder wrong, but why it is wrong, and what the consequences for murder should be. And there are numerous other passages where God makes His will clear. He sets bounds for human conduct: whether it is in sexuality, in economic transactions, family conduct—all of life really.
You see, when we say that the one God does exist we are really saying that one truth exists.
Yahweh is the one who sets the bound for everything because He created everything. It is like the author of a book getting to set the bounds for what is acceptable for the characters in His book. And since we specify that Yahweh is that God, then our worldview should be made up of what He is like and what His commands are.
Conflicting Worldviews
It is because of this that the Christian worldview is immediately brought into conflict with the secular one. Because the statement, “God did not create people; people created God” is just another way of saying people are gods. We determine reality, we determine truth, and we determine right and wrong. Ms. Engler’s professors may not agree with this statement, but that doesn’t make the statement untrue.
For when there is no God, then why should I not be my own determiner of reality, my own ground of truth, my own moral compass? Why should I not be God?
When asked like that it is pretty easy for the Christian to reject this perspective. The difficulty comes in the daily expression of what it actually means. It is one thing to reject it when a professor spouts it from the front of a classroom, but it is quite another when it confronts you on social media. It is easy to reject on the debate floor, but it is quite another to reject it in your own room. It is easy to say in your head, “That professor is wrong,” but it is more to say it out loud, and be able to explain why he is wrong. But it is even more difficult to criticize yourself, to remind yourself that God is God when you want something—something you know doesn’t conform to His truth.
Recognizing who is God is a decision that must be made in every situation and in every setting—everything from how you act in public to the most intimate setting of your sexuality. Do you recognize Yahweh as the God of your life in every area?
Each of us is faced with a simple choice. Do I seek out and embrace the wisdom of Yahweh? Do I accept the truth God has revealed in His word, or will I try to make God in my own image?
Want a more detailed discussion of monotheism and its implications for truth? Check out chapter 2 of The Trinity Mystery.
Suggested Reading:
Isaiah 41-45
Deuteronomy 6
Leviticus 18-20
Titus 2
The Universe Next Door by James Sire
The God Who is There by Francis Schaffer
Discussion Questions:
What are some of the implications of Yahweh being the one God who exists? How does this impact our understanding of reality, truth, and morality? Try to give some specific examples.
How would you go about finding the truth of Yahweh? How can you make sure that you are accurately doing this?
What can make it difficult to acknowledge or follow the will of the one God in life?
What are some areas of life in which you know you struggle against the will of God? How can you go about addressing these?
About the Author:
Sam Andersen is a member of the Evangelical Free Church of Oelwein, Iowa where he has the opportunity to teach in different capacities. He holds a MA degree in History from Liberty University and a Bachelor of Ministry degree from the Antioch School of Church Planting and Leadership Development. He is the author of The Trinity Mystery a book that explores the doctrine of the Trinity and its implications, and the children’s book Falling Through the Creek. Email Sam at: [email protected].
Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? – Matthew 6:27 (NLT)
It’s really easy to fall into the trap of worry. You worry about your math test on Monday. You worry about whether the guy in chemistry class likes you, you worry about your dog that has been acting sick lately. Life is full of things to worry about and if we’re not careful, worry can consume our lives.
The Bible tells us that worry is not good. It doesn’t help us and if we’re honest, most of the time we worry because we don’t really trust God. We don’t trust that He will help us through the situations that we’re facing. We don’t want to really give God our all and depend on Him to take care of us.
However, if we’re to beat the habit of worry, that’s exactly what we need to do. We need to get rid of all the things we’re worried about and put them over on Jesus. Worry isn’t healthy and worry won’t help us in the long run, just like today’s verse says. Can worry add a single moment to your life? The answer is no. So today, choose to put your trust in God. Choose to trust Him to help you out and to walk with you through the difficulties of life. You can do it, knowing that when you trust God everything will turn out ok.
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? – Romans 8:31 (NIV)
The things of life can easily get us down. From being in the middle of bad circumstances to having friends that aren’t sticking with us the way we think they should, day-to-day life can often feel overwhelming.
Here’s the thing we have to keep reminding ourselves. We will never be short of problems. We will always have problems and trouble in our lives. However, it’s how we deal with those things that makes a difference in our lives.
So what do you do when you’re faced with lots of the cares, concerns, and worries of life? Do you let them get you upset? Or do you remind yourself of what today’s Bible verse says.
It tells us that if God is for us, who can be against us? Wow. That’s such a great thing to be reminded about. No matter how big the problem you face, you can know that God is for you. He’s on your side through the middle of the problem, ready to help you out. That’s good news. So don’t get discouraged if you’re faced with a problem. Just be encouraged that you’re not facing it alone.
But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. – John 1:12 (NLT)
Many times it’s easy to feel like you’re worthless. Maybe someone said something unkind about you, perhaps you didn’t get invited to a friend’s birthday party and it feels like everyone else did. It’s easy to let the things others do change the way we feel about ourselves.
When our self-esteem is low during these times, we can often get into bad self-talk. You might want to call yourself ugly, fat, or worthless. Speaking words like that over your life isn’t good. You’ve got to watch how you talk about yourself because you have value to God.
Regardless of how others treat you, you can be confident that God sees your value. When you accept Jesus, you’ve been made a child of God. To God you have value. As His child, your life means something and you have worth.
Today’s Truth: You mean something to God and have worth.
So today, if you’ve been overlooked, mistreated, or misunderstood, know that you’re important. God has made you His son or daughter. He didn’t have to do it, but He wanted to. He wanted you to be His child. To God, you’ve got purpose and worth. Choose today to speak and act like the person of value you are.
You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. – Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV)
Peace is something we could all use from time to time. Our world seems to have no shortage of things to cause us to not be at peace.
Maybe things are tough right now at school, and you just wish something would change to help you be at peace. Perhaps things at home aren’t great, and it just seems like everywhere you turn you’re searching for peace.
The good news is that as children of God, we can live at peace. Today’s verse tells us that if we can keep our minds on God and trust Him, we can live in peace.
That’s often easier to say than to do. It’s easy to look at all the bad stuff going around and let the troubles of life bring you unrest. However, if you’ll spend more time in God’s presence, listening to a worship song, or reading your Bible, you’ll find it’s easier to be at peace.
So challenge yourself to practice peace today. Determine to be at peace in every situation and circumstance. Not because you don’t have trouble, but rather because you know God and trust Him to help you through.
Is your world sterile and dead? Is it something that works of its own accord like a clock or a computer program? Or is your world full of personality and power?
Does the storm come because high and low-pressure areas collide, or because someone orders it? When the sun rises, is it because of the eternal revolutions of the Earth, or because someone said to the sun and Earth, “Do it again!”? How does the world work?
You might be surprised that throughout history the answer to this question has not been the one that might come to mind today. People in the past did not think storms were the result of high and low-pressure systems colliding. No, a storm was caused by gods like Thor, before their thrones were bought by Disney. When the citizens of an ancient city looked at the sky and saw the signs of a storm, they were far more likely to begin a special ritual to placate the storm god rather than merely praying that the storm wouldn’t be too bad.
Which are we more likely to do?
Obviously, we pray to God and ask that there would not be too much damage caused by the storm, as though God needed to ride to the rescue in order to reign in nature. We ask God to do this or that, and what we are really asking is for God to poke His finger into the world, to interfere in it when He usually sits back and lets it move.
In this way, God is like a computer programmer. He’s created the machine and it is running, and every once in a while He has to interfere because the program has a bug, or because one of His children in the program asks for Him to change something.
When we think about deity, of God generally, this is probably what most of us think. We do not deny His existence, not at all.
We look around us and see the signs of His creative hand, but only in a forensic kind of way. We are like Sherlock Holmes, or a member of NCIS, or of any number of other investigators. We see evidence of something that occurred in the past. We look at the world around us, examine how it works, and conclude that someone designed it.
But we make a mistake after this discovery. It is an assumption even if it is not a conscious choice. In looking at the design of the universe we cannot help but think that everything is moving on its own, rather like a wind-up monkey that has been wound by God and is marching away clanging its cymbals. God is a little ways away, watching, and every once in a while adjusts the course of the monkey. The world works because God designed it to work, and He only has to interfere every now again.
I think many of us see the world this way, and see God’s relationship to the world in this way, but is it what is revealed in the Bible? Not at all! God is much more intimately involved than this. He is far nearer than this perspective hopes or imagines. Just consider what God says in Job 38:25-26.
“Who has divided a channel for the overflowing water, or a path for the thunderbolt, to cause it to rain on a land where there is no one, a wilderness in which there is no man?”
The answer to the question is, of course, that God has done this, but notice the specificity. It is not just that God turns the water faucet on, but He directs the water to fall somewhere in particular. He creates a channel for it to move down. He commands it to rain upon an area that no human has visited. And just consider what He says about the thunderbolt! He doesn’t just turn on the electric machine to watch where the lightning might strike. No, he directs the path of the thunderbolt, telling the electrons to flow exactly from one place to another—and He does it every time.
When we talk about God existing this is what we mean. He is living and active, giving you every beat of your heart, and moving the nations of the world. He is the grand mover of history, and the one writing the story of each individual life.
Why might it be important to know that God is always at work and not just interfering in the world every once in a while?
How might this bring hope to a person?
About the Author:
Sam Andersen is a member of the Evangelical Free Church of Oelwein, Iowa where he has the opportunity to teach in different capacities. He holds a MA degree in History from Liberty University and a Bachelor of Ministry degree from the Antioch School of Church Planting and Leadership Development. He is the author of The Trinity Mystery a book that explores the doctrine of the Trinity and its implications, and the children’s book Falling Through the Creek. Email Sam at: [email protected].
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. – Philippians 4:7 (NLT)
God’s best for us is that we live at peace. But our world often feels far from peaceful. Much is going on and it can be easy to become troubled, upset, or even afraid.
We have to choose daily to practice peace. Sometimes that means guarding what you watch and hear, so that fear doesn’t build up in your heart. Other times it might mean being aware of who you spend time around so that you don’t become troubled or upset.
Whatever it takes, be on your guard to keep your heart at peace. God wants you to walk in peace even if you’re going through a storm. So look to Him. Spend time reading the Bible and in worship. Really let the presence of God bring peace to your situation.
God’s best for your life is to walk in God’s peace and be able to share that peace with those around you every day.
