Instead, take the lowest place at the foot of the table. Then when your host sees you, he will come and say, "Friend, we have a better place for you!" Then you will be honored in front of all the other guests. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
Luke 14:10–11
Jesus tells us not to seek our own honor, but to humble ourselves and let others honor us. How might this principle work out in your family life? Are you content to serve others and let them honor you? Can you be happy with whatever honor you're given? What about in business—how might this work out in the work arena? Must you "toot your own horn," or is it enough to do your job well and let others honor you? Jesus gives much to ponder here, for it runs so counter to our culture.
“Encouragement for Today” - Oct 11/07
"Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens."
-- Lamentations 3:41
Getting into God's stride
Enoch walked with God.
Genesis 5:24
The test of a man's religious life and character is not what he does in the exceptional moments of life, but what he does in the ordinary times, when there is nothing tremendous or exciting on. The worth of a man is revealed in his attitude to ordinary things when he is not before the footlights
(cf. John 1:36). It is a painful business to get through into the stride of God, it means getting your second wind spiritually. In learning to walk with God there is always the difficulty of getting into His stride; but when we have got into it, the only characteristic that manifests itself is the life of God. The individual man is lost sight of in his personal union with God, and the stride and the power of God alone are manifested.
It is difficult to get into stride with God, because when we start walking with Him we find He has outstripped us before we have taken three steps. He has different ways of doing things, and we have to be trained and disciplined into His ways. It was said of Jesus - "He shall not fail nor be discouraged," because He never worked from His own individual standpoint but always from the standpoint of His Father, and we have to learn to do the same. Spiritual truth is learned by atmosphere, not by intellectual reasoning. God's Spirit alters the atmosphere of our way of looking at things, and things begin to be possible which never were possible before. Getting into the stride of God means nothing less than union with Himself. It takes a long time to get there, but keep at it. Don't give in because the pain is bad just now, get on with it, and before long you will find you have a new vision and a new purpose.
“Heartlight” - Oct 12/07
