Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
God tells us that Moses was a man who was very meek. (Numbers 12:3). In Matthew 11:29, Jesus commands us, Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart. God desires that you learn to develop […]
Proverbs 27:2 Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.
How many times does God need to say this point in order for you to understand it? Throughout the scriptures, God makes it clear that HE does not want any pride to be in you. It was […]
Proverbs 25:6-7 Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men: For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.
God resists the proud […]
Proverbs 16:5 Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.
How would you like to get to the judgment seat of Christ thinking that you lived a good life and thus you deserve eternal life in heaven only to find out […]
Proverbs 13:10 Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.
Debate, strife, and quarrels are a result of pride. Pride is inordinate self-esteem or an unreasonable conceit of your own superiority in talents. God has given you certain talents and abilities. However, if you do not understand that these gifts are from […]
Proverbs 11:2 When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.
Adam and Eve were proud, they chose to trust in their own senses rather than believe that which God had instructed them. As a result of their sin, shame entered the world. Prior to sin entering the world, we know that Adam […]
1 Samuel 17:28 And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? And with whom has thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art […]
Proverbs 6:17 a lying tongue,
In this passage Solomon enumerates seven abominations unto the Lord. The second item in this list is a lying tongue. Jesus told us that HE is the truth. HE also taught us that it is the truth that will set us free.
When you tell a lie, your actions are not pleasing […]
Proverbs 6:17 A proud look,
In this passage, Solomon is going through a list of seven abominations unto the Lord. The first item in this list of abominations is pride. God hates pride in our lives. As Christians, this list of seven items is readily available to us, all we have to do is open up […]
1 Corinthians 13:4 is not puffed up,
Love is not proud. In this passage we see another attribute of love in that it is not love to think more highly of yourself then you ought. We all have heard the verse that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. If we are to […]
Acts 13:45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.
The religious leaders were used to the people following them. However, because the Jews started following Paul and Barnabas, it took away from the influences of the religious leaders. […]
Acts 13:25 And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there cometh one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose.
John the Baptist understood the will of God for his life. John had a job to do and […]
I Corinthians 8:1 Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.
In Second Peter, we are commanded to add knowledge to our lives but in this passage we see that knowledge makes one proud. Some would say that the Bible is contradicting itself. However, […]
I John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
Virtue requires that you fill your life with things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of a good […]
Psalms 131:1 Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me.
David understood that he was a great man who did great things for the Lord. However, David did not allow the fact that God was using him to cause […]
Psalms 106:23 Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them.
Moses was in mount Sinai. When the people saw that Moses was delayed in coming down, they approached Aaron and asked him to make them […]
Psalms 100:3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
There is no such thing as a self made man. Apart from God you can do nothing. It is God who has given you your […]
Psalms 36:2 For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful.
God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. In this passage we see an individual who constantly is flattering himself. Why would one flatter themselves? Hitler once said that if you tell a lie loud enough […]
2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Solomon was in the process of dedicating the temple to God and […]
Psalms 10:17 LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:
What is the desire of your heart? What is the key to receiving the desire of your heart? The key is humility. The Lord hears the voice of those who are humble before HIM. You know that God gives grace to the humble but HE resists the proud. You know that you are to delight yourself in the Lord and HE will give you the desires of your heart. However, you cannot delight yourself in the Lord because you desire something from HIM. Instead, you must delight yourself before God with a humble heart.
Matthew 18:1 At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
The disciples asked Jesus who was the greatest in the kingdom of heaven and Jesus replied that unless they became as a little child, they could not enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus went on to say that if you were humble as a child, then you would be great in the kingdom of heaven. Another time Jesus told HIS� disciples that �If any man desired to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.� (Mark 9:34).
Christianity will change your perspective on life. As long as you are a slave to sin, your focus is upon yourself and what you can obtain for yourself. When you choose to allow the blood of Christ to remove the chains that bind you to sin, you now choose to be a servant of God. However, just because you are a servant of God, it does not automatically mean that you will seek God�s perfect will for your life. It does not mean that you will maintain a humble spirit.
Matthew 8:8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
During Jesus� ministry on earth, HE only commended two individuals for their great faith. Jesus told many individuals that it was their faith that made them well, but only two were set out as examples to us as individuals with great faith. Jesus commended the centurion in this passage as being great in faith and he was not even an Israelite. You might naturally think that if Jesus was going to commend two individuals for their great faith that they would be of the seed of Abraham.
Matthew 6:1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
Virtue is allowing God to have control of your thoughts, feelings and actions. Virtue is the moral power to do that which is right in God�s eyes. Virtue is the power and strength to pursue that which is praiseworthy.
In this passage during the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus commands us that it is not only important to give alms, but that we give alms with the right attitude towards God. Giving alms is the right thing to do. Giving alms is right in God�s eyes. Giving alms is praiseworthy. Nonetheless, giving alms so that you receive the praises of man is not pleasing in God�s eyes. God desires that you give alms not for your own praise but so that HE receives the praise for your actions.
Proverbs 31:26b and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
The sixth benefit that Solomon would receive in marrying a virtuous woman would be that the words of his wife would naturally be filled with kindness. Solomon was to be a wise man and examine the life of his bride to be very carefully in order to ensure that virtue filled her entire life. Jesus told us that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth does speak. Because the virtuous woman has filled her life with virtue, kindness is the fruit of her mouth.
The virtuous woman has demonstrated prior to her marriage that she is an independent individual who is able to properly manager her affairs so that she is not idle. One would naturally think that just because this virtuous woman was so self-sustaining prior to marriage that she would naturally lord over those around her. However, the law of the virtuous woman is the law of kindness and mercy. She has an excellency of spirit that enables her put God and others first. While virtue enabled her to be diligent and to not waste the time, talent and treasures that God had given her prior to her marriage, virtue also did not allow her to become proud of her achievements.
Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Pride has a way of creeping into your life. The sin nature of man is such that you desire to have others recognize you for the good things that you do. While you may be a humble individual, there will come a time when pride will well up within you and you will actually be proud in your own humility. While you may be active in serving the Lord, the sin nature of man will often cause you to desire the praises of man for your good deeds.
Judges 7:2 And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.
Gideon had blown the trumpet and 32,000 men showed up to fight. Gideon was outnumbered with only 32,000 men, but God told him it was too many men. God had Gideon tell the men who were afraid to go home. Gideon obeyed God and he lost 22,000 men. Only 10,000 men trusted God could be with them against insurmountable odds.
All Israel had heard the stories of Moses and Joshua and how God led the nation supernaturally. However, some believed that God could do it again, while others just did not have enough faith to be the one that God used to deliver Israel. They would rather sit on the sidelines and watch God work and enjoy the benefits. These 22,000 men had other priorities that they would rather worry about. What would the Midianites do to their wives and children should God not be with Gideon?
Habakkuk 2:4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
The word faith is only used twice in the Old Testament. Nonetheless, even though faith was not a term used, it was something that individuals demonstrated as is illustrated in Hebrews 11. The phrase �the just shall live by faith� is repeated three times by the apostle Paul.
In this passage we are given an excellent example of how God desires that we live our life. We are first told that one who is proud is not upright. The word upright means to be straight or even. Imagine the tallest building in a large town. The building is admired because it stands straight and tall. However, the building is able to be upright because of all the internal support that went into its construction. Spiritually, if we allow pride to be in our life, it would be similar to building the building with rusted out steel beams. While cosmetically one may not be able to see the internal destruction, the building will not stand for long and eventually, some trial will wipe out the entire building.
