Reflections 1: The Sin of Pride

” 1 And God spoke all these words: 2 I am the Lord thy God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 3 You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20: 1-3, Zondervan NIV Study Bible, p.116-117).

I begin this new series of reflections this Sunday, April 18, 2010 called the Sin Series with this most basic, but important of commandments delivered to Moses by God, to illustrate how we are fooled into sinning in the first place. I want to introduce you to a world that is at war, but one we do not see with our own eyes, one that is fought for the ownership of our immortal soul. God clearly stated who he was, and what he wanted within the commandments which he delivered to Moses. God stated clearly through profits that were to follow in the many years since what he wanted from us. God has clearly warned us not to believe in anything other than his words, his promises, which he has faithfully kept. He tells us like we tell our own children not to do this, or that, but like our children we rarely listen. We are all guilty before God, we are all unworthy before God, and that also includes Lucifer, hence the need for Lucifer to go to war against God. To prove who is truly greater, but the one thing Lucifer forgot in starting this war was one very simple thing, he is not God, and Lucifer was created, God was not. Nevertheless Lucifer is remarkable in that he has a silver tongue, one which fooled one third of all the angels in heaven to rebel against God. (For a visual that would be like looking up at the night sky and watching one third of all the stars in the heavens fall before your very eyes.) So it is no wonder why we sin, if we are consistently tempted by Lucifer the great deceiver, right? But wait, before you get to righteous in this defense, remember you are held accountable for all your sins before God.

“10 You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written: ‘As surely as I live’, says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God”  (Romans 14: 10-11, Zondervan NIV Study Bible, p.1768).

“1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 ‘Honor your father and mother’-which is the first commandment with a promise- 3 ‘that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.’ 4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6: 1-4, Zondervan NIV Study Bible, p.1768).

Within these words of the Bible, God has commanded all of us to obey him, male and female, adult and child alike. But Lucifer within the creation of sin, through pride, stood opposed to God, thus paving the way to convincehumanity to rebel also out of pride. This is his first and most favorite trick, that of pride and it is the sin which turned him form an archangel into Satan. Interestingly there is a list found in the Bible of all the things God hates, the chief thing among them is that of being too proud;

“16 There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17  haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18  a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, 19  a false witness who pours out lies, and a man who stirs up dissension amoung brothers”  (Proverbs 6: 16-19, Zondervan NIV Study Bible, p.967).

If you look closely all these things come from pride, all of these things are an accurate description of the original sin of Lucifer which turned him into Satan. Saint Thomas Aquinas wrote a book called Summa Theologica, though unfinished it explores this chief of all sins, in which he writes; “I answer that, some say pride is to be taken in three ways. First, as denoting inordinate desire to excel; and thus it is a special sin. Secondly, as denoting actual contempt of God, to the effect of not being subject to His commandment; and thus, they say, it is a generic sin. Thirdly, as denoting an inclination to this contempt, owing to the corruption of nature; and in this sense they say that it is the beginning of every sin, and that it differs from covetousness, because covetousness regards sin as turning towards the mutable good by which sin is, as it were, nourished and fostered, for which reason covetousness is called the “root”; whereas pride regards sin as turning away from God, to Whose commandment man refuses to be subject, for which reason it is called the “beginning,” because the beginning of evil consists in turning away from God” (Aquinas, T. , Summa Theologica: Part I of Second Part Q. 84 Art. 2). Thus through reason, the exact opposite of pride is humility, within that you have Satan as the opposite of Jesus Christ.

St. Augustine of Hippo wrote, “‘Pride is the commencement of all sin’6 because it was this which overthrew the devil, from whom arose the origin of sin; and afterwards, when his malice and envy pursued man, who was yet standing in his uprightness, it subverted him in the same way in which he himself fell. For the serpent, in fact, only sought for the door of pride whereby to enter when he said, ‘Ye shall be as gods.'”7  (Shaffle, P., Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, 1887, p.132).

I know in my life when I have got a bit full of myself, I have always felt a change take place, a transition of internal control from myself, to Satan. When I have become prideful I get caught in whatever I am doing. God has always been quick to send someone who points my false belief out in spades. I am always quick to respond, and ask for forgiveness, and offer my gratitude in his wisdom and patience. Likewise God has always been quick to bless me, and to show mercy. This interaction with God is unique only to God, as Satan on the other hand is incapable of forgiveness, or mercy, because Satan turned away from God in rebellion, we to turn away in rebellion. Pride ushers in though more than just an act of rebellion, or thinking oneself better than God, but allows the heart to become drowned in other emotions such as, arrogance, impatience, intolerance for others, and the lack of forgiveness. All which attack the heart squeezing from it every ounce of God given love. This is typically known as the hardened heart, and a baron, fruitless, lifeless place where there is no happiness, or joy, leavening behind instead a soul which is in pain and starving. It is an absolute take over, and Satan does not take prisoners, nor does he give back what he has stolen, and the sin of pride comes from within us, but originates from Satan.

“(In saying this, Jesus declared all fools “clean”), 20 He went on: “What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean’. 21 For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean” (Mark 7: 20-23, Zondervan NIV Study Bible, p.1539).

Knowing these things then how does one keep from this sin, keep from falling into this trap set by Satan?

The most important thing to remember  in dealing with pride issues, is the acknowledgment that nothing is truly yours as God gives you everything, from cloths on your back, to the food on your table, the money you earn, to your wife, husband, children, friends and family. There is nothing God does not have something to do with in your life. Each accomplishment was granted by God, each achievement was his blessing to you.

“9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself; ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men-robbers,evildoers, adulterers-or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even lookup to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18: 9-14, Zondervan NIV Study Bible, p.1607).

The exact opposite of pride is humility.

“Those who praise themselves will be humbled. Those who humble themselves will be praised.” (Lost Gospel Q: Q 67, p.67).

There is a fine line between being to prideful and being proud in the good things God does for us, celebrating and glorifying God. There is a difference between saying you did this or that, giving yourself praise, believing in your heart that you made the accomplishment happen, and that of saying God gave me this accomplishment, he allowed it in my life. The difference is that one gives glory to self, and the latter gives praise to God. The first is pride fullness, the second is humility. It is easy to be prideful; it is easy to destroy and to celebrate self. It is much harder to believe God grants all things, and to fall upon your knees and give him praise for your good fortunes in life. It is much harder to create and maintain your relationship with God; it is way too easy to turn away and to celebrate self, which is a sin.

Amen

If you have been moved by this blog I humbly invite you to leave a message telling me your thoughts and how this reflection has touched you. May peace and love be with you all the days of your life.  May God keep you and bless you. Amen.

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For more information about sin and Lucifer please purchase the book Listening Faithfully: Sin Series now available on Amazon Kindle Edition.

Reflection 9: For When Your Soul Is Depleted?

First Sunday after Easter

As I write this reflection this week, I wanted to express that though life is not easy, and there are doors which shut for no reason there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Though there might be pitch black in every direction and the feelings of helplessness, and loneliness might be creeping in there is hope in Jesus. So I write this first to set the stage so to speak, so the raw emotions that most certainly was present upon that first Sunday after the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, there might be clarity amongst all the religious noise of this Easter season.

“44 It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 for the sun stopped shinning. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father into your hands I commit my spirit.’ When he had said this, he breathed his last” (Luke 23:44-46, Zondervan NIV 2002, p.1618).

Jesus often reminds us that the struggles we endure here on Earth, as flawed mortals, has less to do with our petty squabbles with each other, but has more to do with the war which is raging between our heavenly soul and our sinful flesh. It is not a physical war that we can use our five senses to protect ourselves against our aggressors, but rather it is a spiritual one which drains our energies making us change our minds and to give into temptation. Our bodies cannot win this war, because we were not created to win it as flesh and blood creatures within sin. Rather through our spiritual weapons made known to us as having absolute faith in God will the victory be realized. The death of Jesus was caused by physical torture, his fight however was not focused on the physical pain he endured rather the war of the soul. Our Lord and Savior died on the cross not to illustrate his so called dishonor of the Jewish faith but rather the willingness to sacrifice his life as a spiritual payment that would build faith in his true mission. Thus through Jesus Christ, and by emulating his example of perfect faith in our Father in heaven, within that very moment that he committed his spirit to God, did he then claim victory over Satan, reclaiming the world for all mankind.

“33We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of man will be betrayed to the chief priest and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles; 34who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise” (Mark 10:33-34, Zondervan NIV 2002, p.1547).

This was the second warning of Jesus to his disciples describing in detail what was going to happen, in an attempt to prepare them. It proves that he knew what was to befall him, but he went to Jerusalem anyway. Jesus had so many other avenues he could have taken which would have spared him this horror, but his fight was not of the flesh, but of the spirit. His perfect faith in God, gave his mortal body the strength to face the final showdown between God and Satan.

“8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” 10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only” (Matthew 4:8-10, Zondervan NIV 2002, p.1473).

Spiritually speaking, even though Jesus’s disciples had witnessed his many miracles, and professed with their lips their belief that he was the Messiah, their hearts where still empty and starving. Their souls were depleted and almost ready for the final miracle. Ironically none of them got it; none of them realized that Jesus was at war, he was fighting a battle to which none of them could see with their own eyes. None of them realized the severity of his actions and teachings until the very moment he appeared to them after Easter. I find myself thinking how hard it is to accept the fact Jesus knew of the absolute pain and indignity he was going to suffer and yet he still chose to carry on with it. So we can’t really fault his disciples who loved him as a brother and did not want to see him die. But we then must ask; if not Jesus then who would have faced Satan, faced the cross? The real question is who else could have?

“3 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not.  4Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:3-5, Zondervan NIV 2002, p.1473).

During his trial and flogging he remained amazingly silent. He was neither defiant, nor was he smug about his actions, his mission, but amazingly humble, accomplishing this feat with precision and grace, with unearthly mercy. Yet within his final words before he closed his eyes on the cross, Jesus’s disciples where in hiding, crushed by the world, their faith dashed their souls depleted. There defeat was so absolute that even Mary Magdalene could not believe her own eyes when she saw the tome empty even though Jesus told them of this miracle.  It took Jesus himself to appear before they all believed. As the word spread through the city of the miracle, still those who heard but had not yet seen Jesus could not believe. I am quite sure his disciples where recounting every word Jesus had ever spoken to them. I am sure they all felt guilty that they could not have faith in him enough to not doubt it. The words which must have rang in their minds the most before Jesus appeared to them was;

“Fortunate are the eyes that see what you are seeing. Many prophets and kings wished to see what you now see and never saw it, longed to hear what you now hear and never heard it” (Lost Gospel Q, Q33, p.67).

We celebrate Easter because that is when our sin debt was paid in full. I write about this first Sunday after Easter so that we will remember how empty our souls where as the hunt for our risen Lord began. The miracle that is Jesus, that was his resurrection, his absolute faith in our father that was revealed and proven. Even unto the very moment of his death his soul was not depleted, but from time to time ours is, so this is but one reason why we need him. I write about this first Sunday after Easter to also illustrate how God planned this event, how Jesus obeyed our Father, how we came to believe.

“A week later his disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ 27 Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’ Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!’ Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen me and yet have believed” (John 21:26-29, Zondervan NIV 2002, p.1671).

Amen,

If you have been moved by this blog I humbly invite you to leave a message telling me your thoughts and how this reflection has touched you. May peace and love be with you all the days of your life.  May God keep you and bless you. Amen.



Reflection 8: The Power of God's Love

An Easter Message

As I reflect on this Easter holiday, or season depending upon your faith, I am forced to correlate the words God used in the Bible, with his actions he expressed within Jesus Christ his son.  I am forced to review what God meant by the word “Love”, and the power it holds coming from God. I also have to admit that I am very humbled by the potency to which this word works its miracles. I am humbled by how many ways God uttered it in the bible, always teaching us to love each other as he loves us. I am amazed how merciful God has been, and by being merciful he illustrates his perfect love he holds for us, even in his wrath when he punishes us. In fact the very notion of his power can be summed up by this most powerful word, “Love”. That is ultimately the true story behind Easter, God fulfilling yet another promise out of love of all mankind. So I thought it proper to begin this Easter reflection with these words of our Lord, Jesus Christ, The Son of God,

“16For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not parish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men, loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God” (John 3:16-21).

Within these words eco’s the remainder of Jesus’s stay here on earth, it hints at the mission he was given by his father, our father in heaven. He speaks with reverence about his own life and death and what we would come to know as Easter, the day Jesus would be resurrected from the dead. All of these events where propelled not by Jesus, but rather by God, because God so loved the world. This is proven by what Jesus said in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus was praying,

“1Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began” (John 17:1-5).

Jesus speaks about the intervention of God on behalf of man. He sent his only son to save all of mankind. Without this act of divine mercy we all would still be condemned, without Jesus, and forever separated from God. His love knows no bounds; there is simply nothing he will not do on our behalf. Our Father in heaven loves us so much he gave to us his most prized possession. The very fact and proof that the Holy Bible it’s self is the very testimony of God, is simply found in the amount of times the word “Love” is   written into it, this single word is the backbone of every message found within it pages. But God from the beginning gave us the very definition to which we are to us and remember each time we utter the word, “Love”. God defines his love as being of a completely different nature, vastly different than that which we feel for our brethren, wives or husbands, our own children, and family. Rather God’s love is termed as being “Agape Love”. A love which is self sacrificing, loving the unlovable, and is seen through the acts of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, John the Baptist, and Jesus. Most clearly through his only Son Jesus Christ who gave his life in order to save every last person on Earth, who ever lived, or will ever live until the end of all days. God’s love is so complete, absolute, so powerful, that it is the basis of all life as we are created in his image. There is nothing more powerful, nothing more absolute, as God is love.

This Easter I ask that you simply look at the miracle of the resurrection of Jesus Christ as the glorification of Jesus, which Jesus had asked for in the Garden three days before. The complete healing of his body, as it was turned into a heavenly body, was an act of agape love on God’s behalf, made possible first by Jesus’s ultimate sacrifice. I ask that we look at our fellow man and try very hard to reach down inside and find that agape love of God’s, pray that God pours it out over you until your cup runneth over. Ask God to grant you this special mindset, and practice what Jesus preached in the loving of one’s neighbor, doing good to those who have done ill to you. For there is no other better example we could illustrate our belief, our faith in him, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ on this holy of holy days.

Amen

If you have been moved by this blog I humbly invite you to leave a message telling me your thoughts and how this reflection has touched you. May peace and love be with you all the days of your life.  May God keep you and bless you. Amen.