Looking Back for the Sake of the Future - Ch. 7

Lord, you are wise... powerful...merciful... Amen is an exclamation point of hope after a prayer for help.

Confidence in someone's future reliability is grounded in a history of past faithfulness.

the Holy Spirit is called a down payment; there is so much more future grace yet to come; an he is the guarantee of it.  [Eph 1:14]

You Can't Take It With You...

Counting Forever

In the inaugural issue of the newsletter A Higher Purpose, published by the Great Commission Foundation, Campus Crusade for Christ president Steve Douglass says, “Frankly one thing that doesn’t count forever is wealth that is left over at the end of our lives, wealth unused in any worthy cause whatsoever. From a biblical point of view, you see that some day, eventually the end will come. As we read 2 Peter 3:10, we see that the earth will be burned up, there will be nothing left — just an ash heap. On that day, in the midst of all these ash heaps, the only thing a wealthy person will be able to say to a poor person is, ‘Oh look! My ash heap is bigger than your ash heap!’ Not significant!”

As we strive for significance, it is wholly appropriate that we should call others to significance as well, to join us in the quest, to make something of eternal value during our earthly lifetime.



* Like what you just read and want to learn more? Check out, More Than Money: The Truth About High-Capacity Givers.

Faith in Future Grace vs. Pride - ch. 6

C.S. Lewis - "The pleasure of pride is like the pleasure of scratching.  If there is an itch one does want to scratch; but it is much nicer to have neither the itch nor the scratch.  As long as we have the itch of self-regard we shall want the pleasure of self-approval; but the happiest moments are those when we forget our precious selves and have neither but have everything else instead."

Jeremiah 9:23 - 24  "...boast of this... understands and knows Me, ...lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness... delight in these things"

Humility can only survive in the presence of God.  We can expect to find humility applauded in our society about as often as we find God applauded.

Belief is not merely an agreement, is is also an appetite...  More than what we think, but what we drink...

God's competitors are our wisdom, might and riches [Jer. 9:23]... Our intelligence, our strength, our material resources.

Pride is an issue of whee your satisfaction is... what you are trusting in for your future.

Look away from your own resources and rest in God.

God's reality is overwhelmingly intrusive.  "If the Lord wills..." [James 4:13-17]

Weak pride = self pity... The wounded ego wishes to be viewed as  a hero, not as helpless.  Self pity comes from a sense of unrecognized worthiness, and not a sense of unworthiness.

Freedom from anxiety in trusting someone else who is wiser and stronger - cast cares on Him, He cares!