First it is confession time. With all that I have on my plate, my devotions have been slacking quite a bit the last month or so. I am a leader of a monthly Bible Study and just took on a weekly Bible Study within the last two weeks. I wasn't sure how to get devotions "crammed" in along with my studying that I have to do for my Bible Study as well as the children's programs that I am involved in at church. Jeremy finally asked me last week, "why don't you just do your studying for the Bible studies as your devotions?" I guess I just figured that I would be cheating God or myself. This week I took Jeremy's advice and...well...I'm proud of it! It has really gotten me into God's Word and isn't that the point of devotions? I am devoted to my personal study time more now than ever! It's great! So, now I share...
I am studying the book of Ephesians right now. Paul talks about the spiritual blessings that we can receive in Christ. The most important, I think, is the fact that we can have "redemption through His blood" (Eph. 1:7). This is the greatest blessing of all!
This ties in with another study that I have been doing on having the mind of Christ. I have been learning the six characteristics of a Christ-like mind: Alive, Single-minded, lowly, pure, responsive, and peaceful. I'm not going to share about all six. That's for another time and another day. I am going to talk about the word "lowly."
Paul tells us in Philippians 2:3, "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in LOWLINESS of mind let each esteem others better than himself." Lowliness and humility are a lot alike but humility flows out of lowliness. How do we get lowliness? We get it by concentrating on genuine appreciation for God's holiness. It's hard to be full of yourself when you see and understand how holy God really is. I mean, look back in the Old Testament and read the accounts of all the people who encountered God. What were their reactions when God spoke? They were afraid. But remember, it was a godly fear. When they met God, they knew the need for lowliness. They immediately saw a BIG difference between God and themselves.
It was nice to have the reminder this week of what Christ did for me. "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found, was blind, but now I see!" Study the book of Ephesians or the characteristics of Christ and you will understand the greatness of God. When we have a clear view of God's greatness, we will have a proper view of ourselves and just how wretched we truly are!
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