This morning in prayer as I prayed for each of you, as I prayed for our military to feel the immense love God has for them, the love that we feel for them and the appreciation in our hearts for the sacrifice they make each and every day. I prayed for those suffering illness, those struggling with finances, with broken hearts and with lack of faith. I prayed fervently for peace, comfort and calm in all hearts this morning and that the opportunity would present for you to share a story of God's amazing love. In prayer as I sat there the the words, "humble" "haughty" and "heaven" kept crossing over my heart. I laid my head back and tried to figure out what God was needing me to write about and I could not, I know what the the relationship of these three words is but what did he need me to say? I decided to, as I have many times before, begin writing and I knew that he would at the right time make the message clear to me! To be humble: means: to be meek or modest in behavior, attitude and spirit, not arrogant or prideful...haughty: means: proud of oneself and scornful of others; snobbish; arrogant; disdainful, and of course heaven: a place regarded in various religions as the abode of God and the angels and of the good after death. So why are these three grouped together for me this morning? Each of us knows what we have to do to receive eternal life, what we have to do here on earth to be returned home to heaven when we die. Each of us knows that God does not like haughtiness, being pridefilled is not pleasing to God, each of us knows that when we die, we will go to heaven if we have clung fast to our faith, have accepted our Lord Jesus Christ as our savior and have lived life according to the tenants of the gospel. I know that people do work hard for their possessions, they like to have nice things and the more money they make the more nice things they feel they need. I know that we set standards for ourselves and we like and enjoy the finer things in life, I know also that we can lose everything in the blink of an eye, we can be reduced to nothing in seconds. I know people that work hard every day of their adult life just to make ends meet, they do not have a "pot to pee in" as my dad. I know that being humble is non specific to those who have nothing, if a rich man lives his life according to God's rules he can be a humble man, if a poor man spends his money on impressive things instead of life needs he to can be labled haughty, so I am not trying to say the rich are haughty and the poor are humble, I am trying to say, no matter your situation you should be humble in all things! I think in these words this morning that God needed me to say to you, the reason you have what you have is a blessing, given you by him. If you have been blessed with more dollars than you have cents(sense) then you may need to think about the way in which you are using it, if you have been blessed not to have the headace and the temptations you should be mindful not to covet. We are all from the same place, our spirits once resided in heaven, we were sent down her to gain a physical body, to face trials and tribulations and to deem ourselves worthy of returning home to heaven when we had proved ourselves worthy. Each of us has weaknesses, we all have areas that we need to strengthen and trials in those areas to prove to our Father in heaven that we have passed the test and belong beside him. Each of us will be dealt a hand in the area of our weakness and will have to overcome any problems or variances to show God that we are worthy. Today I say to you, if you are haughty, lay down your snobbery and pick up humility, realize that all the material items you possess will not buy you a ticket to the gate, to you who are humiliated and lustful of material items, let it go and know that if you turn the humiliation from "lack of" into being a humble servant of our Lord, that the ticket will await you. Just be mindful on this sabbath day and each day forward that we are all the same, we are all spirits from heaven and we all are battling our way back. No amount of money in the world will buy the ticket, no amount of bullying will secure you a walk on the golden path...always be thankful for what God has given you, always praise him for the blessing both good and bad, big or little, rich or poor, and keep your eye on the prize...the goal is to walk through the gates being led by our creator, all possessions will be checked at the door. Walk with a humble heart this day, be happy with the "material" you have achieved here on earth but also be mindful that they are just "things" be mindful not to look upon people that have been more richly blessed than you with malice or with the need for greed. And be mindful that if you have been blessed with an abundance, not to look upon those with less with contempt. Keep your heart in the right place, focus on you and you alone and trust that you are where God needs you to be, that you are being tested in your area of weakness and that you determine if you get to make the trip home, not anyone else....you do. So focus on your actions, your ideas, the quality of you and always on the prize. God bless you with peace in your heart today, more is not always better! I love each of you in Christ and pray for you today! Let the light of Christ shine brightly so that it might be a beacon for someone lost in the storm.
As always please go to the comment section and feel free to let us know of any specific prayer requests you have, we stand ready to lift those in need in prayer many times this day! God is love, he is merciful and if we go through our savior Jesus Christ all of our prayers will be answered.
