SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/10/2017 8:42 PM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-3 The Wrong View of Self
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Acts 8:9-11
Message
of the verses: “9 Now there was a
man named Simon, who formerly was practicing magic in the city and astonishing
the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great; 10 and they all, from
smallest to greatest, were giving attention to him, saying, "This man is
what is called the Great Power of God." 11 And they were giving him
attention because he had for a long time astonished them with his magic arts.”
We have been talking about pride in
our last SD, and we have seen that this man Simon who was a magician was very
proud, and so I want to begin this SD with a parable taught by our Lord which
shows us that the proud cannot be saved.
9 And He
also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous,
and viewed others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray,
one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 “The Pharisee stood and was
praying this to himself: ’God, I thank You that I am not like other people:
swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 ’I fast
twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ 13 "But the tax collector,
standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven,
but was beating his breast, saying, ’God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ 14 "I tell you, this man
went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who
exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.’”
MacArthur
adds “It is only those with the humility of little children who are fit to
enter the kingdom (Matt. 18:2-4). In one
of the most powerful invitations to sinners, James wrote,
“6 But He
gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD,
BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE." 7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the
devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to
you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you
double-minded. 9 Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned
into mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the presence of
the Lord, and He will exalt you.”
“Only the humble, aware of their inadequacies and
shortcomings, have that sense of lostness that drives them to God. It is the poor in spirit, not the proud in
heart, who experience saving faith (Matt. 5:3).
Nothing short of a true estimate of one’s wretchedness, and a broken and
contrite heart coupled with longing for forgiveness, prepare the soul for
salvation.”
My take on this is that if you do
not believe in Jesus Christ, and do not believe that He came to earth to save
you and then you feel the Spirit of God tugging at your heart, please listen to
Him as He is calling you to salvation and you must accept this call.
Answer
to yesterday’s Bible question: “Ruth.”
Today’s
Bible question: “What happened to Jacob
physically in his wrestling match with the angel?”
Answer
in our next SD.
12/10/2017
8:57 PM
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