Sunday, August 23, 2009

Humility

Have been thinking about the lack of true and deep humility in my own life and so I went and listened to a John MacArthur sermon on the beatitude in Matthew: Blessed are the poor in spirit....

The classic Psalm on repentance and a humble spirit is found in Psalm 51, written by David after his tragic sin with Bathsheba. (It would do your spirit good to read this once a week in your devotions).

Particularly Psalm 51:17 "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise."

Look up "broken" and "contrite" in a dictionary and think about it for a while. Does this describe you and your attitude to God and others? I had to answer, "sometimes."

For further understanding see Isaiah 66:2 and Psalm 34;18.

MacArthur listed 7 test questions to tell you if you are humble. Here they are:

1. Are you weaned from obsession with your self--self love?
2. Are you lost in the wonders and beauty of Christ?
3. Do you never complain about your situation?
4. Do you see only the excellencies in others and weaknesses in yourself?
5. Do you spend much time in prayer?
6. Do you take Christ on His terms and not yours?
7. Are you constantly overwhelmed with gratitude to God?

This is not an exhaustive list, but it is certainly an informative one for your devotional time and time of self examination. Hope you will give it some time in prayer and quiet. "Be still and know that I am God."