Jas 4:6-10 ESV - 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 7 Submit yourselves 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 wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
Oh, how we need God’s grace, for our human, sinful pride runs so deep. . .The word picture of God actually opposing the proud is sobering. When I decide I don’t need God’s counsel in his word because “I’ve got this myself” I am opposing Almighty God who is omniscient and eternal. When I gripe about what God has withheld from me (from my perspective) rather than be grateful for what He has given, I am opposing the eternal God who gives good gifts to His children and always knows what is best for me.
God has equipped me to resist the devil. Jesus himself illustrates how to resist the devil. Jesus, being God made flesh could have called angels to drag the devil away before he said a word in that wilderness. Jesus himself could have spoken a word and the devil would have sulked away immediately. But how did Jesus resist the devil?
With God’s Word. Think of that for a minute. When Jesus replied “it is written . …” Jesus was quoting THE SAME WORD OF GOD that we have. We have the perfect and true Word of God. We study and meditate and memorize not only to know the amazing God who is our Savior and Lord, but because God’s Word is how we resist the devil, how we humble ourselves before God, how we learn to submit to His Lordship.
These are requests I make frequently in my prayers . . .
Psa 119:5-6, 10-11, 18, 30-31, 33-34 ESV - 5 Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes! 6 Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments. … 10 With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! 11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. … 18 Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. … 30 I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I set your rules before me. 31 I cling to your testimonies, O LORD; let me not be put to shame! … 33 Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end. 34 Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.
Humbling ourselves before the Lord is not this abject groveling to a being who will ridicule and humiliate. Humbling myself before the Lord means that I not only acknowledge but follow through with my actions that God is my Lord and He gets to make the rules. As I do that, rather than humiliation, God gives me the dignity of knowing that I am a child of the Eternal Sovereign of the Universe, that He loves me as His child and He is a good Father who chooses me and equips me to do good works.
Pray for the Persecuted Church–OpenDoorsUSA
Persecution in Cuba continues to worsen. Last year, Cuba was just outside the top 50 countries on the World Watch List. The continued rise is the result of highly restrictive measures against churches deemed to be opponents of the regime, especially non-registered Protestant churches.
The COVID-19 crisis has been used as a pretext to hinder church and community activities, monitor church leaders, make arbitrary arrests, confiscate private property and impose extortion fees. Christian
leaders from different denominations were among those arrested during anti-government demonstrations in July
Day 1: Pray that God will bring about change in
Cuba’s political landscape, so that religious freedom
will be honored
Daily Wisdom Psalm 91-95 Proverbs 19
Plea for Grace 